Develop beyond your role: inside the VINK International Talent Development Program
At VINK, we believe our people are our strongest asset. Our success across Europe is built by colleagues who know our customers, run our Profit centres and lead our teams every day. That is why we invest in them, and why we keep looking for the next generation of leaders within our own ranks. The VINK International Talent Development Program is one of the clearest expressions of that commitment.
A programme designed for the next step
The International Talent Development Program is for ambitious high potentials in the VINK family: colleagues who are ready to grow one level into a larger management role within our European business. It is not a classroom course followed by a certificate. It is four weeks of learning in the real world of our business, across several countries, with exposure to senior leadership and a concrete assignment that has to deliver results.
Four weeks, two countries, two journeys
In 2026, Robin from Belgium and Bartosz from Poland set off together for four weeks that took them through the UK and the Netherlands. They shared their experiences week by week and their stories show what the programme is really about.
Week 1: the UK, customers and leadership
The programme began in the UK with visits to Amari Plastics Manchester, IN2 Plastics and Specialist Engineering Plastics, where they also sat in on the monthly management meeting. Robin's highlight was seeing complete pickup truck beds made from PP. Bartosz valued seeing how other VINK branches operate, and thanked the UK colleagues for making him feel part of "one big plastics family". The centrepiece of the week was a three-day Dale Carnegie leadership training with a group of eight. Robin had expected three days of training, but found an interactive experience full of challenges, honest feedback and plenty of laughter. The openness and support within the group gave her a real confidence boost. Bartosz called it one of the best trainings he has ever taken part in. The week ended with a short stop in London.
Week 2: the Netherlands and the power of sharing
In week two, the pair travelled across the Netherlands, visiting Vink Kunststoffen in Didam, our largest profit centre in Europe, as well as Vink Techniek, Vink GVK, Schreinemacher Kunststoffen, Plastica Thermoforming, Microtherm and Vink VTS. Every location was different, but Robin noticed one thing kept coming back: the willingness to share, learn and collaborate. The conversations covered innovation and development, e-commerce and pricing, leadership and change, operational challenges and even the limits of the Dutch electricity grid. Both participants also got up early to join a driver on his delivery route in one of our newest electric trucks, a reminder that understanding the business means seeing it from every seat. Bartosz described the conversations as open and down-to-earth, and still found time to explore Amsterdam, Marken and Volendam.
Weeks 3 and 4: an individual assignment, in another country
In the second half of the programme, each participant works individually on a research assignment in a profit centre outside their own country.
Robin stayed in the UK. At Innotech, she explored sales and purchasing processes and saw how differently some things are organised compared to Belgium. She then joined the two-day UK Operations Meeting, where profit centre managers from all UK locations discussed topics from AI to CRM, with guest speakers in between. And yes, her team won the pub quiz tournament. She finished at Amari Plastics Nottingham, shadowing General Manager Cheryl Smith to learn from the changes Cheryl has implemented over the past years. There she worked through warehouse and transport operations, customer visits, sales and marketing processes and product training on window films. "You made me feel like part of the team," she wrote to the Nottingham colleagues.
Bartosz spent his two weeks at Microtherm in Oudkarspel, a specialist in CNC machining and turning of plastics. Together with General Manager Kevin Visser and the team, he analysed and compared the business models of Microtherm and his own company in Poland to see what each could learn from the other. The four weeks, he wrote, flew by "definitely too quickly".
At the close of the programme, both presented their findings and recommendations to the VINK European Leadership Team.
What they take home
Robin returned to Belgium with "valuable insights, unforgettable experiences, fresh ideas" and an even greater appreciation for the people who make our organisation what it is. For her, the end of the programme is not the end of what she learned from it. Bartosz returned to Poland ready to take on the challenges of his local market, even better prepared than before.
Their stories share a common thread. Beyond the knowledge of sales, operations and leadership, both were struck by the people: colleagues in every country who opened their doors, shared their experience and made them feel welcome. That openness is something we are proud of, and it is what makes development at VINK work.
Grow with us
For our colleagues, a career at VINK does not have a fixed ceiling or a single border. Someone who starts in a profit centre in one country can grow into a management role, contribute to projects in another and build a career that spans Europe. Are you looking for an employer that takes your development seriously, gives you real responsibility and opens doors across Europe? Take a look at our current vacancies, or, if you already work at VINK, talk to your manager about your ambitions!
