From AZC to Labor Market: Early Intervention with Newcomers

Why it makes a difference whether you reach someone after 6 months or 6 years – and how corona completely changed our target group

“I want to work. I want to learn. When can I start?”

Omar (names are fictitious) suddenly appeared in our restaurant on a random afternoon in 2022. He had found us via Facebook, was still living in the asylum seekers' center, barely spoke Dutch, but radiated an energy that was infectious. He did not want to wait until his status was finalized, did not want to wait until he was housed somewhere, did not want to wait for a consultant to refer him.

He wanted it now.

A shift in target audience

At the beginning of our existence, we mainly received people who had been living in the Netherlands for a while. Status holders who had already partially completed their integration process, had been given a home, and were now ready for “the next step”. Often people who already spoke some Dutch and understood the basics of the Dutch system.

Later that changed completely. 

Due to all the delays in procedures, housing allocation and integration processes, we suddenly had people who were much earlier in their Dutch journey. People like Omar, who was still living in the AZC. People who had just received their first positive decision. People for whom everything was still new, overwhelming and full of possibilities.

In the beginning we saw this as a problem. The language level was lower. There was more uncertainty – sometimes people were transferred to another AZC, sometimes an application was disappointing. The bureaucratic foundation we were building on was much more unstable.

But slowly we realized that we had been given a unique opportunity.

The Difference

Yara came to us after living in the Netherlands for 13 years. She spoke Dutch well, knew the system, already had a network. For her, Grenzeloos was mainly a place to gain work experience and increase her self-confidence in professional situations.

Omar, on the other hand, literally saw everything for the first time. How did you order coffee? How did you greet Dutch colleagues? What was normal to ask for, what wasn’t? For him, Grenzeloos was a window into Dutch society.

The Power of First Impressions

People who joined us early formed their image of the Netherlands partly through their experiences at Grenzeloos. When they learned that Dutch colleagues help each other, that making mistakes is normal, that you can contribute your own ideas – then that became their frame of reference for all future work experiences.

There was a trainee from Guinea. For her, Grenzeloos was not a trajectory after many other trajectories, but her first real introduction to working in the Netherlands. The way we treated her also determined how she would behave in later jobs. That was a special opportunity. 

Motivation vs. Stability

What stood out was a huge motivation. People who had just arrived often had an incredible drive. They wanted to prove that they had been worth coming here. They wanted to show their families that the journey had not been in vain. They wanted to prove to themselves that they could do it. Some showed up every day, while they were actually only scheduled to come for two days. 

But that motivation was accompanied by instability. People could be suddenly transferred. Procedures could turn out differently than expected. Family members in the country of origin had crisis after crisis. The foundations of their lives had not yet been established.

Adapting Our Approach

This new target group forced us to adapt our approach:

Flexibility in planning: We learned to deal with sudden changes. If someone was gone for two weeks for a procedure, we had to make room for that.

Lower entry: We could take less for granted. What is a debit card? How does the public transport system work? What does “gezellig” mean? Everything had to be explained.

More intensive guidance: These people not only needed work coaching, but often also support in navigating the Dutch system in general.

Shorter cycles: Some courses that were intended to be long ended up being shorter intensive periods because someone's situation suddenly changed.

The AZC Factor

People who still lived in the AZC brought an extra dimension. They lived in an artificial community of people from all over the world, all in a waiting position. Grenzeloos was for them an excursion into the “real” Dutch world.

Omar told us how strange it was to go from an environment where everyone was waiting to a place where everyone was busy. Because everyone is on hold, there is a lot of chance for frustration, clashes or bad mental health. 

Traumas

A challenge of early intervention was that these people were often still in the middle of their trauma processing. Stories of war, flight and loss were still fresh. Suddenly in the middle of a workday someone bursts into tears because something reminded them of a painful experience. That brought extra challenges, but also very special vulnerable moments where our team could be there for someone who was struggling. 

The Language Acceleration

What we saw in early intervention was that people learned Dutch much faster than in traditional language lessons. They immediately had an application, a reason, a context. If a trainee had to explain to a Dutch guest what was in the soup, she had to. And then it often turns out that you can do more than you think. 

This practical language acquisition proved to be very effective, and many people made rapid progress through the extensive interaction. 

What We Learned

1. Timing is crucial: The sooner you reach people, the more influence you can have on their Dutch trajectory.

2. Motivation compensates for a lot: People who have just arrived often have a drive that is difficult to match later.

3. First impressions last: The way people experience their first work experience influences all their future expectations.

4. Flexibility is essential: With early intervention you have to take much more account of instability and unpredictability.

5. Context accelerates learning: Learning Dutch while you need it is much more effective than learning Dutch just in case you ever need it.

The Policy Implication

Our experience with early intervention made us realise that this is important for integration policy. Instead of making people wait for years until they are “ready” for the labour market, we should let them taste what is possible much earlier.

Not as a complete replacement for integration, but as a supplement. A way to give people hope, offer them perspective, and show that investing in the Dutch language and culture pays off.

Because what we saw with Omar, Mohammed, Yara and all the others was this: if you show people early on that they are welcome, that they have value, that they can contribute – it creates an energy that is difficult to recreate years later.

That is the power of early intervention. And perhaps the greatest opportunity for our current system.

In the next blog we dive into one of our biggest challenges: how do you organize a social enterprise in such a way that your impact goals are truly secured? And why governance is much more than just paperwork.