Brussels prepares for unemployment cap with job guidance reform
The Brussels government on Tuesday proposed a comprehensive plan to make job guidance for long-term unemployed people more efficient. The reform is intended to cope with the consequences of the federal decision to limit unemployment benefits to a maximum of two years.
As part of the austerity package agreed earlier this year by the federal government, jobseekers who remain unemployed for more than two years will lose their benefits.
In Brussels alone, this could leave up to 40,000 people without an allowance from January onwards. According to estimates, between 13,000 and 14,000 of them will turn to the city’s public social welfare centres (CPAS) for a living wage, putting heavy pressure on the system.
To limit the impact of the austerity measure, outgoing Employment minister Bernard Clerfayt (Défi) wants to overhaul the job guidance process. The aim is to speed up the job search and ensure that people who register at the CPAS are activated as quickly as possible.
Seven measures
The Clerfayt cabinet, in cooperation with employment agency Actiris, the Flemish employment service VDAB and training body Bruxelles Formation, has put forward seven measures. These include reforming the procedure for checking the availability of jobseekers, accelerating counselling sessions, and drawing up a general skills assessment that should lead to an individual action plan.
In addition, the Brussels government wants to expand general training courses to strengthen jobseekers’ linguistic, professional and digital skills. The vocational training offer will also be adapted to labour market needs, with a particular focus on bottleneck occupations. Jobseekers who wish to retrain for these professions will also be encouraged to return to study.
“Brussels residents must be able to make this transition without ending up in precarious conditions"
“Brussels residents must be able to make this transition without ending up in precarious conditions and our public employment and training services must be ready to guide them to work in the best possible way,” Clerfayt said on Tuesday.
The Brussels government plans to consult with the region’s social partners at a social summit, with the goal of refining and finalising all measures by January 2026.
Outgoing Employment minister Bernard Clerfayt. © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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