🎬 Multilingual subtitles
✍️ By: Team BC1.NL
What kind of work do they do?
In the hospital, they aren't labelled with the Dutch term "Wajong" (which covers young people with a long-term illness or disability that limits their ability to work), but are simply called trainees. Lorenzo prepares the lunch and takes the food round, while Princilla works in the operating theatre, where everything has to be clean and sterile. She cleans, restocks, and smooths down the beds, and according to her colleagues she does it without ever drawing attention to herself. To visitors and patients they often stay invisible, but not to the people they work with.
How are they supported?
Carefully, especially in the beginning. They start with ten trainees, most of whom work in the restaurant. After a few months, the team looks at where each of them thrives best, and from there they're spread out across the hospital. It's all kept tight and straightforward, with no drawn-out guidance sessions.
Why does it work here?
Because of the people themselves. The drive of the staff who've taken this on is enormous, those involved say, and there's often a personal motivation behind it. That, above all, is what makes the difference.
Young people with a disability at work, a government target for 2026
The Dutch government has set itself the goal that by 2026, no fewer than 100,000 young people with a disability will have found a suitable job. Reaching that target depends heavily on successful examples of organisations and employers working together.
MC Slotervaart hospital offers lasting opportunities
One standout example is MC Slotervaart hospital in Amsterdam. Working closely with the UWV, the Dutch employee insurance agency that handles benefits and helps people back into work, the hospital has for several years given young people with a work limitation the chance to develop through internal training and targeted work experience.
Hands-on guidance in the workplace
What makes this approach work is the intensive, personal guidance. The young people aren't only chosen for their abilities, they also receive support from colleagues on the shop floor. That keeps the barrier low, makes the learning process effective, and improves the odds of a lasting job.
From training to a real job
The results speak for themselves. Young people such as Marella have gone on to paid positions, including in the call centre. Other tasks, like handing out meals and making up beds, are by now carried out routinely by trained young people. That takes a considerable load off the care staff, freeing up three to four hours a day.
Not out of charity, but out of strength
The hospital is keen to stress that this isn't a form of charity. These young people deliver real, concrete value and take on tasks the staff often don't get around to. That's what makes the project both sustainable and efficient, socially as well as economically.
An approach worth following
More than 100 young people have now been trained at MC Slotervaart, and the number keeps growing. The hospital shows that with a well-thought-out approach, offering work to young people with a disability isn't just achievable, it pays off. An inspiring example for other care institutions and employers across the Netherlands.
