Need a job? Go to the Brussels periphery

Flanders’ and Brussels’ jobs and training agencies – VDAB and Actiris, respectively – are collaborating on a campaign to get the capital’s residents to apply for jobs in the periphery. While the number of job vacancies in the municipalities that dot the Flemish ring around Brussels continues to grow, jobseekers in Brussels continue to ignore them.

Both agencies have seen the effect of the aging population in the Brussels periphery – which includes cities like Vilvoorde, Dilbeek, Zaventem and Overijse – on the jobs market. And they have seen the unemployment rate among youth in Brussels.

Now they are working together to introduce those young people to employers in the Flemish cities. “It’s still too commonly thought that the language and the distance are a bridge too far,” VDAB Brussel director Geert Pauwels told Bruzz. “But that is not at all the case.”

The campaign slogan “New Job? Next Stop!” refers to how easy it is to reach the periphery by public transport. And it’s literal: The “Job on, hop off” bus will be taking jobseekers to companies located in the cities that have vacancies. They will hear from the employers what kind of skills they are looking for.

The campaign website also includes more than 35,000 job listings in the region, from child minder to hair stylist to urban policy expert.

In terms of language, not all of the jobs require perfect Dutch, and both agencies point out that they offer Dutch courses geared specifically to jobseekers.

Photo: Nils Quintelier/BELGA