Governance

Employment and entrepreneurship are regulated at the federal level and further supported by the Flemish Region. Both the Flemish and Federal Government have competencies related to employment policy. 

They have different responsibilities regarding this field:

• The Federal Government is in charge of labour laws, social security and the unemployment benefits. Federal level is also responsible for supervising the social dialogue. This institutional system gathers social partners (employers, employees and federal government) in order to negotiate “work conventions” in all activity sectors. They negotiate work conditions, salaries, etc. Social dialogue has an important place in the Belgian work system.

• The Regions are responsible for measures aimed at supporting employment of target groups, training, lifelong learning and local agencies for employment.

Therefore, most relevant policy domains for youth employment are:

At the federal level:

•  Federal Public Service for Employment Labour and Social Dialogue (Federale Overheidsdienst Werkgelegenheid, Arbeid en Sociaal Overleg), which implements the federal employment policy, including Labour Law and Social Security Legislation

• The “National Office for Employment” (de Rijksdienst voor Arbeidsvoorziening), the public body for social security which manages the unemployment part of employee’s social security

At Regional (Flemish) level:

• Employment and social economy policy

• Educational policy

• Youth policy

In the following we focus on the regional level and describe for each of the domains the relevant responsibilities. 

Main public bodies

Minister in charge of Work and Social Economy

Minister Jo Brouns (Christian Democratic Party (CD&V)) is currently the Flemish Minister for Work, Economy, Innovation, Social Economy and Agriculture (from 2022 until 2024), replacing Minister Hilde Crevits (2019-2022).

Department of Work and Social Economy

The Flemish Ministry of Work and Social Economy and the Department of Work and Social Economy within it are responsible for advice, evaluation, follow-up and coordination on policy regarding work and Social Economy in Flanders, including youth employment/unemployment.

Flemish Service for Employment and Vocational Training (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding, VDAB)

The public employment services are also organised at regional level and are in charge of counselling, job search assistance, intermediation services and training of (un)employed workers.

The Flemish Service for Employment and Vocational Training (VDAB) has the mission of creating for all Flemish citizens the space necessary for them to develop themselves and their careers as effectively as possible. The aim is to improve labour market functioning and promote prosperity for all. As a service provider, VDAB helps citizens to develop their careers according to market demand. VDAB cooperates strongly with other service providers and has a special focus on disadvantaged citizens. A Flemish Parliament Act in 2020 has extended the mission and tasks of VDAB and states that it also has to become the central data driven and result oriented director of employment and careers in the Flemish policy of activation for employment.

As an external autonomous agency VDAB is not directly governed by the Minister of Employment but managed by a governing board. As part of the Flemish authorities, the agency is accountable to the Flemish Government. VDAB is financed by the Government and ministers determine its policy priorities.

Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO)

VLAIO is the Flemish government's contact point for all entrepreneurs in Flanders. VLAIO supports innovation and entrepreneurship.

Minister in charge of Education and Training

Minister Ben Weyts (The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA)) is currently the Flemish Minister for Education and Training (from 2019 until 2024).

Department of Education and Training

The Department of Education and Training together with the Minister in charge of Education and Training is responsible for the advice, evaluation and follow-up on education policy in Flanders.

Flemish Agency for Entrepreneurial Training- SYNTRA Flanders

Since 2004 entrepreneurial training in Flanders has been coordinated by the Flemish Agency for Entrepreneurial Training – SYNTRA Flanders.

SYNTRA Flanders collaborates with several entrepreneurial education and training providers in Flanders, in particular with the five regional SYNTRA Training Centres. These deliver apprenticeship programmes for young people aged 15 to 25. Apprenticeship trainees gain practical experience in a work environment (four days a week) under the guidance of a tutor-supervisor and attend classes, including General Knowledge modules, at one of the Training Centres (one day a week) which complement the practical work experience. 

SYNTRA Flanders falls under the responsibility of the Flemish Minister of Work. The assignment of the agency is formalized in an annual business plan, which contains the strategic and operational goals of the agency.

During the 2019-2024 policy period, SYNTRA Flanders is (gradually) abolished and the various responsibilities are (to be) transferred to the Department of Work and Social Economy, the Department of Education and Training, the Flemish Service for Employment and Vocational Training (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding, VDAB) and the Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). A transition committee steers this transition. The term ‘SYNTRA’ currently remains in use towards the broader public, but the responsibilities are embedded in different governmental departments and agencies. 

Minister in charge of Youth

Minister Benjamin Dalle (Christen Democratic Party (CD&V) is since 2 October 2019 the Flemish Minister for Brussels, Youth and Media (from 2019 until 2024) and Poverty Reduction (from 2022 until 2024). Culture is a policy domain of the Minister-president Jan Jambon (The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA)) (from 2019-2024).

Thus, Benjamin Dalle is the coordinating minister for the Flemish Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan.

Department of Culture, Youth and Media

The ‘Division Knowledge and policy’ – embedded in the Department of Culture, Youth and Media - ensures the administrative follow-up of the Flemish policy on youth and children’s rights and is responsible for the coordination of a horizontal Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan (on leisure, education, work, equality, etc.).

The current Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan (2020-2024), states, in the context of the objective “OO 1.2.1. We shall focus on caring networks that improve the quality of life”: “By organising targeted pathways, we shall aim, through partnerships, to reach (early) school-leavers, low-skilled young people and young adults who experience difficulties in terms of (sustainable) entry into the labour market. The focus is mainly on gaining an insight into one’s competencies, strengthening these competencies, increasing well-being and reducing the distance to the labour market. (p.18)” Several projects will contribute to this. An example is a public contract that was ordered for the development of 'a training and guideline for employers that contributes to a more sustainable position of NEET young people in the labour market'. This project is connected to the European Year of Youth (2022) and substantively linked to the Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan.

The Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan also pays attention to youth entrepreneurship, as part of the objective: “OO 2.2.2. We shall encourage healthy and sustainable working methods and attitudes towards life”. In particular, it states: “1. We shall strengthen the entrepreneurial power of young people in solving or tackling concrete societal challenges or problems, such as developing green and liveable neighbourhoods. At least the following projects shall contribute to this: a. Young people and entrepreneurial education b. Ecosystems for young entrepreneurship in student cities c. Youth cooperative ‘Haven’. (p.25)”. Entrepreneurship is also related to objective “OO 3.2.1. Competencies acquired through volunteering shall be strengthened by establishing cross-links" :”1. We shall continue to build on young social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education. We shall focus on talents and competencies that will develop and be strengthened through youth work, volunteering and youth initiatives. We shall stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of young people by establishing partnerships with youth work and shall make sure that youth work is structurally involved as a partner in a number of projects. (p.30)”

Main non-public actors

Trade unions

There are three trade union confederations in Belgium, each reflecting a socio-political movement in the country. The two largest are ACV (Algemeen Vakverbond) and ABVV (Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond), affiliating with the Christian and socialist movements respectively, while the smaller ACLVB (Algemene Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België) is rooted in liberalism. Each trade union has departments in the Flemish Community.

The several trade unions in Belgium are responsible for:

•  the representation of employees in wage and collective bargaining in companies and economic sectors

• defending the interests of employees

• the payment of unemployment benefits and the integration allowance

ACV, ABVV and ACLVB use the following youth structures. Each confederation has a specific department or section for youth, with union officers working solely on such issues. In the case of ACV and ABVV, there are two national representatives, for the country’s Dutch- and French-speaking parts respectively. There is also at least one regional youth representative in every province, working rather independently from the national level. This is different in the liberal trade union, which employs three national representatives, one for Brussels (part-time), one for Flanders (full-time) and one for Wallonia (part-time). Youth representatives at the regional level, in contrast, are mostly volunteers who take up this role on top of their normal functions.

The Flemish Youth Council is the official advisory council for the Flemish Government on all areas that affect children, young people and their organizations in Flanders. They ensure that the voice of children and young people reaches out to policymakers and defend the interests of youth work organizations in Flanders and Europe.

The Flemish ministers must seek the advice of the Flemish Youth Council every time they want to take decisions that have an impact on children and young people. But the Flemish Youth Council also provides advice on its own initiative. In committees, working groups and other meetings, they prepare positions and advice. Each opinion then passes through the advisory council of the Flemish Youth Council, which consists of 16 elected youth and youth work advisers. The advisers deliver the final result to the Flemish government. In this way, everyone can take into account the wishes and needs of Flemish youth and the interests of youth work. And this with one specific goal: to make policy in our country and far beyond more youth friendly. The Flemish Youth Council is supported by De Ambrassade vzw. It has developed a specific advice concerning the topic of ‘work’.

Organizations with a special focus on young people        

Many organizations with a special focus on young people are commissioned to set up, support and monitor youth employment and entrepreneurship: the Ambrassade (support centre for youth work and youth information, secretariat of the Flemish Youth Council), nationally organized youth associations, and NGOs in the field of development co-operation. As part of the aforementioned work- and entrepreneurship-related objectives of the Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan 2020-2024, the Department of Youth subsidizes organizations, such as Formaat, Haven and Bamm (the latter as part of a project on the professionalization of youth workers who support young people in their entrepreneurial actions).  Other organizations who pay attention to work- and entrepreneurship-related topics for young people include Groep Intro and Jes.

General distribution of responsibilities

As outlined above, employment and entrepreneurship are regulated at the federal level and further supported by the Flemish Region.

Cross-sectorial cooperation

In Flanders, youth employment and entrepreneurship are a joint responsibility of the Flemish Minister of Employment, the Flemish Minister of Education and the Flemish Minister of Youth. 

As mentioned in other chapters, youth policy is a transversal policy. This means that each ministry takes its own responsibilities and defines tasks linked to the implementation of specific goals within the Youth Policy Plan, while the Minister for Youth is in charge of overseeing the process and reporting on the Plan’s implementation to the government.

Besides the Flemish Policy Plan, the Act on Flemish Youth and Children’s Rights Policy envisages other instruments of youth policy, such as:

• Impact assessment of new legislation on children and youth (JoKER)

• Contact points for youth and children’s rights and a coordinating administration

• Youth Progress Report (Staat van de jeugd, JOP-monitor)