After transitioning from the old ERP system to the new one, VRR quickly noticed that the Thinkwise Platform enabled far more flexibility for future plans and requirements. As a result, the demand for new features increased.
Van Roemburg explains: 

“This meant we needed to accelerate development and expand our team. We don’t aim to do everything ourselves, but we do believe in having enough in-house expertise to stay in control and avoid becoming dependent on external parties.”

“At first, we tried to recruit ourselves. But we quickly realized that young software engineers or recent graduates often don’t fully understand what model-driven development in an enterprise environment entails. Building apps or writing Java code is familiar to most, but what sits in between is harder to grasp.

Hiring a senior wasn’t the right option either - we already have strong seniority within the team. What we needed was additional capacity and fresh perspectives, but from someone who understands what they are stepping into,” says Erik van Roemburg.

Through Thinkwise, VRR was introduced to Sogyo. The concept immediately resonated: targeted matching, not just placement.

Sogyo’s approach focuses on broad development. In its Academy, trainees are trained in a short period of time to become software engineers, with attention to both technical and social skills. The approach is tailored to each client.

Sogyo selects candidates based on three dimensions: analytical ability, IT skills, and social capabilities. Equally important is the organizational fit: how a team works and what it values.

“I got to know Erik well through several conversations,” says Christa Roseboom, Commercial Director at Sogyo. “At VRR, you work in an IT team with different roles. Not everyone focuses on Thinkwise development, so a trainee needs to be able to work independently. That requires a specific type of person.”

The preparation before they join the team is extensive, Roseboom:

“In three months, trainees are prepared to become software engineers. They also complete a four-day in-house training at Thinkwise and work on a case in the Thinkwise environment to gain hands-on experience.

When they start, they do so for twelve months - not as interns, but as full team members, initially as external hires.”

For VRR, this approach quickly delivered results. The first trainee, Robin, made an immediate impact. Van Roemburg:

“Shortly after the initial conversations, Christa introduced Robin, our current junior software engineer. She has made a strong impact from the start. She has truly exceeded our expectations. She understands software development, communicates effectively with internal stakeholders, and performs strongly within the team.

VRR is a relatively small organization with around 100 employees, so there is limited time for extensive onboarding. A certain level of independence is required - and Sogyo clearly understood that.”

“We identified suitable tickets to begin with and worked on them together. Very quickly, she started picking up more complex topics independently.”

A larger project soon followed: the Vietnam operation.

“All processes we ran in Rotterdam needed to move from our Windows environment to an online environment, so they could also be used at our new location in Vietnam.

Robin took the lead on this, including standardizing and simplifying processes. She even spent three weeks in Vietnam working with end users to further refine them.”

The result: the operational process is now fully up and running.

“She is now continuing with further extensions and optimizations.”

Robin’s impact quickly led to the addition of a second engineer. Van Roemburg:

“Together with Sogyo, we conducted a team analysis to identify existing capabilities and gaps. We found that quality assurance was underrepresented and used that insight to define the profile for the second candidate.”

“If your team lacks seniority, it becomes more difficult to guide multiple junior engineers. But with juniors of this level, you see how quickly they learn and find their way within the organization.

The Thinkwise Platform supports that steep learning curve, but Sogyo’s preparation ensures that people are ready before they even start. That makes the difference.”

As development demand increases, you need people who can start contributing right away. Sogyo addresses this by providing engineers with a solid Thinkwise foundation, ready to learn and develop further on the job from day one.