All you need is love!
The Netherlands has had a special place in the hearts of Macedonians Biljana Filovska and Dancho Nikolovski for many years now. Thanks to their love for each other, this country, and their family, they have finally realised their dreams.
Dancho first became familiar with the Netherlands and its culture 10 years ago, when he came here to study with his twin sister, Dragica. After their studies, Dragica met Daan Linders, a TMC account manager, and decided to remain in The Netherlands. Dancho went back to Macedonia to persue his own career path, and there he met Biljana. Together they dreamed of a future in The Netherlands.
“The first time I visited The Netherlands, I immediately fell in love with it.”
“The first time I visited The Netherlands, I immediately fell in love with it,” Biljana says. “This country has always played a big part in our lives. Not only did we visit Dancho’s sister Dragica and Daan as often as we could but, by coincidence, I also worked for a Macedonian-Dutch company based in Macedonia. I had Dutch colleagues and experienced the Dutch business culture. In addition, I also visited The Netherlands for training and learned more about the language and the culture. Whenever Dancho and I went on holiday to Europe, a visit to the Netherlands was always a part of the vacation.
Dancho says: “Biljana and I have been together for seven years now, and our plan has always been to get back to The Netherlands and continue our lives there. Of course, the fact that Dragica and Daan live in The Netherlands highly was a big influence on our decision and our drive to relocate.”
Even though Biljana and Dancho studied economics, their ambitions were to hold technical positions, and they were eager to continue their education and career in that field. Biljana: “We were keen to learn more about Supply Chain industry, and, at that time, Product Life Cycle Management was a new department in the Mechanical Engineering Faculty in Macedonia. It matched our interests and fulfilled our professional desires. For several years we studied for our Master’s degrees alongside our daily jobs. Finally, last year we completed our studies.”
“The help of TMC and the never-ending support of Dragica and Daan contributed in fulfilling our dream."
“Last February, Daan introduced me to Manufacturing Support account manager Lotte Geertsen,” Dancho continues. “Soon after, I had a job interview at ASML. I prepared well and spoke to colleagues from TMC who were working at ASML to get more insight of the Supply Chain and PLM department there. I bought a plane ticket, had the job interview and started working as a Project Coordinator in May. In the meantime, I introduced Biljana to Lotte and we discussed potential opportunities that matched her passions.” Biljana: “Lotte telephoned me in June and she offered me her full support in my next career step when I arrived in The Netherlands the following month. Lotte gave me guidance about which department would best suit me and connected me with management at ASML. She found a project for me, and at the end of August I began work there as a Supply Chain Engineer.”
Dancho: “The help of TMC and the never-ending support of Dragica and Daan contributed in fulfilling our dream. Now we have an apartment in Eindhoven and we have started our Dutch language lessons. Our motto is: 'hard work pays off'. Because of this, we have achieved our goal and are reunited with our family.”