Governance

Youth employment lies within the general employment policy.

The Regions and the Federal Entity are both competent for employment policy. These authorities have different responsibilities regarding this field:

• The Federal Government is in charge of labour laws, social security and the unemployment compensation. Federal level is also responsible for supervising the social dialogue. This institutional system gathers social partners (employers, employees and federal government) in order to negociate “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 (Service public Fédéral pour l'emploi, le travail et la concertation sociale), which implements the federal employment policy, including Labour Law and Social Security Legislation

• The “National Office for Employment” (Onem - Office National de l'Emploi), the public body for social security which manages the unemployment part of employee’s social security

At the Regional level : 

• Employment and social economy policy

• Educational policy

• Youth policy

• Entrepreneurship
   

In the following, we will focus on the Regional level 

Wallonia

• The main authority responsible for employment in the Walloon Region is the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training.
• Public Service of Wallonia (SPW): The Department of Employment and Vocational Training is at the heart of employment policy in Wallonia.
• Forem is the walloon public employment and vocational training service. It offers guidance, information, and training services to job seekers and employers.
• Walloon Institute for Apprenticeship and Self-employed workers, small and medium Enterprises (Institut wallon de formation en alternance et des indépendants et petites et moyennes enterprises - IFAPME) provides training programmes such as apprenticeships or lifelong training programme. IFAPME coordinates a network of training centres located across the territory working at local level. Its missions are defined in a management contract for the period 2023-2028. The priority areas of the new Management Contract reflect the ambition to engage young and adult audiences and bring them to a qualified professional level, highly valued in the labor market. IFAPME has an essential role to play in developing Work-Study Training in Wallonia.
• Socio-Professional Integration Centers (CISP): Structures approved by the Vocational Training Division to support the integration of vulnerable groups.
• Wallonie Entreprendre (We):  this organization finances the development of Walloon businesses.
• Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (Awex): Responsible for developing Wallonia’s international economic relations.  
• IWEPS, the “Walloon Institute for Evaluation, Prospective and Statistics” (Institut Wallon de l'évaluation, la prospective et la statistique - IWEPS) is a scientific public service aimed at supporting decision making including in the field of employment. The Observatory provides policy makers and citizens with statistical information, analyses and studies in the field of social, economic, political and environmental sciences. It takes an active part in the promotion and the implementation of an evaluation and forecasting process in Wallonia. The decree of 4 December 2003 related to the creation of the Walloon Institute for evaluation, prospective and statistics defines the missions of the Institute. 

Brussels-Capital Region

The main authority responsible for employment in the Region Brussels-Capital is the Minister of Employment and Economy.

• The mission of the “Brussels Public Service of Employment and Economy” is to develop and to support sustainable economy and employment in the Region of Brussels.
• Actiris is the Brussels Employment Agency, a public service responsible for the implementation of the employment policy in the Region Brussels-Capital. The Agency provides job seekers and employers with support in order to meet supply and demand in labour market. The Actiris management contract 2017-2022 provides information on the Agency’s objectives and missions.  
• Training Brussels (Bruxelles Formation) is the Brussels public service in charge of professional training for french-speaking job seekers and workers living in Brussels.
• Impulse Brussels is the public service in charge of supporting entrepreneurship. According to its management contract 2012-2017, the Agency offers support to entrepreneurs in order to help them creating their own enterprise, launching their entrepreneurial project.
• “Training Service Small and Medium Enterprises” (Service Formation Petites et Moyennes Entreprises) is a Service of the French Community Commission of Brussels. It provides training programmes such as apprenticeships or lifelong training programme. Its missions are mainly defined in the cooperation Agreement of 20 February 1995 related to the continuing training for middle classes and small and medium enterprises.
• The Brussels Institute of Statistics and Analysis (Institut Bruxellois de Statistiques et d’Analyse - IBSA) is the equivalent of IWEPS but for the Brussels Region.

Cross-sectorial cooperation

Cooperation between the French-Speaking Community and the Walloon Region

In its regional policy statement 2024-2029, the Government plans to make the promotion, support, and development of entrepreneurship a cornerstone of Wallonia’s recovery. It will adopt a supportive approach toward aspiring entrepreneurs and actively showcase success stories.

As part of its economic outreach activities, initiatives to foster an entrepreneurial mindset among young people—such as Générations entreprenantes—will be strengthened, expanded, and integrated across all educational pathways from an early age, in partnership with the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, internships in companies will become a systematic component of secondary and higher education curricula. This will allow students to experience business life either occasionally or in a more structured way, helping them better understand its challenges and opportunities.