Jaouad Khamkhami: From student to managing director
As a freshman, you can be a little unsure. What will you do with your degree? Will it lead to a job that suits you? Jaouad Khamkhami had the same questions when he first arrived at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. Now he is managing director of Particibaan. He has this message for all students: "Believe in yourself. Start with your passion. That’s how you make a difference."
Jaouad knew that he wanted to make a difference for many people from an early age. "I tutored students who were behind at school. I sometimes led classes at a primary school. I wanted to help disadvantaged people to move forward." But instead of teacher training in primary education, he chose to study Public Administration/Government Management. "I was attracted to the combination of social and political aspects in this course. I wanted to be of significance to society as well as politics. I haven't regretted my choice for a moment. THUAS is an open and welcoming university of applied sciences."
Growing up in Schilderswijk
"I like to know things, like how policy is created. What can you do with it? At THUAS I was given the freedom I needed to deal with questions like that. Because I finished my first year cum laude, I could do my bachelor's at the university of applied sciences during the day and my pre-master's at Leiden University in the evening. I completed them both at the same time."
It might sound like it all came easily to him. But his path to the university of applied sciences was far from easy. "I grew up in Schilderswijk. It used to be called a disadvantaged neighbourhood, these days its known as a problem neighbourhood. You have a one-sided network there without role models you can look up to."
'I caught up in high school'
"Not much has become of many children I was in primary school with. They couldn't get out of their disadvantaged position. I managed to do so in secondary school. But without any role models it doesn't happen automatically. Fortunately, young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods often have a brother, sister, uncle, or cousin with a university of applied sciences or university education. But you still find a significant number of people who have been unemployed for years. All this hidden talent is going to waste."
Jaouad knew that he wanted to make a difference for many people from an early age. "I tutored students who were behind at school. I sometimes led classes at a primary school. I wanted to help disadvantaged people to move forward." But instead of teacher training in primary education, he chose to study Public Administration/Government Management. "I was attracted to the combination of social and political aspects in this course. I wanted to be of significance to society as well as politics. I haven't regretted my choice for a moment. THUAS is an open and welcoming university of applied sciences."
Growing up in Schilderswijk
"I like to know things, like how policy is created. What can you do with it? At THUAS I was given the freedom I needed to deal with questions like that. Because I finished my first year cum laude, I could do my bachelor's at the university of applied sciences during the day and my pre-master's at Leiden University in the evening. I completed them both at the same time."
It might sound like it all came easily to him. But his path to the university of applied sciences was far from easy. "I grew up in Schilderswijk. It used to be called a disadvantaged neighbourhood, these days its known as a problem neighbourhood. You have a one-sided network there without role models you can look up to."
'I caught up in high school'
"Not much has become of many children I was in primary school with. They couldn't get out of their disadvantaged position. I managed to do so in secondary school. But without any role models it doesn't happen automatically. Fortunately, young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods often have a brother, sister, uncle, or cousin with a university of applied sciences or university education. But you still find a significant number of people who have been unemployed for years. All this hidden talent is going to waste."
An email to the Secretary General
During his studies, Jaouad did all he could to help fellow students on the sidelines. He joined the academic council of the Faculty of Public Management, Law and Safety. He became a member of the board of appeal. That’s when he noticed that THUAS was already quite considerate of different target groups. "But as a student you also had to get involved yourself. You could get further by thinking outside the box. Students like me with a non-Dutch name found it harder to find an internship. There was little the university of applied sciences could do. So I wrote an email to the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior, explaining my situation. A day later, I was invited for an interview and within a week I could start working as an intern."
Senate candidate member
Jaouad has been managing director of Particibaan for eight years now. It is an organisation that gives people on the sidelines career prospects. Its website states: “We believe in a society in which everyone participates”. How was his trajectory from THUAS to Particibaan via the Ministry of the Interior?
'How many politicians know the vulnerable people they are debating about?'
"After graduating, I became a project manager at the Ministry of the Interior. Nice work. But there I was helping people who could manage without me. At that time, I became a candidate member of the Senate for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). That’s when I thought: how many politicians know the vulnerable people they are debating about? To satisfy this dilemma for myself, I changed jobs. As a self-employed worker in employment services, I discovered that even for social reintegration agencies it was far from easy to stand up for disadvantaged people. We have really complex social legislation in the Netherlands. That’s when I decided to develop a platform that could guide people to jobs who would otherwise not manage without this help. That was the beginning of Particibaan."
Intensive counselling
Particibaan gives people job prospects after intensive counselling. "If you have been sitting at home for three months, you are already distanced from the labour market. If you live on benefits for ten years, that distance becomes huge. We teach these people employment skills. How do you make sure you get to work on time? How many hours will you work? Starting full-time work is bound to fail. We train people in a simulation room in our job development centre. We give them on-the-job language training and practical training. That’s how we prepare them for the labour market and eventually we can give them a job guarantee. We have helped many people find work who have been on the sidelines for a long time."
Back to THUAS
His graduation was ten years ago. Does he still get a lot out of his time at THUAS? "Absolutely. There was a focus on strategic thinking there, whether for policy development or for self-reflection. All things I still benefit from in my work. The same applies to what I did alongside my studies: the academic council and the board of appeals. I learned to view the practical situation from several different angles. I still benefit from that."