Over half (53%) of job seekers in Flanders do not possess a Category B driving licence, according to recent figures.
This concerns 51,600 men and 58,300 women out of approximately 215,000 registered job seekers at the Flemish Employment Service (VDAB). Flemish Parliament member Robrecht Bothuyne (CD&V), who obtained the data from Flemish Employment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA), described the situation as “outright problematic.”
Former Employment Minister Hilde Crevits (CD&V) had previously allocated funds for the VDAB’s “All Hands on Deck” initiative, allowing job seekers to obtain a driving licence if it was necessary for prospective employment. Nearly 1,600 job seekers participated in this programme over three years. However, Bothuyne highlighted that these training opportunities have now been cut.
Current Employment Minister Zuhal Demir stated that the initiative was a temporary project that ended automatically. She clarified that it was not “scrapped” and that no additional funding was requested by CD&V to establish it permanently in the coalition agreement. Moreover, Demir noted that there was no tracking of how many participants successfully obtained their driving licences.
