Nico Geerlings as a guest at Bollenstreek Entrepreneurs

On Sunday, September 16, 2018, Nico Geerlings from FHS was interviewed by Bart Weijers in the program Bollenstreek Ondernemers. Each week, Bollenstreek Ondernemers focuses on an entrepreneur from one of the five municipalities. In Bollenstreek Ondernemers, Nico Geerlings talked about how FHS, Flexible Human Services, originated, what FHS does, and how he sees the future for the company and the Industries.

The start of FHS

Nico Geerlings initially started in the agricultural industry, but eventually started his own employment agency. Through his work in his father's company, he came into contact with many workers from different countries, from Irish to English and Polish. Within his father's company, working with labor migrants went very well. An associate in his network was having problems with workers and came to Nico Geerlings for help. Eventually, he helped his associate find good labor migrants. One thing led to another, and Flexible Human Services was founded in January 2002.

Recruitment of labor migrants

FHS has now built up a large and trusted network in Eastern Europe. Because Flexible Human Services has a good reputation here, local offices are eager to work together. FHS does not have its own offices in Eastern Europe, but it does ensure that the quality of the office and its workers is maintained. Traditionally, many labor migrants came from Poland and the Baltic States; nowadays, many are recruited in Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

Housing for labor migrants

Providing workers with housing is a basic need. Good housing is the foundation for motivated workers and is therefore very important for FHS. The workers must be able to live in decent conditions and feel at home. That is why flexwonen.nu was started to eliminate abuses and misunderstandings about labor migrants, housing, and exploitation. Flexwonen.nu now offers around 1400 to 1500 housing places for labor migrants.

Continuous learning and certifications

Nico Geerlings believes it is important for himself and his employees to continue learning. That is why all employees are currently taking an English course to be able to communicate in multiple languages. In addition, FHS meets the criteria of various certifications, such as SNA, SNF, VCU, and ABU. If you are a member of these certifications, you are checked every six months or year. Nico Geerlings himself is on the board of ABU and therefore faithfully monitors the criteria of the various certifications.

FHS also has its own education center. In this education center, FHS gives its workers the opportunity to learn Dutch. They then follow an intensive traineeship for six weeks in a row. Especially the workers who intend to stay in the Netherlands longer have the motivation to do this well and continue learning. The labor migrants don't have to do anything, but: 'people who join are the talents of tomorrow.'

FHS in the Netherlands

At the FHS office in Noordwijkerhout, 40 people work with 5 to 6 different nationalities. In total, FHS has 1500 to 2000 talents at its disposal and there are now more than 140 clients for whom FHS supplies employees. The employment services of FHS extend from the head of North Holland to Rotterdam and Utrecht.

The future of FHS

Nico Geerlings sees a lot of opportunities in technology and construction, as there is currently a shortage in the Netherlands in these sectors. However, this requires certain knowledge, so the workers will have to be retrained. There is also a labor shortage in healthcare, but communication between the patient and healthcare provider quickly becomes a problem there. That is why FHS offers the education center to teach the workers Dutch so that they can work in these types of Industries.

At the moment, a lot of aging is taking place, but Nico Geerlings sees a change coming in that. The rise of younger labor migrants will then follow quickly. Temporary employment will always remain and will be a gateway to permanent employment in the future.

Working at FHS

Listen to the full radio program below. Would you like to know more about FHS? Are you curious about what we can do for you? Or do you want to apply directly? You can! Contact us or apply directly via our website.