Moving from the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo to the tranquillity of Dutch Friesland. How do you even get to think about it? As a Brazilian, how do you know at all that there is such a place as Friesland? "Friesland not necessarily, but we knew about the Netherlands. We have an aunt in Alkmaar and had already been here on holiday." Caio Souza Oliveira is talking about himself and his twin brother Marcel, who moved to the Netherlands with him. They both work for ENTER, with a lot of pleasure and also pride. Below the story of Caio.
"After my studies in Brazil, where I obtained a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, I went to work in São Paulo. For a company like ENTER, only at ENTER we work for the client at their location and in São Paulo we took on the projects inhouse. I made software for companies like IBM and HP." Caio has only lived in the Netherlands for three years, but he is almost fluent in the language and his enthusiasm for the Netherlands is contagious. "This is such a beautiful country! Everything is much better here than in Brazil. It is quieter here, the houses are good, the lifestyle is more relaxed. In Brazil you always have to be afraid of violence, here you are free and safe. And the people are not only friendly, they are also open to you."
The fact that there are many opportunities in the Netherlands for people with a technical background was also an important part of the considerations. "The assignments are interesting here, but I didn't just want to come here on the off chance, so I applied first. I ended up at ENTER via the internet and after my application it went fast. We have been helped very well bij ENTER with finding a house and the documentation we needed. The personal contact I have with my manager is very valuable. Not just when I arrived from a foreign country, but always."
This also became clear when Caio, once in the Netherlands, moved to Friesland after six months in Eindhoven. His manager found him a job at Philips in Drachten, but after 2.5 years Caio thought it was time to move back to the south of the Netherlands again, where his brother still lived. He discussed this with his manager Koen. "In Drachten I worked on the Wake-Up Light as a technical project lead, but I was also responsible for the whole team. That team was also partly in China and I travelled there often. That interaction with a completely different culture in a completely different environment was cool. But at a certain point I wanted something different to develop myself again. Because I work for ENTER it was easier to arrange that than it would have been if I had had to do it myself".
Now Caio lives in the south of the Netherlands again, in a town near Eindhoven. Close to his brother in another village, but no longer together in one house. "In the beginning it seemed terrible to be separated. In Brazil we were always together. But not living together turned out to be less worse than it seemed and now we both got used and attached to our own personal space"."I really want to become a Software Architect, but I still have a lot to learn. I get that chance here."
Caio Oliveira
Residence permit
Caio still works for Philips, but in Best for IGT; Image Guided Therapy (see photo). "I've just made the switch, so I'm doing a lot of training, but I'm really going to focus on software development here. I really want to become a Software Architect, but I still have a lot to learn. I get that chance here. And what I also like about working in the Netherlands is that people, including your managers, are open to new ideas. What's more, it's very international, you get to know interesting people from all over the world". He would very much like to obtain a permanent residence permit for the Netherlands. "Now I depend on my work status," he explains, "but I love the Netherlands very much and I don't want to leave. In fact, I want to learn to speak the language even better and slowly become a Dutchman".
Would you like to read more about FORS, the project Caio is currently working on? Click here.