Intensive collaboration between the municipality of Son en Breugel and Summa

The municipalities of Son en Breugel and Summa are entering into a close partnership. The organizations aim to strengthen the connection between vocational students (MBO) and the municipality, offering young people and adults opportunities to develop their skills through (practical) education and internships.

Jochem Meulesteen, member of the Executive Board of Summa, and Alderman Jelle de Jong (Personnel and Organization) of the municipality of Son en Breugel signed a cooperation agreement today.

"This sustainable partnership allows us to introduce young people and adults to working for a local government through their education, thereby encouraging them to pursue government employment," says De Jong. "This benefits both sides of the coin. Students benefit from a good internship, and we can offer them that. And we gain a fresh perspective and valuable questions from the students, and hopefully, later, their interest in working for us or another government agency."

Summa and the municipality aim to leverage each other's facilities, networks, and expertise through this collaboration. Meulesteen: "We see that finding suitable internships for our vocational students isn't always easy. It's therefore valuable that the municipality of Son en Breugel is explicitly open to our students and recognizes and facilitates the added value of their efforts. Our students bring expertise and a practical perspective to the organization. They are the backbone of our society. We know that many organizations already offer internships, and we are grateful for that. Where other government bodies, companies, or institutions see opportunities to connect or expand, we are happy to help shape them together."

With this partnership, Summa and the municipality demonstrate their shared commitment to investing in well-trained professionals for local and regional government. Students will have the opportunity to put their training into practice immediately, and the municipality will bring practical experience into the education system.

In the photo: Councillor Jelle de Jong (l) and Jochem Meulesteen.