Thousands of Belgian jobs unfilled as recruiters are short-staffed

The agency responsible for solving short-staffing problems in Belgium's federal institutions is struggling to fulfil its job - because it is short-staffed.

Selor is in charge of recruiting candidates for thousands of vacant jobs each year in the public sector - from museums to the National Archives and the tax office.

According to De Standaard newspaper, the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences has been waiting 15 months to fill a vacant role. In the finance ministry, 1,000 positions remain unfilled.

Selor says it is over-stretched since the government put the agency in charge of hiring contractors as well as permanent staff.

Last year it published 7,249 job ads - an almost 50% increase on the previous year - and sifted through more than 90,000 applications.

"We have more work, but our numbers have not increased as a result," said business unit manager Koen Verlinden.

The agency wants to simplify the recruitment process, including more computer-based tests, as several candidates drop out along the way.

Photo: Siska Gremmelprez/Belga