Working
Finding a dream job … Where do you start? Who can you rely on? And what administration do you need to do?
Step 1 - First things first Step 2 - find a Job Step 3 - working and studying
Step 1: First things first
Update your administration as soon as you graduate. This way, you won’t have any worries as you begin your professional career. Find out what you need to do—as well as plenty of handy info—here.
Just graduated? Enrol with Actiris as soon as possible. It’s the Brussels-based service for job placement. Your twelve-month professional integration time begins when you enrol. When this is over, you have the right to unemployment payments. Even if you immediately find work after your studies, it’s still important to enrol with Actiris. This way, if you lose your job, your professional integration time will already be ticking down or even finished.
What if you’re not (yet) a resident of Brussels, but want to work? Enrol with the Flemish employment service—known as VDAB—but also set up an online profile via my.actiris.brussels. You’ll have access to the job vacancies and employers in Brussels can consult your profile.
If you still haven’t found a job after twelve months, you can request anintegration allowance. To do this, you’ll need to contact the Hulpkas voor Werkloosheidsuitkeringen or enrol with a labour union (for which you’ll have to pay membership fees).
If you’re enrolled as having left school and are seeking employment, you’ll continue to have the right to receive child allowance for a maximum of 360 days. However, there are conditions involved.
If you graduate in the month of June, you can continue working as a job student for three months. If you immediately enrolled with Actiris, your professional integration time will begin running while you’re still doing student work. Way to go!
Step 2: Find a job
There are jobs enough in Brussels, but how do you find the job that’s the perfect fit for you? How do you convince an employer of your qualities and talents? And what do you need to know about finding your first job?
Actiris does everything to help you in your search for work. As a young person, you can call on a coach. There are also online workshops on subjects like learning to write a CV or preparing for a job interview. Actiris records the dates of the workshops on their digital calendar.
There are plenty of other organisations that help you in the search for a job. Take a look at Tracé Brussel, the Werkwinkel.
What if you have a degree, but don’t yet know exactly what you want to do or where to find the best opportunities for you in Brussels? Make an appointment with Actiris at the service Support when actively searching for work (known as ‘Begeleiding Actief Zoeken naar Werk’ in Dutch) which is specialised in the (re-)orientation of jobseekers, both for training and education and for work. Your possibilities are mapped out and they look at what is needed for you to reach your goal. This support is free and is offered both individually and in groups.
Learn more at Beroepenpunt. You’ll find information and workshops there, as well as possibilities for coaching.
Would you like to work as an entrepreneur? 1819.brussels will help you on your way with everything you need to know about setting up your own business in Brussels. You’ll also find plenty of information on the UNIZO starters’ platform. And Actiris will also point you to the right partner organisations.
Maybe you would like to combine a fixed, permanent job with extra work. In this case, a flexi-job might interest you. This is where your gross wages are equal to your nett wages and you therefore pay less tax and fewer contributions. Think about the conditions: you need to work at least 4/5 of the time as an employee.
What if you quickly find a job after graduating and you’re still younger than 25? You will have the right to a youth vacation.
Step 3: Working and studying
Studying doesn’t have to stop after your student days. You can also combine work with further study. Maybe you have the right to an additional study grant and a paid absence from your work may even be possible.
Here you’ll find an overview of the adult-education centres in Brussels and what they offer.
