Recently we caught up with Francois Emin, to find out more about his experience of moving to The Netherlands to work at OPRA Turbines. Read what he had to say below:
Looking back after one year I can say it was easier than expected. I am impressed by how little time it took for us, a family of four, with 2 young children aged 7 and 10, to fully settle down. Before moving, together with my wife, we were nervous of many things, especially the language, but soon realized that we were getting along with speaking English only and our kids quickly started to get on with speaking Dutch, making friends and joining all sorts of activities in school straight away. I am thankful to OPRA for the initial help.
I enjoyed the time in Boekelo as I didn’t have to struggle with any issues related to accommodation straight after starting a new job. The bike provided by OPRA also helped to get around. I had the time to adjust in my new position and prepare for the family for relocation.
I really enjoy it here, it is very easy to travel around and to reach other countries in Europe, you can bike everywhere which helps you to find your own pace, and there is a very good and work-life balance. Yes the weather can be tough, I do still cook Italian food, but the positive energy from work and the community is tangible and contagious!
I was looking for this environment exactly, a small company with an ambitious mindset, which provided the flexibility I was searching for. After one year in OPRA I got the chance to progress into a new role. OPRA is a relatively small company compared to the company I used to work for. Here there is a lot of positive energy, the Dutch culture helps for sure, but it is the entrepreneurial mindset promoted in OPRA that I appreciate the most. It is a very open and transparent environment that allows you to interact with everybody in the organization, helping to make things happen and develop faster.
There are a lot of opportunities to develop and grow your career. Once you join OPRA, you are exposed to the entire lifecycle of our products. Innovation is in fact one of our core values, you can tell this from the outside, but really there is much more going on internally every day. I can feel that, with all our activities and decisions, our company is part of the energy transition and our products are participating in something bigger. Here I have realized that we are not just being affected by the energy trends, but we are in fact driving them.
Francois Emin, Product Line Specialist at OPRA
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