Our vision and mission

Sustainable business relationships are based on honesty, openness and trust. We help our clients develop such relationships by teaching them to listen more actively, speak contructively and present their position more confidently in their counterpart’s language.

We provide high quality language training both from a customer service and teaching perspective. We guarantee an open, productive relationship with our clients and place effective learning solutions above short term gain. Most importantly, we value the long-term relationships with our trainers and clients, relationships that are essential to provide the programmes our clients demand.

What do our clients say?

The Dutch Central Bank

The Dutch Central Bank is responsible for ensuring financial stability in The Netherlands. As a direct result of the increase in international operations and the close cooperation with other European Central Banks, we increasingly demand a high level of English and Dutch from our staff and staff on secondment from other banks.

In 2008 we chose The Square Mile as exclusive supplier of language training. They provide English and Dutch courses for staff throughout the Bank. The organisation, trainers and results achieved are of a very high standard and we are extremely satisfied with the personal and professional partnership with The Square Mile.

Human Resources

DLA Piper Nederland N.V.

DLA Piper Nederland N.V. is part of DLA Piper, a global legal service provider with over 3,700 lawyers operating in 30 countries. DLA Piper combines this international network with a strong position in the Netherlands, where it has long been established in the local market. Over 200 employees, including more than 100 lawyers, notaries and tax consultants, offer high quality legal services to both Dutch and foreign clients. English is the language of instruction in many cases between our clients and lawyers; it is also widely used throughout our own organization. Consequently, knowledge of Business English is of great importance to almost all our employees.

Since 2008, we have been working closely with the trainers and staff of The Square Mile to increase our knowledge of Business English and, where necessary, to refine it. Several times a year, various levels of Business English courses are provided at our offices, followed by examinations at the British Council. The courses are fully appreciated by the participants, who talk with great enthusiasm about the trainers. The personal collaboration between the trainers and staff of The Square Mile makes for great results every time. That’s why we highly recommend The Square Mile!

Manager, Human Resources

Struik & Hamerslag

Struik & Hamerslag is a leading producer of luxury yacht interiors. All the employees are craftsmen who need to be able to communicate with each other, clients, project managers and designers in the Netherlands and worldwide. Understanding designs, discussing requirements and problems  and finding solutions are all situations when a good command of English is essential.

In 2010, The Square Mile organised in-company training for 25 employees, aimed at improving the technical language skills of the team.  A number of the staff had expressed the desire to improve their spoken and written specific technical vocabulary skills.

We would like to congratulate The Square Mile on the speed and efficiency with which they set the programmes up. The courses themselves were a great success, all 25 employees who followed the training felt that they had made considerable progress and felt more confident. Additionally, the course was arranged with financial support from the SSWM (subsidy body for training within the interior design industry) which made the courses even better value for money! Without doubt we will use The Square Mile again in the future as we are guaranteed a professional approach and delivery to the training.

Marco Struik, Director Struik & Hamerslag

IRC International Water & Sanitation

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre is an international knowledge centre providing information on drinking water and sanitation and hygiene behaviour in developing countries.

The main task of IRC is the dissemination and sharing of knowledge. This is done through newsletters, websites, publications and articles in journals. Good writing skills are therefore essential. Together with The Square Mile, IRC staff members are trained in improving their writing & editing skills in English. Course content is planned in consultation with The Square Mile and course participants can apply what they have learned immediately in practice.

Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton is a mid-sized business specialising in accountancy and financial business advice located throughout the Randstad. We are affiliated with the worldwide network of Grant Thornton International Ltd. English is frequently the language of choice for contact with clients and colleagues in our international network. Additionally, Netherlands based clients often use English as their business language.

Excellent quality is one of our key values and this means we need to be able to speak English well with our clients. The Square Mile’s business language programmes contribute significantly to this. Personal intake and assessment interviews ensure that courses are tailored to the participants’ needs and are at the right level. The trainers often come from an accountancy, legal or secretarial background which adds significantly to the value of the course and ensures that our employees learn language within an appropriate context. Finally, the close contact between The Square Mile and Grant Thornton ensures the programmes are always of a high standard.

Human Resources