Living and Working in Belgium Belgium the of

Living and Working in Belgium

Belgium… the of Europe

Belgium Ø A small federal state 32. 545 km 2 / Population: 10. 6 million inhabitants Ø A multicultural society (> 8% of residents are foreign nationals Ø Brussels is the capital: officially recognised as the capital of Europe and the home of the key political and decision-making institutions of the EU Ø 3 Communities: Flemish, French and German (each with its political institutions and administration) Ø 3 Regions: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital Region Ø 3 Official languages: Dutch, French and German

Typical Belgian

Regional Employment Services VDAB www. vdab. be ACTIRIS ADG www. adg. be www. actiris. be FOREM www. leforem. be

Vocational Training on Regional Level WALLONIA French LE FOREM www. leforem. be FLANDERS Dutch VDAB www. vdab. be THE BRUSSELS- CAPITAL French Carrefour Formation www. dorifor. be Dutch VDAB www. vdab. be

Unemployment Rate in the 3 Regions (2008) üShortage of qualified workers üSurplus of unqualified workers üHigh Interregional Mobility

The Belgian Labour Market Ø Most relevant sectors – Services 72 % – Industry 26. 3% – Agriculture 1. 7% Ø Active population – Active (working) population: 4 200 000 (on a total population of 10 600 000)

Some characteristics Ø Differences in contracts “laboureres/workers” and “employees” !! Ø Different languages in Belgium (Dutch, French, German) Ø Regulation of annual vacation days (based on prestations of the previous year)

Labour Shortages The professions suffering from a labour shortage vary from region to region Most wanted: Ø Ø Ø Engineers Trilingual secretaries + Translators Nurses IT- Specialists Plumbers / Welders Truck drivers Licence C/E

Labour Surpluses Ø Fishermen Ø Unskilled workers (cleaners, salesmen, supply clerks, …) Ø Monolingual clerks Ø Social profit sector workers Ø Beauticians

Looking for work Ø Registration Registrate at the local municipality Ø Attention: As Polish citizen, you still need a work permit ! Each Belgian PES has an official list of shortages, e. g. IT, construction, health sector (employer can obtain work permit within 5 days)

Career in the EU Institutions EPSO (The European Personnel Selection Office) Address: Info-Recruitment C-80 00/48 1049 Brussels Belgium E-mail: inforecruitment@cec. eu. int Website: http: //europa. eu. int/epso

Work Experience for Graduates at the EU Institutions To give young university graduates a taste of what working for the EU is like, the Institutions organise traineeships or "stages“ each lasting 3 -5 months. Ø Ø Ø Ø The European Parliament The Council The Commission Court of Justice The Social and Economic Committee The Committee of the Regions The European Ombudsman

Useful links http: //www. actiris. be http: //www. socialsecurity. be http: //www. adg. be http: //www. onem. be http: //www. leforem. be http: //www. vdab. be http: //www. stepstone. be http: //www. emploi. lesoir. be http: //www. feb. be http: //www. references. be http: //www. brussel. irisnet. be http: //www. flanders. be http: //www. wallonie. be http: //www. dglive. be http: //www. eurobrussels. com http: //www. career. be http: //www. jobsinhubs. com http: //www. belgium. be http: //www. jobsinbrussels. com http: //www. diplomatie. be http: //www. brusselsjobs. com http: //www. fiscus. fgov. be

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