Unleashing Talent in Brussels, Belgium

1. Assessment and Recommendations

Abstract

Rising employment over the past decade in the Brussels-Capital Region has provided ample opportunities to attract and retain highly skilled talent. Meanwhile, many less-educated workers and parts of the large local migrant population continue to struggle in the labour market. This OECD review focuses on how to support labour market services and programmes that respond to the distinct needs of those Bruxellois whose talent is not used in the labour market. This first chapter provides a set of policy recommendations for the region and its local authorities. The focus is on four areas: First, the need to simplify and strengthen the governance of employment and related services, which are currently fragmented across different actors and institutions. Second, the necessity to activate the large long-term unemployed and economically inactive population in the region. Third, a stronger focus on supporting the local migrant population in overcoming distinct barriers to employment. Finally, against the background of changing labour markets, the increasingly important task to raise participation in continuous education and training.

There is an increasing importance in the Brussels-Capital Region to help people with multiple disadvantages enter and remain in the world of work

The Brussels-Capital Region is the largest commuting zone in Belgium. The population of the Brussels-Capital Region was around 1.2 million inhabitants in 2021, compared to around 6.7 million in the Flemish Region and 3.7 million in the Walloon Region, the two other regions of Belgium. There are over 824 000 working-age inhabitants (defined as 15-64 years of age) in the Brussels-Capital Region. This corresponds to 67% of its total population, compared to 63% in the Flemish Region and 64% in the Walloon Region. The surface area of the Brussels-Capital Region covers only 162 square kilometres. However, its functional urban area – or commuting zone – which extends well into parts of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region, is home to a population of over 3.3 million and covers over 4 800 square kilometres.

A distinct feature of the Brussels-Capital Region is its highly diverse population. In 2022, 53% of the Brussels working-age population was foreign-born, reflecting its attractiveness to both EU and non-EU migrants. Both groups made up 24% and 30% of the local population respectively. The profile of working-age migrants from EU-27 countries differs significantly from that of migrants born outside the EU-27. In 2021, 59% of migrants aged 25 to 64 who were born in EU-27 countries were highly educated, many working for the European institutions and the organisations surrounding them. Among non-EU migrants in the same age category, only 31% are highly educated, while 39% have low levels of education.

Labour force participation in the region is low. The labour force participation rate in the Brussels-Capital Region, defined as those either employed or unemployed among the population aged 15 to 64, stood at 66% in 2010 and rose only slightly to 68% in 2022, remaining well below that of comparable OECD metropolitan areas. The unemployment and long-term unemployment rate are gradually coming down. Both measures declined from 17.1% to 11.4% and from 9.5% to 6.1% between 2010 and 2022 respectively, but also remain above the OECD average.

Total labour demand has increased significantly over the past decade. The total number of job vacancies reported by employers in the Brussels-Capital Region to the Public Employment Service (PES) rose from 18 000 in 2009 to 67 000 in 2022. Similarly, online job vacancies posted by local employers increased from 66 000 to 245 000 between 2018 and 2022. While this upward trend can partly be explained by an increasing propensity of employers to report vacancies, the job vacancy rate has also increased over time, from 2.8% in 2012 to 3.2% in 2019 and 4.0% in 2022. The rise in labour demand has been uneven across economic sectors. Logistics and the industry sector, which include occupations such as machinery mechanics, electromechanics and welders, experienced the highest increase in the number of reported job vacancies through 2022.

Despite this overall rise in demand for workers, employment rates among people with lower levels of education remains low. In 2022, the employment rate of individuals with low levels of education in the Brussels-Capital Region was 44%, compared to 60% on average in the OECD and 84% among highly educated individuals in the region. While a relatively lower labour market attachment of those with a lower level of education is a feature of many OECD urban labour markets, the share of such individuals is very high in the Brussels-Capital Region. In 2020, the share of 25- to 64-year-olds with only lower secondary education stood at 27%, well above that in comparable OECD metropolitan areas such as Berlin (13%), Amsterdam (16%) and Vienna (17%), and other Belgian regions (Flemish Region: 18%; Walloon Region: 23%).

What are policy options to promote high-quality local job creation in the Brussels-Capital Region?

This report offers recommendations for i) labour market governance, ii) labour market programmes iii) the labour market integration of individuals with migration backgrounds and iv) skills and adult learning.

Recommendations for strengthening the governance of labour market services across levels of government

Successive reforms of the Belgian State have shifted far-reaching responsibilities in employment and skills policies from the federal level to lower levels of government. This shift has created new structures, without always reforming legacy arrangements and organisations.

The landscape of active labour market services is very complex in the region

Subnational governments in Belgium have major responsibilities for policies that support the labour market integration of the unemployed and the economically inactive. The region’s public employment service (PES), Actiris, implements regional competence in the field of employment and runs a large portfolio of Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs). In contrast to regional government responsibilities over employment and economic policy matters, Belgian language Communities have competence over policies such as education and health. Belgium is composed of three Communities based on language, the Flemish (Vlaamse Gemeenschap) French (Communauté française) and German-speaking (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft) Communities. Community authority does not fully overlap with the territorial divisions of regions. Due to the Brussels-Capital Region’s bilingual status, this division of powers gives the French and Flemish Communities responsibilities for vocational training of jobseekers.

The Brussels-Capital Region is unique in the OECD for separating ALMPs for employment services from those for labour market training into three institutions. Actiris is the main point of contact for jobseekers and employers. Actiris matches jobseekers to vacancies, conducts availability checks and administers active labour market programmes, such as employment incentives. Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding Brussel) provide labour market and vocational training in French and Dutch respectively. The split in ALMPs responsibility is unique compared to the other Belgian regions (Table 1.1). This arrangement is also unique considering other OECD countries with decentralised responsibilities for ALMPs. Subnational PES usually manage both jobseeker placement and training (e.g. Denmark, Spain, Canada, Poland), while national government sets policy orientation and administers unemployment insurance benefits.

In most OECD countries, PES advise individuals on training options, though provide limited training in-house. In the Brussels-Capital Region, Actiris sends jobseekers to Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel for training, which both contract out part of their services to certified public, private and social economy organisations. Jobseekers can also use training vouchers (chèques formation et chèques TIC) to enter other training options. The training bodies in the region also run a large share of their labour market training in-house. In most OECD countries, PES contract out nearly all training to specialised providers such as vocational schools or social economy organisations. Other PES in the OECD contract out training to ensure cost efficiency and labour market relevance of training, as extensive teaching and vocational expertise is not typically available in-house.

Agreements between Actiris and its training counterparts facilitate jobseeker pathways. A 2012 “Employment Training” agreement (accord de coopération relatif aux politiques croisées emploi-formation) between Actiris and Bruxelles Formation offers financing mechanisms between the bodies and develops joint projects. The politiques croisées agreement took major steps to articulate Actiris and Bruxelles Formation services through financing and joint assessment. Cooperation between Actiris and VDAB Brussel, meanwhile, is guided by an agreement in which Actiris refers jobseekers to VDAB Brussel for jobs requiring Dutch. A 2021 agreement furthered collaboration between Actiris and VDAB Brussel through different measures, including expanded data exchange, to encourage a greater number of jobseekers in the region to take up jobs in the Flemish Region.

Despite progress made through agreements, institutional barriers remain to streamline labour market services and jobseeker orientation. A potential disconnect continues to exist between case handling and training referral, calling for an integrated and unified registration process and orientation of jobseekers. Jobseekers can shift between organisations and counsellors throughout their journey. VDAB Brussel policies are also less interlocked with those of Actiris and Bruxelles Formation, leaving room for closer integration of programmes, such as joint assessment of jobseekers. Outside the agreements, cooperation has yielded projects of interest, such as the Employment Training Hubs (Pôles Formation Emploi - PFE) or the Cité des métiers. Due to the separation of powers between governments, these have not aimed to integrate jobseeker journeys between institutions.

Table 1.1. Active labour market policies in the Brussels-Capital Region are organised in a complex way compared to other Belgian regions

Main institutions responsible for labour market programmes across Belgian Regions and Communities

Type of labour market programme	Active labour market policies (ALMPs)						Income-replacement benefits
OECD classification of targeted labour market programme	Public employment services and administration	Training	Employment incentives	Sheltered and supported employment and rehabilitation	Direct job creation	Start-up incentives	Out-of-work income maintenance and support	Early retirement
Brussels-Capital Region (French Community)	Actiris	Bruxelles Formation	Actiris				National Employment Office (Office National de l’Emploi - ONEM)
Brussels-Capital Region (Flemish Community)		VDAB Brussel	Actiris
Flemish Community/ Flemish Region	VDAB
French Community/ Walloon Region	Le Forem
German-speaking community	ADG

Note: Although PES provide services to persons with disabilities, the provision of sheltered and supported employment and rehabilitation is mainly the remit of Communities in the Brussels-Capital Region through the Entreprises de Travail Adapté (ETA) scheme.

Source: Author’s elaboration based on Actiris and (OECD, 2022_[1]), Coverage and classification of OECD data for public expenditure and participants in labour market programmes, https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/Coverage-and-classification-of-OECD-data.pdf.

Adequate financial and staff capacity is needed to deliver labour market services to the most vulnerable people

Municipalities (communes) and specialised social economy bodies are the main point of contact for vulnerable individuals who receive social benefits. Municipal CPAS (Centres publics d’action sociale – CPAS) administer social benefits, including the Belgian minimum income benefit, “Social Integration Revenue” (Revenu d’intégration sociale - RIS). In addition to benefit administration, CPAS provide minimum income recipients with social and labour market activation measures. CPAS remit over ALMPs partly originates in their power to deliver “CPAS contracts” (Article 60/Emplois d’insertion) to incentivise hiring of RIS recipients in the local community. CPAS also have a partnership with Actiris that outlines their role in helping social assistance recipients into jobs. Actiris finances CPAS activities for this group.

CPAS (Centre public d’action sociale) face capacity gaps that weigh on their ability to provide employment services to the most vulnerable. Data suggest social needs are growing in the region. The number of RIS recipients as a share of the total regional population increased from 2.8% in 2015, to 3.3% in 2019 and to 3.6% in 2022. Rising numbers of minimum income recipients and a stronger policy emphasis on the labour market integration of individuals registered with CPAS has raised the importance of helping minimum income recipients find jobs.

Faced with similar challenges, OECD countries have explored different ways of delivering ALMPs to the most vulnerable who do not benefit from unemployment insurance benefits. Some countries have increased the role of PES for this group, while others have strengthened the structural capacity of municipalities to deliver labour market services. In the region, Actiris already delivers its services to a share of people receiving social assistance benefits from CPAS. In June 2023, over 15 500 CPAS clients were enrolled in Actiris, or 21.7% of all registered unemployed in Actiris. CPAS counsellors, however, continue to face difficulties to provide services to all claimants as the number of applicants rises and social needs become more complex.

Actiris and CPAS contract out a range of programmes to different groups of social economy organisations that perform social and labour market integration. They include work integration social enterprises (entreprises d’économie sociale d'insertion), led by the Brussels-Capital Region through Bruxelles Economie Emploi (BEE) in collaboration with Actiris. Agences Locales pour l’Emploi (ALE) provide part-time work while jobseekers are unemployed. Entreprises de Tavail Adapté (ETA) provide sheltered and supported employment. They also include a group of organisations operating at the municipal level focused on basic training, labour market services and social activation programmes for vulnerable groups. These include the Lokale Werkwinkels, Missions locales, Organismes d’insertion socioprofessionnelle (OISP) and Socioprofessionele Inschakeling (SPI).

While the different social economy schemes are an asset for social inclusion in the region, complex governance and project-based financing can pose challenges to social economy organisations delivering ALMP programmes. Social economy schemes such as ALE and entreprises d’économie sociale d'insertion are not always linked. As shown in Table 1.2, social economy schemes provide labour market services along with CPAS. Small organisational size and reliance on project-based financing also poses challenges to provide long-term services. Complex accountability structures may further affect programme responsiveness. Mission locales boards, for example, are composed of representatives from municipal government, private actors and social partners.

Maisons de l’emploi offer strong prospects to develop into wrap-around service delivery points. Local Actiris offices are located within Maisons de l’emploi. Maisons de l’emploi group together local employment actors within a single structure, including social economy schemes. Providing employment and related services through “one-stop” shop solutions to meet the holistic needs of individuals is a trend also observed in other OECD countries (e.g. Denmark, Finland, and France). In some municipalities in the region, the different services, however, are not operating in a single location. Furthermore, some actors such as Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel are not always associated. Based on practice occurring across the OECD, governance questions will need to be resolved through clear and innovative ways of delimiting responsibilities, incentives and mechanisms to deliver services. Maisons de l’emploi offer an opportunity to clarify the roles of different actors to maximise the use of resources.

Table 1.2. CPAS and the social economy support inclusion in the region’s labour market, though greater coherence between actors could improve impact

Main characteristics of CPAS and social economy bodies listed by policy role, legal form and target group

Body	Centres Publics d’Action Sociale (CPAS)	Agences locales pour l’emploi (ALE)	Entreprises de Travail Adapté (ETA)	Lokale Werkwinkel/Missions locales	Organismes d’insertion socioprofessionnelle (OISP)/ Socioprofessionele Inschakeling (SPI)	Work integration social enterprises (entreprises sociales d’insertion)
Main policy role	Social benefits, social and labour market activation	Part-time employment during job search	Supported employment (disability)	Social activation and labour market counselling	Labour market training, specific labour market services	In-work training, hiring incentive
Legal form	Public municipal body	Not-for-profit organisations or associations (ASBL – Associations sans but lucratif)				Private (ASBL or business) or public legal entities1
Target group	Individuals receiving social benefits	Long-term unemployed jobseekers, minimum income recipients	Jobseekers with disability	Long-term unemployed jobseekers, other jobseekers	Jobseekers and minimum income recipients	Youth, long-term unemployed jobseekers and minimum income recipients

Note: Work integration social enterprises that take the form of public entities are usually CPAS offering tailored labour market integration services.

Source: Author’s elaboration.

Recommendations for strengthening labour market governance across levels of government

Create a single process for jobseekers through employment and vocational training services

• Work towards an integrated approach of employment services and management of labour market programmes. Potential reforms of the Belgian federal system may offer an opportunity to create an institutional arrangement between Actiris, Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel to simplify jobseeker pathways, integrate processes and streamline referral to training from Actiris. A new arrangement may go beyond collaboration around specific projects (e.g. Cité des métiers, PFE), to a systemic, integrated and articulated single process of providing employment services and job matching and referrals to labour market training. Specific areas to consider include (partial) institutional integration, common software use, a joint jobseeker file, single intake of jobseekers, joint skills assessment and training orientation, and joint liaison with employers.

• Evaluate the modes of delivery of labour market training for jobseekers. In a unique arrangement among OECD countries, Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel orient job seekers through training, while both also provide training directly and contract out training. The difference in employment service organisation and training delivery relative to other OECD PES does not necessarily call for change to match institutional arrangements elsewhere. Considering the most common practice in OECD countries, however, the region may evaluate costs and benefits of contracting out a larger share of training to not-for-profit, private and public training organisations. In 2022, Bruxelles Formation contracted out a smaller share of its training offer than VDAB Brussel.

Better align social economy schemes that deliver labour market services to maximise impact

• Define the complementary roles of social economy schemes delivering labour market services (ALE, entreprises d’économie sociale d'insertion, Lokale Werkwinkels, Missions locales and OISP/SPI). The policy role of the different social economy schemes may be defined jointly in an institutional agreement between municipalities, the region, social economy leadership and social partners. Structuring their policy role may consider the target group each organisation is serving, their specific role in jobseeker pathways and how each structure complements or articulates with the actions of others. For example, the region may consider creating a pathway for individuals between part-time work in ALE to eventually transition to full-time jobs in entreprises d’économie sociale d’insertion.

• Encourage social economy schemes to pool resources and define a regional funding strategy for delivery of labour market services by the social economy. For example, the region could encourage collaboration among and between Lokale Werkwinkel/Missions Locales and other OISP/SPI to help organisations pool resources around joint projects. A more structural method of collaboration may include creating a single governance board for schemes that currently have individual boards in each municipality in which they operate. For example, one option to explore involves creating a single governance structure for Missions locales across municipalities, favouring greater scale for project-based funding. In France, youth-focused Missions locales created a national organisation, the Union Nationale des Missions Locales (UNML). Reforms may also define a regional funding strategy for ALE, Lokale Werkwinkels, Missions locales and OISP/SPI that considers a balance between structural and project-based financing.

Strengthen labour market services for vulnerable individuals and reinforce Maisons de l’emploi

• Strengthen labour market services for individuals receiving social assistance. Municipal social assistance centres, CPAS (Centres Publics d’Action Sociale – CPAS), face capacity challenges to fulfil their mission to help minimum income (Revenu d’intégration sociale – RIS) recipients search for work due to a rising number of clients. Experience from other OECD countries offers options for the region to strengthen the labour market activation of this group. Based on arrangements in certain OECD countries (e.g. Slovenia), one option includes further increasing the already existing counselling role of Actiris for RIS recipients to access a larger set of labour market services. Alternatively, more structural capacity could be granted to CPAS to deliver employment services in-house, as done in OECD countries where municipalities deliver employment services (e.g. the Netherlands). New jobseeker and financial arrangements may be established in a renewed partnership agreement between Actiris and CPAS.

• Further strengthen Maisons de l’emploi as a “one-stop” shop for social and employment services. Maisons de l’emploi may be able to play a stronger central role in the 19 communes of the region as the point of convergence of employment and related services, echoing moves towards “one-stop shop” wrap-around services in other OECD countries. Different “one-stop” shop models exist. A “light” form includes joint reception centres where basic services are provided under one roof, as done through Finnish one-stop-shops for youth (Ohjaamo), but clients are referred to other services for more specialised support. More comprehensive models provide all services in the same place and within the same case management process. Enabled by the strong decentralisation of services, certain Danish municipalities have developed a higher degree of administrative integration of services. Increasing the remit of the Maisons de l’emploi can be achieved by raising the number of organisations that are administratively included (e.g. training organisations). Training actors, for example, already play a greater role in the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Maison de l’emploi et de la formation. Maisons de l’emploi offer a location where service streamlining can occur. They are a space where staff from different administrations can integrate approaches and knowledge.

Recommendations for strengthening pathways through active labour market programmes to prevent long-term unemployment and economic inactivity

The Brussels-Capital Region’s unemployment and long-term unemployment rates declined steadily over the past decade but nevertheless remain high. In 2022, the unemployment and long-term unemployment rate among individuals aged 15 to 64 in the region stood at 11.4% and 6.1% respectively in 2022. While these headline indicators remain high compared to other OECD metropolitan areas, the Brussels-Capital Region’s labour market showed resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, partly supported by the federal government’s income and liquidity support measures that mitigated the pandemic’s effect on labour markets across Belgium. As employment rates among medium and high-skilled Bruxellois rise, the region brings policy focus to those with lower levels of education and more complex needs.

Individuals with low levels of education or complex needs require greater policy attention

The very low labour force participation in the Brussels-Capital Region is to a large extent driven by people with a lower level of education. Among less educated working-age men and women, the labour force participation rate stood at 51.2% and 31.6% in 2021 respectively. The participation rate is significantly below the EU-27 average for those with lower level of education, for both men (59.9%) and women (41.7%). In addition, the share of less-educated is also relatively high in the Brussels-Capital Region. The share of 25- to 64-year-olds in the Brussels-Capital Region’s population who obtained only lower secondary education or below stood at 26.9% in 2020, above the level of Belgium as a whole (20.2%) and the EU-27 (21.0%), and well above that of OECD metropolitan areas such as Vienna (16.7%), Berlin (12.9%) and Stockholm (11.4%). The low participation rate among the less-educated is partly caused by a lack of demand for low-skilled labour. While the demand for high and medium-level educated workers in the Brussels-Capital Region’s rose significantly even before the COVID-19 pandemic, labour demand for less-educated workers was low. Between 2010 and 2019, the ratio of vacancies over jobseekers reported to Actiris that required medium and high levels of education rose from 0.2 to 0.5 and from 0.6 to 0.8 respectively. For less educated workers, the ratio remained constant at 0.1 over the same period.

The tightening of the labour market presents policymakers in the Brussels-Capital Region with an opportunity to also boost participation of the less educated and the economically inactive. Between 2019 and 2022, labour demand rose most sharply in logistics and administrative professions but also increased in professions that tend to require relatively lower levels of education, such as security and cleaning. The recent rise in demand for workers in professions that require low and medium levels of education presents an opportunity for the Brussels-Capital Region to facilitate the integration of those with a higher labour market distance into the labour market. Additional efforts to increase the size of the labour force will also help alleviate the pressure faced by local employers that increasingly struggle to fill vacancies with adequately skilled workers.

The relatively high demand for less educated workers in those parts of the Flemish Region that surround the Brussels-Capital Region may present additional opportunities for jobseekers with lower skill levels and the economically inactive. The Brussels-Capital Region’s functional urban area, or commuting zone, extends well into parts of the Flemish and Walloon Regions and is home to a population of 3.3 million. An analysis of job vacancy data from Flemish Brabant, the Flemish province surrounding the Brussels-Capital Region, shows that a significant share of job vacancies in Flemish Brabant matches the profile of jobseekers in the region. For instance, in 2022, 17 700 job vacancies in Flemish Brabant only required a low level of education, corresponding to approximately 2 in 5 of all vacancies posted. The potential of the Flemish labour market for jobseekers based in the Brussels-Capital Region has also been acknowledged in an agreement to facilitate interregional mobility between the Brussels-Capital Region and the Flemish Region signed in 2021. It was followed up by a cooperation agreement between Actiris and VDAB in 2022.

Some sectors offer opportunities for those with lower levels of fluency in Dutch. While Dutch language requirements in some sectors such as trade and sales may pose an obstacle to cross-regional mobility, other sectors such as transport and logistics offer employment opportunities without significant investment into language skills. To encourage mobility, Actiris covers transportation costs for those attending Actiris partnered job fairs or interviews in the Flemish and Walloon Regions. The federal government – through its unemployment insurance fund – also offers a mobility allowance for people in long-term unemployment for a maximum of three months. Actiris’ principal tool for mobility to the Flemish Region lies in commissioning with VDAB Brussel to place jobseekers interested in Dutch language workplaces. Jobseeker mobility has been significantly strengthened by the 2021-2022 agreements between the Brussels-Capital Region and the Flemish Region and regional PES, including a much broader exchange of vacancies.

Labour force participation among older workers in the Brussels-Capital Region is also significantly below that of comparable OECD metropolitan areas. Demographic change brings about new labour market challenges. Across the OECD, the ratio of people aged 65 and over to people of working age is projected to rise from 1 in 4 in 2018 to 2 in 5 in 2050. Working closely with employers to ensure that older workers remain part of the labour force has therefore become a priority across the OECD. In the Brussels-Capital Region, the labour force participation rate among workers aged 55 to 64 years and those older than 65 stood at 60.1% and 4.7% respectively in 2020. In both age groups, the participation rate is well below the OECD average of 64.4% for 55-to 65-year-olds and 15.5% for workers aged over 65. By comparison, Stockholm manages to retain 24.5% of workers above the age of 65 in its labour force.

The region could adopt a stronger activation stance to increase employment, while job demand in neighbouring regions presents opportunities for new matches

Actiris offers a wide range of job matching services and labour market programmes comparable to national public employment services in the OECD. Federal and regional government in Belgium devote a greater share of expenditure on active labour market policy (ALMP) relative to the OECD average. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, federal and subnational employment services in Belgium jointly spent 0.92% of GDP on active labour market programmes, compared to an average of 0.63% across OECD countries. There may not be a need for the region to increase spending on ALMP, but rather to refocus spending on high impact services.

Actiris job matching is based on a counsellor-led approach with support from digital tools. Jobseekers can register for Actiris online and self-manage their job search through the MyActiris job matching platform. Specialised counsellors, meanwhile, work directly with employers. A single full-time Actiris counsellor managed an estimated 120 jobseekers in 2022. The Actiris “Link” programme, in which jobseekers who complete training are given the option to follow intensive counselling, may serve as an intensive counselling approach for those most in need of help. In Link, counsellors have a caseload of around 30 jobseekers. Short-term unemployed jobseekers with the capacity to manage their job search independently may also not make sufficient use of online self-service tools. Between January and September 2022, less than half of jobseekers registered with Actiris online (46%). In countries such as Sweden and the United States, for example, nearly 91% and 77% of jobseekers registered respectively online in 2021.

Automatic vacancy transmission with the Walloon Region may not be fully developed as it is with the Flemish Region. Actiris receives vacancies in other Belgian regions both from the other regional PES and directly from employers. The number of job offers received from VDAB has increased from nearly 376 000 in 2021 to almost 760 500 in 2022 since the automated data-exchange between VDAB and Actiris started. However, only 11 000 job offers from Le Forem in the Walloon Region were available in Actiris in 2022, despite mounting labour shortages in southern Belgium. Job offers in the Walloon Region present specific opportunities for Bruxellois given lower language barriers.

Belgium has relatively less strict criteria around the job search process to continue receiving unemployment insurance benefits in comparison to other countries. The federal government defines criteria around suitable employment to be sought and accepted by jobseekers, geographic mobility criteria, job-search requirements and sanctions. As Belgian regions define the ways in which evaluations are carried out, they have considerable leeway in the implementation and operationalisation of federal rules.

Availability and job search requirements are relatively less strict in Belgium, while sanctions are steeper relative to neighbouring countries. Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in Belgium are unique in the OECD for their unlimited duration, calling attention to the expectations placed on jobseekers to search for work. Geographic mobility criteria are of comparable strictness to the OECD average. A firmer application of geographic mobility criteria (maximum 60 km or two-hour one-way commute), while also taking personal circumstances into account, could encourage jobseekers to accept jobs in the region’s periphery. This approach would build on progress made since 2022, which instituted new collaboration between Actiris and VDAB. Rules around job search intensity are lower than in most neighbouring countries. For example, Actiris carries out initial availability check at the earliest after nine months of unemployment, while the German PES already carries out such checks within six months of unemployment. Finally, sanctions for failure to comply with rules are steeper in Belgium compared to most neighbouring countries.

Recruitment incentives are not sufficiently paired with training, while low quality jobs can reduce the durability of matching outcomes

A major focus of Actiris ALMPs include employment incentives, aimed at encouraging employers to employ jobseekers. Employment incentives absorb the largest share of spending on active labour market programmes in Belgium aside from PES administration. Federal and subnational PES in Belgium devote 25% of spending on ALMPs to employment incentives, compared to 3% in France and Germany, 4% in the Netherlands and 49% in Luxembourg. Programmes in the region include the activa.brussels hiring subsidy available to all jobseekers, or Stage First to encourage employers to hire young people. Reductions in employer payroll contributions are also used.

Employment incentive schemes are not paired closely with labour market training and are not sufficiently targeted. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the Brussels-Capital Region spent a little under 20% of its labour market expenditure on training, a smaller share compared to the Flemish Region (25%) and the Walloon Region (31%). According to a survey of Actiris’ active labour market programme participants, 60% of activa.brussels and Stage First participants did not receive in-work training. Training paired with incentive programmes can help participants meet the potential skill requirements to transition into unsubsidised labour when the wage subsidies are phased out.

Currently, some but not all labour market policy programmes are evaluated. Institutions such as View.brussels and the Institut Bruxellois de Statistique et d’Analyse (IBSA) are growing their programme evaluation role. As the region considers changes to programmes, including greater evaluation of labour market programmes can help assess what works given the region’s specific population. Indeed, its highly distinct population makeup may limit transferability of labour market policies trialled and evaluated elsewhere. View.brussels may prioritise evaluation of the host of employment incentives in the region.

The quality of jobs is a challenge requiring greater consideration in active labour market programmes while not excluding temporary employment as an opportunity. Contractual quality and earnings at the low end of the income distribution are a greater challenge in the region compared to other parts of the coutnry. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, temporary employment reached 15.5% in the Brussels-Capital Region, 5.6 percentage points higher than the Flemish Region (9.9%) and 3.7 points greater than the Walloon Region (11.8%). Involuntary part-time work as a share of total employment stood at 9.4% in 2018 in the Brussels-Capital Region, a share that is also significantly higher than in the Flemish (3.9%) and the Walloon (5.9%) Regions. It is important to note temporary employment can be a first step into a job for many of the most excluded. Falling working conditions in sectors with high labour demand in the region and its periphery may also be contributing to labour shortages, further raising the need for policy attention. Counsellors have an important role to play to consider individual situations while being cognisant of the low durability of matches to low quality jobs.

Recommendations for preventing long-term unemployment and increasing labour force participation in the Brussels-Capital Region

Support activation and geographic mobility

• Consider the introduction of additional labour market measures to support geographical mobility of jobseekers, building on the 2022 cooperation agreement between Actiris and VDAB. While the unemployment benefit legislation in Belgium gives considerable leeway, facilitating the mobility of workers who live in the Brussels-Capital Region requires an assessment of available infrastructure on a case-by-case basis by Actiris staff. Such assessments could include the estimated commuting time to potential places of work and an assessment of caregiving responsibilities among jobseekers. Based on the large number of vacancies received by Actiris from the VDAB, vacancies could be screened for those that are in commuting distance and meet the language skills of jobseekers from the Brussels-Capital Region, notably with regards to Dutch language requirements. For jobseekers able to work in the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital Region could introduce transport subsidies that cover the additional commuting cost. Belgium has a mobility allowance, but it is restricted to the long-term unemployed. Some OECD countries go further and support the relocation of jobseekers for employment.

• Increase the activation stance of Actiris. Using its leverage over the method by which jobseekers are evaluated, an initial availability check can occur earlier than the nine months currently in place, while renewed checks for those assessed negatively in a first interview may occur more frequently than the minimum five-month interval. Actiris may also consider firmer application of geographic mobility requirements. Where possible given its competence, the region may seek to adapt the application of sanctions to the different circumstances faced by jobseekers.

• Widen automated vacancy transmission with the PES in the Walloon Region, Le Forem, to Actiris. As done with VDAB, the PES in the Flemish Region, an agreement with the Walloon Region is an opportunity to receive all vacancies from Le Forem, widening francophone job offers available. Ideally, jobseekers should have vacancies for all of Belgium at the fingertips, as for example the Austrian PES achieves with the data base Alle Jobs (“all jobs”).

Secure greater face-to-face time with jobseekers and review the design of employment incentives

• Strengthen the intensity of counselling in Actiris for those most in need. The region should consider maximising counsellor time for those with higher distance to the labour market. After an initial meeting, internal processes may invest more time in those evaluated to require greater help. In tandem, more jobseekers may be encouraged to register using self-service options from the first day of registration. Jobseekers that demonstrate at least basic digital skills through registering online via MyActiris should be compelled to job-search independently until the first personal meeting.

• Strongly recommend labour market training for jobseekers entering jobs under employment incentives and increase targeting. Counsellors may be encouraged to liaise with employers and jobseekers about the specific skills needs of employers and capacity of jobseekers to enter training. In-work portions of training for those entering jobs benefiting from employment incentives should be clarified between employers and jobseekers (i.e. workplace expectations and goals, hours devoted to training, mentorship). The payment system for activa.brussels and other employment incentives should be reviewed to ensure employers and workers receive payments on-time with minimal paperwork, for example though direct payments from Actiris.

• Labour market policy evaluations in the Brussels-Capital Region could be extended to cover all active labour market policy programmes and include medium-term labour market outcomes. Evaluation efforts could be extended to cover all active labour market policy programmes using quasi-experimental methods to guide the application of different labour market programmes. Recent evaluations such as the evaluation of “integration contracts” by IBSA only focus on short-term employment outcomes. Evaluations by view.brussels and IBSA could be extended in their time horizon and cover medium-term employment outcomes of programme participants in addition.

Increase programme focus on job quality and older workers

• Support local companies in retaining older workers by creating age-appropriate continuous education and training opportunities. The Brussels-Capital Region could invest in re-skilling and up-skilling services specifically geared towards older workers. Successful local and regional initiatives from other OECD countries can serve as inputs into such services. For instance, the region could cooperate with regional universities and education providers to design modular training courses, similar to the Hoger Onderwijs Voor Ouderen (“Higher Education for The Elderly”; HOVO) in the Netherlands. Such modular offers could take into account the learning preferences of workers aged 50 years and above and use teaching methods, such as traditional lectures with interactive elements, that suit these preferences. The content of modular course offers could further consider the demand for knowledge and skills specific to the region’s labour market.

• Accelerate implementation of a permanent job quality observatory and consider its use for active labour market programmes. To best assess sectors in which job quality is a challenge, the region may follow through on plans in the “Go4Brussels 2030 Strategy” for view.brussels to introduce a permanent observatory of job quality. Creating a local survey of job quality is strategic to ensure adequate regional data is available. The impact of observatory findings may be best supported by an agreed set of definitions and indicators among social partners. It will also be important for sectoral partners to support view.brussels with data and information. Information for the observatory may be supported by findings from an employer survey (discussed in section four below). Front-line counsellors can be encouraged to use observatory findings to support durable job matches.

Recommendations to support jobseekers with a migrant background to become economically active

The diverse population is one of the greatest assets of the Brussels-Capital Region, but some segments of the population with a migration background require additional support to become economically active. Not all groups of migrants are equally well integrated into the labour market. Only 61% of migrants aged between 15 and 64 years born outside the European Union were part of the region’s active labour force in 2019. A large gender gap in labour force participation among non-EU born migrants persists. In 2019, only 49% of women aged between 15 and 64 years old who were born outside the EU-27 were economically active in the Brussels-Capital Region. The labour force participation rate of working-age women born outside the EU-27 is higher in other large OECD cities such as Berlin (59%), Vienna (60%) and London (65%). One of the reasons for the low labour market attachment of non-EU-27-born migrants is the large share of family migrants. In the Brussels-Capital Region, more than half of the working-age non-EU-27-born migrant population came for family reasons rather than for employment. Among family migrants, 63% are female and 43% have a low level of education. The labour force participation rate of non-EU-27-born migrants who came for family reasons is 35 percentage points lower than for those who came for employment.

The government of the Brussels-Capital Region has reacted to the challenges faced by its migrant population by drawing up a plan to combat labour market discrimination and promote diversity. Amongst others, the “15 pledges” by the government of the Brussels-Capital Region include documenting acts of labour market discrimination more accurately, engaging with the private sector to combat hiring and on-the-job discrimination, improving public sector diversity, simplifying the reporting and sanctioning of discriminatory acts in the labour market, supporting victims of discrimination in the labour market and improving the recognition of prior skills of jobseekers who obtained their education abroad.

Discrimination in the labour market poses a barrier to employment for people with a migration background. For instance, several experiments that send fictitious CVs to employers in the Flemish Region establish strong patterns of hiring discrimination. While experiments at the same level of detail are not yet available for the Brussels-Capital Region, self-reported discrimination data indicate that some migrants experience discrimination in the labour market. Some progress has been made to promote diversity plans in companies of the Brussels-Capital Region through Actiris’ employer Diversity Plans. Diversity Plans involve a differentiated offer to employers to help them mainstream good practices to support diversity in the workplace – including with respect to migration background – through human resource practices. Since 2010, 273 employers have developed Actiris-supported Diversity Plans.

People with a non-EU-27 migration background are also underrepresented in the public sector of the Brussels-Capital Region. The public sector employment rate among migrants with a non-EU-27 background is at a similar level as private sector employment. The public sector therefore does not yet fully reflect the diversity of the city. In 2019, 35 208 workers of Belgian origin aged 18 to 64 years worked in the public sector, corresponding to 21.5% of the Belgian-born population in the same age group. By comparison, only 11.4% of migrants originating from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb region, the largest groups of immigrants from outside the European Union in the Brussels-Capital Region, were employed in the public sector.

A challenge faced by migrants who originate from non-EU-27 countries is the lack of recognition of their formal education obtained abroad. People with a migration history who are employed are more likely to be overeducated than the native-born. 44% of registered job seekers with Actiris are foreign-born people whose degrees have not been recognised. In the Brussels-Capital Region, an administrative process run by Belgium’s language Communities is required for regulated professions such as accountants and teachers. Across the EU, it is estimated that around 20% of workers are employed in regulated occupations. Although this process can be lengthy, it is needed for this group of occupations. Those seeking work in unregulated occupations do not require a specific degree. Employers can decide whether a candidate is suitable for the job, offering greater policy leeway for the region to encourage informal recognition.

Language skills in French and Dutch are strong predictors of labour force participation among migrants from non-EU-27 countries but a large share is lacking these skills. In 2021, non-EU-27 born migrants aged between 25 and 64 years who spoke French or Dutch as their mother tongue were 7.2 percentage points, 10.1 percentage points, 30.0 percentage points more likely to be economically active than advanced, intermediate and beginner-level speakers respectively. Non-EU-27 born migrants with hardly any or no language skills in French or Dutch were 38.9 percentage points less likely to be part of the labour force. Among non-EU-27 born migrants, a share of 23% report only intermediate proficiency in at least one of the local languages, while 17% report beginner-level or no language proficiency. Among migrants registered with Actiris who obtained their highest qualification abroad, one in three have at most basic skills in either Dutch or French, signifying the importance of language training.

Language and a broader civic integration training benefit newly arrived migrants with a low attachment to the labour market. In the Brussels-Capital Region, newly arrived migrants from non-EU countries who register with a municipality are required to take a mandatory integration course. These integration courses are offered by the Dutch-speaking and the francophone communities. They consist of an assessment of education and qualifications, a civic integration course, a language course (either Dutch or French) and basic labour market counselling. Beyond these mandatory integration courses, a plethora of language and vocational training courses exist for Brussels’ migrant population but these are no longer mandatory.

Services combining language training and childcare offers are important to facilitate access to employment for women with a migration background. Women of all origins across Belgian regions are more likely to be involuntarily economically inactive to look after children and other dependents than men, but the number of children in households of foreign origin is higher on average. Actiris has taken specific steps to support jobseekers with childcare responsibilities through partnerships with childcare centres in the Brussels-Capital Region. The initiative includes the Actiris Maison d’Enfants temporary day-care centre for parents and guardians for emergency needs during their job search and for the first three months of employment.

Recommendations to support the labour market integration of migrants and implement the Brussels-Capital Region’s “15 pledges to combat labour market discrimination and promote diversity”

Tailor local labour market integration policies to different segments of the diverse migrant population

• Increase the investment into vocation-specific language training to improve the opportunities of migrants in the labour market. Experience from across the OECD shows that vocation-specific language training has a stronger effect on the labour market integration of migrants than general language training. Such vocation-specific language training can take the form of vocational language courses tailored to specific high-need occupations, language courses focused on general workplace scenarios or job interviews, on-the-job language sessions in partnership with specific employers and language training in connection with ALMPs. The region could draw inspiration for such courses from the Värmland region of Sweden, where long-term unemployed foreign-born adults without secondary level education are targeted with a combination of vocational and language training.

• Ensure that mandatory integration courses for newly arrived non-EU migrants account for the specific needs of women. A large share of female migrants arriving in the region from non-EU countries come as family migrants and have weak ties to the local labour market. The region could ensure that mandatory integration courses include training on gender equality and employment opportunities for women. Parts of the integration course could be taught by women for women and include voluntary discussions on women’s rights and health care, following good practices from OECD countries such as Germany’s “Migrant Women Simply Strong in Daily Life”. Designated labour market counsellors could be trained in cultural sensitivity to support the labour market integration of women with a lack of employment history in their country of origin.

• Consider combining labour market training with access to childcare, especially for low-income and migrant households, who face barriers to attending training because of childcare responsibilities. Existing programmes, such as Actiris’ Maison d’Enfants and coordinated childcare structures, can be built upon to achieve this. Currently, working parents have priority access to subsidised childcare, but do not take up all available spots. Unused space that could be utilised by children from vulnerable households while their parents participate in labour market training. Public employment services, the CPAS and childcare organisers can work together to accurately predict childcare facility usage and allocate spots accordingly.

Accelerate or fast-track the process to recognise qualifications earned abroad

• Deploy a set of tools to encourage and accelerate the recognition of qualifications earned abroad. Through social dialogue, the region may encourage employers to recognise foreign qualifications in which an official recognition is not needed, under the condition the country of origin of the qualification offers comparable qualification as the region. To accelerate recognition processes, the recognition could work with language Communities to create a “fast-track” process for in-demand jobs. For example, in Sweden, tripartite negotiation yielded a process in which around 40 different professions that experience labour shortage in the country can benefit from fast-track recognition. The region may also consider signing agreements where possible with targeted countries which comparable occupational standards that would automate the recognition of foreign qualifications. For example, Québec, Canada, and France have an agreement providing automatic mutual recognition over 80 occupations.

Build a more inclusive community for people with a migration background to facilitate access to employment

• Commit to diversity goals in the public sector to make employment-related services more accessible to migrants. To break down barriers for its citizens to access important public services, the Brussels-Capital Region could consider increasing the diversity in its public employment services. Such an initiative could draw inspiration from Berlin’s recently passed “Participation and Integration Act” (Partizipations- und Integrationsgesetz). To address the underrepresentation of people with a migration background in Berlin's public administration, the German federal state committed to increasing the share of first- and second-generation migrants in its public sector. This includes collecting information on the migration background of staff members who can provide that information on a voluntary basis. It further includes setting quantifiable, albeit not legally binding, objectives in hiring further staff with a migration background. To eliminate employment barriers for foreign-born jobseekers who face challenges in having their foreign-acquired formal education recognized in Belgium, skills assessments could be used as an alternative to formal education requirements.

• Consider better promoting the regional strategy to the fight against discrimination and promotion of diversity towards migrants in the labour market. The Brussels-Capital Region could consider designing a more comprehensive strategy that tackles local discrimination against migrants in the labour market. Such an initiative could first expand Actiris’ employer Diversity plans that supports local employers in drawing up diversity strategies. To further support inclusive hiring practices, the Brussels-Capital Region could use information on the origin composition of staff available at the Crossroads Bank for Social Security to identify economic sectors in which people with a migration background are underrepresented and seek the dialogue with employers in these sectors proactively.

Recommendations to strengthen pathways into training and adult learning

Workers and jobseekers in the Brussels-Capital Region need to upgrade their skills to respond to the changing job requirements on the labour market. Despite the large number of training options, however, participation in adult learning is currently low in the Brussels-Capital Region in international comparisons. The share of adults aged 25 to 64 years old who state they participated in education or training over the past four weeks reached 14% in 2022, compared to 28% in Amsterdam, 21% in both Vienna and Oslo, and 16% in London. A breadth of options exists for workers, jobseekers and economically inactive people to participate in training and adult learning in the region. Although a breadth of labour market training and adult learning options exist in the region, the system faces challenges. Workers and jobseekers in the Brussels-Capital Region need to upgrade their skills to respond to the changing job requirements on the labour market.

Skills needs related to languages as well as the green and digital transitions are rising

The rising demand for digital skills and the green transition are transforming the labour market at a rapid pace. For instance, the number of online job postings listing advancing digital skills as a requirement rose from 25% in 2018 to 31% in 2022. The Brussels-Capital Region has also emerged as a leader in the green transition. The share of jobs that can be classified as green-task jobs rose from 19% in 2011 to 26% in 2021, compared to a much slower rise from 16% to 18% in the OECD as a whole.

Language requirements pose a major obstacle to employment in the Brussels-Capital Region’s labour market. In 2019, approximately 40% of all job vacancies submitted to Actiris listed Dutch language skills in addition to French language skills as a requirement to perform the advertised job. Another 20% of job vacancies listed English language skills as a requirement, in part reflecting the size of the labour market surrounding the European institutions. Online job postings, which tend to be more representative of the medium to high skilled segment of the service sector, paint a similar picture. Seventeen percent of online job postings by employers in the Brussels-Capital Region list Dutch language skills as a requirement, a share well above those in all other parts of Belgium, including Belgian arrondissements that lie on the border of language zones. The significantly higher Dutch language requirements in the Brussels-Capital Region are still visible when differences in the type of vacancies by occupation, sector and educational requirements are accounted for.

While the higher Dutch language requirements may reflect the presence of clients with a strong affinity for Dutch and local employers with operational links to the Flemish Region, these high language skill requirements are not matched by the base of jobseekers in the Brussels-Capital Region. Only 28% of registered French-speaking jobseekers state they also have at least an intermediate knowledge of Dutch. Moreover, among jobseekers who obtained their education abroad, a category which includes mostly migrants born outside of Belgium, 1 in 3 do not possess a sufficient knowledge of French to enter the labour market. Strong evidence suggests that improving language skills among jobseekers leads to better employment opportunities, in particular if combined with vocational training. However, less is known about whether the relatively demanding language skill requirements listed by employers in the Brussels-Capital Region and its commuting zone correspond to the skills necessary to perform tasks on the job.

Expanding modular courses that offer digital skills and language training is one policy option that has proven successful for migrants in other OECD metropolitan areas. In 2022, 59% of all jobs advertised online by employers in the Brussels-Capital Region listed at least basic digital skills as a requirement. Giving migrants the option to attain digital skills has several key advantages, in particular when combined with language training. First, digital skills are in high demand across the OECD and jobs that require information and communication technology (ICT) skills usually fall into the medium to high-income range. Second, basic as well as specialised ICT skills can be taught in short modular courses. Third, the language barrier in the ICT sector tends to be lower than in other professions.

Links with sectoral social partners are developing

Dialogue with employer representatives and unions occurring across organisations could grow to include a yearly detailed survey of skills needs. Multiple platforms exist for dialogues with employers and trade unions, such as the regional social and economic council, BruPartners, or employer relations undertaken by Actiris, Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel. The Instance Bassin – Enseignement qualifiant, Formation, Emploi, an organisation that brings together francophone VET actors to discuss skilling priorities, surveys employers to help produce a yearly priority list of occupations. An employer skills review which includes jobs on the Dutch-speaking market and a broad set of skill priorities, however, does not yet exist. Although organisations conduct extensive dialogues with inter-professional social partners and individual employers, dialogue with sectoral social partners is still developing in the region.

Employment Training Hubs (Pôles Formation Emploi - PFE) are public-private partnerships to strengthen the links between the social partners and vocational training on a sectoral basis. PFE are a joint initiative by Actiris, Bruxelles Formation, VDAB Brussel and sectoral representatives to design and dispense training jointly in four sectors, construction, digital jobs, technical jobs and logistics. The PFE sectoral approach may be systematised to more sectors, including parts of the public sector with recruitment needs (health, education).

The region’s multiple vocational training and education options face barriers to greater enrolment and completion

Complementary and promising options for adult vocational education exist outside the Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel offering. For example, this includes the francophone enseignement de promotion sociale (EPS) and organisations dispensing teaching in Dutch, such as the Centrum voor volwassenenonderwijs. VDAB Brussel has a strong cooperation in place with the Flemish Education system. Bruxelles Formation also cooperates with a number of EPS tracks. Learners who participate in adult vocational education such as EPS can often access diploma-bearing higher skill level options. Multiple tracks in the adult learning system, particularly in health care and social work, are characterised by labour shortages. With the region facing a need to upskill its population to harness the benefits of its dynamic labour market for higher skill jobs, these options are important to complement the existing offering.

For learners, enrolment in the different systems generates different qualifications and benefits. Participation in adult vocational education such as EPS does not qualify learners for a EUR 2 per hour allowance, unlike Bruxelles Formation training, unless tracks are certified by Bruxelles Formation. Qualifications or completion certificates produced by Bruxelles Formation, on the other hand, face recognition challenges among employers. Syntra apprenticeships also faces challenges with qualification recognition within the public sector. The qualifications dispensed by EPS, meanwhile, include secondary school diplomas (CESS – Certificat d’enseignement secondaire supérieur) or others recognised with strong labour market recognition.

Despite growing policy attention, barriers face the dual learning (alternance) system for both young people and adults. Dual learning offers alternating class and work-based learning. In the francophone community, dual learning is administered by COCOF SME dual learning system (Service Formation des PME/ Espace Formation PME – SFPME/EFP) and the French Community dual apprenticeship system (CEFA – Centre d'Éducation et de Formation en Alternance). Despite the job prospects they offer young people, the SFPME/EFP and CEFA systems may not be effectively linked up with Actiris and Bruxelles Formation. For those that graduate from the SFPME/EFP system, the qualifications they earn may not be adequately recognised by the education system, blocking upskilling pathways.

High dropout rates are another barrier for the capacity of vocational education and training to upskill and place people into jobs. A 2022 study by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the Walloon Region, the Brussels-Capital Region and the COCOF estimates over 50% drop out rates in dual learning tracks across francophone Belgium. Learner social vulnerability is a challenge across vocational tracks in Brussels and a potential driver of high dropout rates. Based on benefit statistics, Bruxelles Formation estimates half of its learners live in precarious conditions or near poverty.

Actiris provides training vouchers (chèques formation), though their use is limited due to conditionality. Training vouchers can be used for a large range of training offers outside Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel. Actiris provides half the funding for individuals through training vouchers, with a ceiling of EUR 2 250, while the remainder has to be covered by the employer or the learner. The Actiris training voucher is only applicable to job seekers who have secured a job and require training during the initial six months of work. Limiting training vouchers to individuals who have found work limits their use. It also appears as an administratively burdensome way to provide jobseekers with remedial labour market training.

Recommendations for increasing participation in adult learning and training in the Brussels-Capital Region

Gather more labour market information from employers and work with employers to adjust skill requirements

• Set up regular in-depth skills-needs surveys of employers in Brussels through sectoral engagement. A local survey could collect comprehensive data and information on skills challenges that employers report both within their existing workforces and when recruiting. A starting point for the survey may include employer surveys already conducted by Instance Bassin in the francophone space. A publicly administered employer survey could be established to collect information on skills challenges that employers report both within their existing workforces and when recruiting, the levels and nature of investment in training and development, and the relationship between skills challenges, training activity and business strategy. As an example, the United Kingdom runs an employer skills survey which gathers information on skills needs, training and work practices. Given the high level of public employment opportunities in Brussels, it will be important for a survey to include needs from the public sector. Sectoral partners must be tightly and structurally invested in regional efforts for skills mapping to bear results.

• Work closely with local employers to ensure language skill requirements listed in job vacancies correspond to the skills essential for performing tasks on the job. Actiris could start the process of reviewing job vacancies it receives from local employers and flag language requirements that may not be necessary to perform tasks on the job. To create meaningful comparisons, Actiris could identify vacancies that list similar skills otherwise and are posted by employers operating in the same sector. To reduce time investment and staff needs, this process can be automated. Actiris could then propose to employers to review their vacancies and lower language skills requirements if evidence suggests that these may not be necessary.

Increase training options specifically for those with migrant backgrounds and better mobilise existing training vouchers

• Start initiatives that target migrants with modular learning to build digital skills. The Brussels-Capital Region could build on and promote the Digitalcity PFE for a migrant background audience. For example, the region could include elements of the ReDI School of Digital Integration, a non-governmental organisation founded in Berlin that offers refugees a wide range of modular courses to develop ICT skills. Offers could target female migrants specifically and help to overcome potential cultural barriers to female economic activity, for instance by offering childcare during the duration of courses. ReDI works closely with ICT industry professionals who function both as volunteer teachers and mentors to refugees who participate in the courses. The role as teachers allows mentors to identify strengths in students and then recommend them to potential employers. Such modular courses could be offered in the language of the target population where possible and interpreters could be hired if required. Language courses could be offered in parallel.

• Reduce conditions to access for and strengthen guidance around training vouchers (chèques formation). The condition to have secured employment before use of the voucher may be reconsidered given the upskilling needs in the region. Actiris vouchers may also gain from strong guidance to appropriate training connected to skills assessment. Increasing Actiris counsellor knowledge of the region’s skills system will be key to further deploy vouchers. Ensuring voucher expansion is made in tandem with Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel is also key to minimise duplication and coordinate the training offer.

Strengthen the attractiveness of vocational training and adult learning for jobseekers

• Strengthen the recognition of vocational training and dual learning certificates among employers and educational institutions. One way for the region to incentivise employers to increase their recognition of vocation training certificates, provided by Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel, is through PES exchanges with employers. Employer-facing counsellors within Actiris may encourage greater recognition of vocational training certificates by providing precise information about the content and skills tied to training. Within the public sector, the Brussels-Capital Region may be able to play major role to ensure recruitment of employees recognises and does not exclude certification provided by Bruxelles Formation and VDAB Brussel. Another lever to strengthen the attractiveness of vocational tracks includes creating a learner pathway between dual learning completion and entrance into formal education (e.g. EPS, university).

• Bring benefits for participation in adult learning programmes of equivalent length up to levels offered by occupational vocational training. The Community-operated adult learning system (enseignement de promotion sociale – EPS) may benefit from a harmonised stipend with vocational training to attract jobseekers and workers (currently EUR 2 per hour). An initial stipend harmonisation between vocational training incentives proposed by Bruxelles Formation and EPS may target those adult learning programmes aimed at occupations facing shortages. Levelling stipends may also require considering the different lengths of trainings, and potentially setting a maximum duration.

Increase the role and visibility of the dual learning system

• Develop a stronger institutional relationship between Actiris and dual learning institutions. On the francophone side, the region could consider developing a single institutional agreement between Actiris and SFPME/EFP, echoing the accord de coopération relatif aux politiques croisées emploi-formation between Actiris and Bruxelles Formation. An agreement could help develop common strategies to draw learners and define target groups. Knowledge of dual learning options may also be able to be developed among Actiris front-line and operational staff interacting with jobseekers. In particular, the adult dual learning tracks offered by the SFPME/EFP system should be mainstreamed as opportunities to train for those in Actiris and Bruxelles Formation. For adults, integrating dual learning into public employment services may be an option to fully streamline access.

• Consider developing a dual vocational learning guarantee for pre-apprenticeship preparation and special support for apprenticeships. Providing basic skills preparation and orientation for compulsory school graduates or those older entering one of the region’s dual vocational systems (SFPME, CEFA or Syntra) may help reduce learner dropout rates. The region may turn to Vienna, Austria, which has developed a Vocational Training Guarantee for those aged 14 to 21 years old to reduce dropout rates by tight coordination among subnational and national programmes. For example, at the national level in Austria, the pre-VET “education-fit” programme (AusbildungsFit) provides training for those young people facing difficulties before they enter dual learning to acquire the foundational skills and workplace habits for success in dual learning.