VECOZO: Investing in knowledge development through tailored training

VECOZO, short for Veilige Communicatie in de Zorg (Secure Communication in Healthcare), is the central digital communication hub for Dutch healthcare. Through VECOZO's services, more than 45,000 healthcare providers, health insurers, care offices and municipalities exchange data securely. For almost 25 years, the organization has helped make administrative processes in healthcare simpler and more efficient through secure digital data exchange.

An organization with such a critical role sets high standards for software quality, security and continuity. That requires not just the right technologies, but also professionals who keep developing themselves.

Paul van de Louw, Team manager Software Development at VECOZO, explains how VECOZO invests in that. Together with three fellow Team managers, he is responsible for the seventeen scrum teams that build VECOZO's software. That software runs on two technology stacks: .NET and a low-code platform.

Passing on knowledge is a craft

As VECOZO grew from six to seventeen scrum teams, the need for a structured way to train new colleagues grew with it. The knowledge was there in abundance within the organization. The real challenge lay mainly in passing it on in a structured way to new colleagues and experienced professionals.

At first, VECOZO developed its own training programs. That worked, but it took a lot of time and effort from experienced colleagues. Paul explains: “We did it ourselves for two years. You really see how much work goes into it. We're not an educational institution, so at some point you realize: this needs to change.”

VECOZO was therefore looking for a partner who could think along on the content, design and delivery of the training programs, more than just a training provider. Betabit came into the picture through the existing collaboration. What Paul values in that is the way of working:

With other providers, you usually just order training off the shelf. With Betabit, it's genuinely tailor-made: how do we build a training program that fits? What do you need? What do you want to get out of it? We could bring all of that to the table.

A partnership that grows

The partnership between VECOZO and Betabit began with a tailored program for a Young Professional. From the start, the focus was not on the program, but on the participant. Each program starts with an intake, in which Betabit asks about current knowledge and the desired level. Based on that, Betabit puts together a tailor-made program for every participant. Throughout the program, progress was regularly reviewed and adjusted where needed. When it turned out more hands-on experience was needed, the program was adapted. The participant spent more time working within a VECOZO scrum team, while the content of the training was adjusted accordingly. According to Paul, that flexibility made all the difference.

The Young Professional program marked the start of a partnership that has grown steadily over the years. Betabit now provides various training courses for developers, testers and other VECOZO employees. “The colleagues who completed the Young Professional program still work at VECOZO,” says Paul.

The collaboration wasn't limited to training new colleagues. Betabit also strengthens knowledge development within VECOZO in other ways. The Security Fundamentals training, for example, is now a standard part of the training offering for all employees. For developers and architects, the Security Deep Dive training builds on that, with a focus on the practical application of security in day-to-day software development.

According to Paul, it's precisely these hands-on training courses that meet VECOZO's needs well. “The training brings developers and testers together. They go looking for possible vulnerabilities in an application together. That way, you don't just learn the theory, but above all how security works in practice.”

Betabit also developed a tailored training for the test community. The focus here was on strengthening collaboration and sharing experiences, alongside expanding knowledge. That training brought about exactly what Paul had in mind:

Guided by the Betabit trainer, the testers really started talking to each other about their craft. Experiences were exchanged, ideas discussed, and there was room for a healthy, in-depth discussion. That's exactly what I wanted to see happen with the test community: testers have become more active, find each other more easily, and share more knowledge with each other.

From individual growth to stronger teams

For VECOZO, that may well be the most valuable outcome of the partnership. Individual employees are developing, and teams are finding each other more easily: knowledge is shared more actively across the organization. The time saved is tangible too. Where it used to take VECOZO about a year to get a new colleague up to speed, with Betabit that now takes half a year or less. Four colleagues who completed the program are now working there, enjoying their work.

For Paul, the strength lies in the open way of working together. Betabit thinks along with what VECOZO needs and delivers tailor-made training as a result, with training that fits real-world practice and evolves alongside the organization. “Really pleasant, really open, and genuinely transparent too. I get a look behind the scenes of how things work. I don't feel like I'm being sold something. That's something I like.”

Ready for the future

Knowledge development will remain an important theme within VECOZO in the years ahead. New technologies, such as AI, are changing the work of developers and testers at a rapid pace. At the same time, Paul sees that skills like collaboration, communication and giving feedback are becoming increasingly important.

That's why VECOZO keeps investing in training that helps employees keep developing: technically, but above all in preparing for the changes the profession will bring in the years ahead.