Meet Piet Vanwolleghem

Piet lives near Kortrijk, and is a big sports fan. “I like recreational mountain biking, swimming, and playing nerdy board games with friends – but not Monopoly,” Piet says, giving a wink.

In his current role, Piet mainly focuses on production, planning and warehousing. Since he’s also the leader of the Production and Planning COI (Community of Interest: a group of kindred spirits), the team sees him as the go-to guy for production and planning issues. And yet, Piet wouldn’t consider himself an expert. “Even after six years, there are still gaps in my knowledge that I’m looking to fill.”

Eager to learn

Especially when a new project starts, getting to grips with the customer’s business reality demands an “eager to learn” attitude. Piet explains: “On-the-job training has been crucial to my career at delaware. We like to hit the ground running.”

Over the years, Piet has completed several training courses. In his first year, for instance, he took an Advanced Warehousing course in Copenhagen, “because we were looking to implement AX’s new module at our customer,” he says. This year, Piet completed the Discrete and Process Manufacturing training, also in Copenhagen. “Given my interest in production and planning, my team lead was more than right to send me there!” 

After taking part in various training sessions, including on Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), Sensitive Consulting Skills and Presentation Skills, Piet also went to the Senior Consultant Bootcamp last year. The bootcamp is a 4-day program for newly promoted senior consultants, organized by the delaware academy. Piet then took the Priority Management course and signed up for the pre-sales training, both of which proved useful to his current activities. “During the bootcamp I’ve learned a great deal about giving feedback and being an inspiring leader. The Coach the Coach training really stood out to me, mainly because of the experienced course leader.” Piet can now apply this knowledge into his daily practice, which to him is a sign of quality training.

Training at delaware

delaware offers both hard and soft skills training. “In our line of business, soft skills are just as important as technical skills – if not more so,” Piet adds. “I’m actually more into project management now, and I’ve realized that those skills don’t come naturally.” At delaware you’re free to select any training session you’d like to join, even when that session isn’t part of the standard offering. Piet explains: “If you can convincingly argue why a certain course adds value to your work and your projects, chances are you’ll get approval to take that course right away.”

Piet’s tips on training

• Be open to soft skills training which may seem ‘strange’ at first glance: “I now know that I can be very direct, and that my method of communicating doesn’t sit well with some people. I’ve learned a lot about myself.”
• Training is meant for senior profiles too: everyone could do well with additional learning opportunities, “especially regarding new modules or features,” Piet adds.
• Life-long learning is a thing. Go back to that course material and brush up on those skills you once mastered.