Originally he was employed as an airforce officer, however after his study in geography, he chose a career in education.
Till 1993 he was rector (head of daily ongoings) of the secondary school community in Ter Apel.
There he was responsible for Operatie Hartslag (operation heartbeat), which was supposed to lower drugproblems by taking care of addicts and increasing police presence.
During his term in office he was responsible for the increased cooperation between the three local technology cities Eindhoven, Aachen and Leuven.
On 1 September 2007 Sakkers resigned early as mayor of Eindhoven to become chairman of Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN).