diff --git a/.gitlab/vcvarsall.ps1 b/.gitlab/vcvarsall.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cf08be29a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitlab/vcvarsall.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# copied from KitWare's VTK CI scripts
+
+echo "Running VCVarsAll wrapper"
+
+cmd /c "`"$env:VCVARSALL`" $env:VCVARSPLATFORM -vcvars_ver=$env:VCVARSVERSION & set" |
+      foreach {
+          if ($_ -match "=") {
+              $v = $_.split("=")
+              [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($v[0], $v[1])
+          }
+      }
+
+echo "Path is now: $env:Path"