Yuris left the horeca business for the world of Safety

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” If anyone has taken these words of Winston Churchill to heart, it is Yuris Teerlinck. The corona crisis forced him to leave his job in the hospitality industry abroad, and he took his first steps in the logistics sector. In February 2021, he signed his contract with us, and since then he has discovered his passion: Safety.

First steps in logistics
“I started as a filling operator in hall 804 in Wilrijk, with the goal of growing in the company. After 4 months I became a trainer there. That position appealed to me thanks to my studies as a secondary school teacher. I didn’t finish those, but I did learn that training suited me. I really liked that experience as a trainer because of the variation between giving trainings and the associated administration. At the same time, I made many strides in working in a structured way. I had never needed it until then, but the position required structure in the job, so I started working on it. I am definitely proud of what I accomplished my 2.5 years as a trainer: providing training, onboarding, and starting up the new filling hall 843.”

Interest grows into passion
“When I started as a trainer, my manager had told me that I could determine my career path myself if I wanted to advance. I did just that by following my interests: in my capacity as a trainer, I often worked with people from the Safety Department. From those conversations, my interest in the field grew, so I enrolled in the Level 2 Prevention Advisor course. I completed that in September 2023.”
“Meanwhile, this year I got the opportunity to perform the position of on-site Safety Specialist in Wilrijk, and I can say that the interest has further developed into passion. I am learning an enormous amount about the safety and health procedures that apply at our site. That helps to implement both existing and new guidelines in the field of Health & Safety.”

From passion to purpose
“My goal is to grow within H.Essers to prevention consultant. Since I don’t have a higher education degree, I need five years of experience after my Level 2 prevention consultant training before I can start Level 1. That gives me plenty of time to think about what further steps I want to take.”
“I also don’t rule out taking on a foreign challenge in the future. In my field, I still have to explore whether it is feasible, and in what capacity. But I don’t want to anticipate too much; first I would like to become a prevention consultant.”