The Brussels-Capital Region, there are currently 113 professions which employers are struggling to recruit for, according to data published by regional employment office Actiris on 1 July. Most of these highly sought after professions are within the construction, IT, education, and personal care sectors.
Actiris says that these “critical functions” either attract too few candidates, or those interested in the roles do not possess the right qualifications, such as training, work experience, or language skills. Sometimes, the positions involve difficult working conditions, such as heavy lifting or dangerous work environments, low pay, or even reduced or flexible hours.
Positions with a critically low number of professionals exist in almost every sector in the economy. This can range from accountants to builders, barmen to industrial automation technicians, and more.
A full list of in demand professions can be found on the Actiris website.
Actiris advises job seekers to choose a trade in shortage to increase the chance of finding a job. Certain additional studies, in fields such as insurance and risk management, schooling, architecture, logistics, and other, may also increase your likelihood of being employed.
“Pursuing training or studies that lead to one of these shortage occupations greatly increases the chances of finding a job,” Actiris notes.
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The regional employment no longer promotes extra studies in butchery, computer science, baking, chemistry, languages, and other fields as they are no longer in short supply.
Belgium, which currently has an employment rate of over 70% for people aged 20-64, is currently suffering from labour shortages in several key areas.
In Wallonia, 141 sectors reported having staffing shortages. Within the capital, there is a significant shortage of social workers. Belgium has the third most job vacancies in all of the EU, but struggles to find staff to fill them, especially at the bottom end of the job market. Much of these job demand is covered by importing foreign labour.
