MPs visit UG Facility Support

Last Friday, NSC MPs Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen and Daniëlle Jansen visited Facility Support, a department at the University of Groningen where people with support needs work. After a warm welcome, Arthur Hilberdink, Jelmer Kiewiet, Maud Kruizinga, and supervisors Christiaan, Curt, and Jaimie gave a presentation on what our department does and what it has achieved so far.

In particular, the personal stories of staff members Christiaan and Curt made a deep impression. Christiaan talked about his impressive transformation: from a closed institution, with no qualifications and a history of crime and addiction, his life is now completely on track. He is taking a BBL training programme in logistics, is debt-free, and has built a nice life together with his girlfriend, who also works at Facility Support.

Curt talked about how he came to us via a job coach from the municipality of Groningen after four years of staying at home. Curt will soon start supporting Maud as a work supervisor and use his life experience to help the group. To this end, he will receive training funded by the University of Groningen.

We discussed, besides impressive personal stories, the challenges and impact that the University of Groningen has, and what challenges Facility Support faces both regionally and nationally.

Regional challenges and influence

• The UG’s social commitment and desire to become an inclusive organization.
• The importance of job agreements that contribute to the reduction of benefits, healthcare costs, poverty, and loneliness.
• The influence of the UG on the regional labour market as one of the region’s largest employers.
• The impact of Facility Support with regard to the reduction of crime and addiction problems and the integration of people with mental disorders into the work process.

National challenges

• A one-stop shop for all social services to increase efficiency, clarity, and cost savings.
• A uniform working method within all municipalities in terms of job coaching and accountability.
• Assigning people with benefits under the Word and Income Act (WIA) to the special positions to comply with the Quota Act, contributing to a fairer labour market.
• More available resources from the government for coaching people with support needs.

The proposed cuts resulting from the Framework Coalition Agreement will not only impact academic education, research, and innovation, but are also likely to affect our department. Departments, faculties, and service units could experience a higher workload as a result, which could put pressure on the supervision of people with support needs. This could, for instance, lead to stagnation within the special position or less BBL training and training funding for Facility Support staff.

After our presentation, we jointly visited a waste island in the Academy Building where Daniel and Timmy spoke about their work. Both staff members had a fruitful conversation with the MPs, who were interested in the waste management process at the UG. Afterwards, we visited Danaé, who works as an administrative assistant at HR & Health, where she handles the administration that is related to the participation jobs at the UG. Danaé also shared her personal story and talked about the pleasant support she receives in her work.

It was an informative meeting for both parties, where we as a department not only had the opportunity to present our work, but also to share the challenges and successes of our staff with MPs Van Oostenbruggen and Jansen. Facility Support was grateful for their visit.

On behalf of the Facility Support department, Arthur Hilberdink