Prince Ndouna is on a mission: to become an absolute expert in electrical engineering. In TMC, he finds an important ally on his journey. Eight years since he joined TMC Paris, Prince still there, fidèle au poste. ‘I realize I am in a very good place, so why go looking elsewhere?’

Prince’s roots lie in Congo. He left his home country to go studying in Senegal. He then moved to France, where he obtained his master’s degree in electrical engineering. Life in France was good, so Prince decided to kick off his career there as well.

My profile was exactly right for the job TMC had found for me

Prince put down a couple of conditions. The most important one being that his job should revolve around electrotechnology. ‘I was told that my profile was spot on, in terms of knowledge and experience in the field. So, I said: okay, let’s do business. I met with TMC first, we exchanged ideas, and soon after we did the same at the customer. It turned out that the match was perfect indeed, so I could start quickly.’

Both familiar and challenging

A perfect match, but still a challenging role, Prince explains. ‘In my new role, I could build on my electrotechnical baggage. But the automotive industry is a world on its own, with many norms that I had to discover. Also, I had to develop my negotiation skills. I was the link with suppliers and had to ensure they met a great number of very technical requirements. In the meantime, I kept an eye on budgets and deadlines. An exciting new opportunity for me, which I grabbed with both hands. It did take me out of my comfort zone, so I worked long days to learn everything that I had to learn.’

Human touch

In these early years, Prince and his manager at TMC were in touch a lot. ‘We spoke on the phone almost every week. The genuine interest they had in me and my personal goals and ambitions was refreshing. When I think back on these starting years, I get a lot of great memories.’

Thinking of my early years at TMC, I get a lot of great memories

When his first project came to an end, Prince felt the liberty to request TMC to look for a challenge in a completely different sector. He moved from automotive to the medical industry. ‘I got involved in validation tests of systems for blood analyses. These machines are an impressive combination of many very different advanced technologies: mechanical, electrical, automation, hydraulics, thermal. I performed tests to validate the collaboration between all these different components.’

Springboard

Prince enjoyed this role for five years, which he considered an important springboard in his career. ‘When I started at TMC, my main objective was to become an absolute expert in electrotechnology. After my first assignment, I realized that to do so, I needed to learn how electrotechnology interacts with other systems or domains. I discovered this during my second assignment, where I obtained a whole new set of competencies. But then, it was time for me to return to a role more centered around electrotechnology and resume my journey towards becoming this expert I wanted to be.’

Back to automotive

Prince expressed his wish to change jobs to his colleagues at TMC who started looking for a matching challenge. Prince landed at another player in the electric automotive industry. ‘I still consider myself as an electrical engineer, but my role is called Test Plan Engineer. I coordinate validation testing of the complete system of the electrical motor and the inverter. We carry out climatological, environmental, thermal endurance, noise, vibration and harshness and performance tests. In my role, I work with a lot of different departments. It is a fascinating job, right in the core of both product development and electrotechnology. I feel great being a part of this.’

Personal growth

Prince is excited about the growth he has gone through since starting at TMC. He acknowledges that the coaching he received early on in his life as an employeneur played an important role in getting where he is right now. ‘The coaching sessions helped me to take a step back and reflect on who I was, where I was and most importantly: where I wanted to go. It allowed me to go looking inside myself and find out what I wanted, and why. To this day, when I think about my next steps, I always go back to what I learned about myself in my first year at TMC.’

The coaching I received early on still guides me in making decisions today

TMC has also grown over the past eight years. When he joined, Prince was the second employeneur in France. Eight years later, the TMC office in the French capital has grown to over one hundred employeneurs. Still, TMC has always been there to help Prince in his mission of becoming the best electrical engineer he can be. ‘It’s TMC’s personal approach that suits me well. There’s a true openness at TMC about pretty much everything. I can have an honest conversation with my managers about what I bring to TMC, what I would like to devote my time to and what I get in return. I haven’t come across anything like this anywhere else. I know many examples of people who hop a lot between companies, but I don’t feel that need. Really, why would I go looking elsewhere?’