**Of all French-speaking Belgians looking for work in Brussels, two-thirds do not speak Dutch at a level that is functional on the labour market. This is the conclusion of a study published today by the Federal Planning Bureau and the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis (BISA/IBSA). Especially women, according to the study, would find work faster if they spoke better Dutch.**
Officially, Brussels is a bilingual region, but for many Brussels residents their knowledge of Dutch or French is rather limited. As a result, many job-seekers miss out on opportunities on the labour market, argue the Federal Planning Bureau and BISA in a new study. To this end, they examined the files of all French-speaking Belgians in Brussels who are registered with Actiris, the Brussels counterpart of the VDAB.
Almost 30 percent of the jobseekers indicate that they speak Dutch on an A1 level, which is the absolute basic knowledge. Another 37 percent have a level of A2 – meaning they only understand simple texts with very easy words.
Altogether, 67 percent of the surveyed group does not speak Dutch at a level that is functional for the labour market. Even among people with a higher education diploma, 45 percent do not go beyond this level. Less than one in five jobseekers speaks at least an advanced level of Dutch.
This limited knowledge of Dutch is a disadvantage for the French-speaking inhabitants of Brussels when looking for a job. The same study shows, for example, that people with at least an advanced level of Dutch have a 20 percent better chance of finding a job than people who do not go beyond level A2. Figures from Actiris itself, which already date from 2019, also show that half of the vacancies explicitly ask for knowledge of Dutch and French.
Those who speak good Dutch therefore stand a significantly better chance of finding work, the study concludes – regardless of their level of study. This rule appears to apply especially to women. This may have something to do with the sectors in which they are looking for work. For example, Dutch has a greater advantage in sales than in some other sectors.
The Federal Planning Bureau and BISA also point out that French-speaking jobseekers who barely speak Dutch not only miss out more often in Brussels. It is also difficult for them to find work in Flanders, even if it is nearby. And this despite the fact that Brussels and Flanders have set up a cooperation agreement to attract more Brussels job seekers to jobs in Flanders.
You can’t expect to find a decent job in a location where employers communicate with their workers in a language you don’t understand.
BTW, what is being said here about Dutch, based on my experience, is also valid for English.
Many people in that part of the country in the past assumed the French language was enough to find a well-paid job. Sorry to break the news. These days are over.
Learn Dutch, if you want to be suited for jobs in this country. And English.
I’m one of them.
I always thought I would stay in my hometown in Liège and I chose to learn German in secondary school because of the proximity to Germany and the German-speaking minority of my province.
It’s only now that I have graduated from university that I realise Brussels offers much better opportunities for my profile, and there if Dutch is not required it’s a big plus.
I do not regret having learned German but If I had known my future I would have picked Dutch instead.
Meanwhile in Flanders I’ve seen a lot of job postings expecting you to be almost fluent in French and English0
Well that is why dutch should be mandatory in schools in Wallonia.
This is news to just about no one in this country since our independence 😛
Maybe we should stop discriminating based on language. Just hire these people. Their colleagues and clients can adapt to speak French
/s
10 comments
**Of all French-speaking Belgians looking for work in Brussels, two-thirds do not speak Dutch at a level that is functional on the labour market. This is the conclusion of a study published today by the Federal Planning Bureau and the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis (BISA/IBSA). Especially women, according to the study, would find work faster if they spoke better Dutch.**
Officially, Brussels is a bilingual region, but for many Brussels residents their knowledge of Dutch or French is rather limited. As a result, many job-seekers miss out on opportunities on the labour market, argue the Federal Planning Bureau and BISA in a new study. To this end, they examined the files of all French-speaking Belgians in Brussels who are registered with Actiris, the Brussels counterpart of the VDAB.
Almost 30 percent of the jobseekers indicate that they speak Dutch on an A1 level, which is the absolute basic knowledge. Another 37 percent have a level of A2 – meaning they only understand simple texts with very easy words.
Altogether, 67 percent of the surveyed group does not speak Dutch at a level that is functional for the labour market. Even among people with a higher education diploma, 45 percent do not go beyond this level. Less than one in five jobseekers speaks at least an advanced level of Dutch.
This limited knowledge of Dutch is a disadvantage for the French-speaking inhabitants of Brussels when looking for a job. The same study shows, for example, that people with at least an advanced level of Dutch have a 20 percent better chance of finding a job than people who do not go beyond level A2. Figures from Actiris itself, which already date from 2019, also show that half of the vacancies explicitly ask for knowledge of Dutch and French.
Those who speak good Dutch therefore stand a significantly better chance of finding work, the study concludes – regardless of their level of study. This rule appears to apply especially to women. This may have something to do with the sectors in which they are looking for work. For example, Dutch has a greater advantage in sales than in some other sectors.
The Federal Planning Bureau and BISA also point out that French-speaking jobseekers who barely speak Dutch not only miss out more often in Brussels. It is also difficult for them to find work in Flanders, even if it is nearby. And this despite the fact that Brussels and Flanders have set up a cooperation agreement to attract more Brussels job seekers to jobs in Flanders.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Here is a link to the BISA/IBSA study [in Dutch](https://bisa.brussels/sites/default/files/publication/documents/Focus-52_NL_Final.pdf) and [in French](https://ibsa.brussels/sites/default/files/publication/documents/Focus-52_FR_Final.pdf), for people who want to read it more closely.
r/NoShitSherlock
So ?
You can’t expect to find a decent job in a location where employers communicate with their workers in a language you don’t understand.
BTW, what is being said here about Dutch, based on my experience, is also valid for English.
Many people in that part of the country in the past assumed the French language was enough to find a well-paid job. Sorry to break the news. These days are over.
Learn Dutch, if you want to be suited for jobs in this country. And English.
I’m one of them.
I always thought I would stay in my hometown in Liège and I chose to learn German in secondary school because of the proximity to Germany and the German-speaking minority of my province.
It’s only now that I have graduated from university that I realise Brussels offers much better opportunities for my profile, and there if Dutch is not required it’s a big plus.
I do not regret having learned German but If I had known my future I would have picked Dutch instead.
Meanwhile in Flanders I’ve seen a lot of job postings expecting you to be almost fluent in French and English0
Well that is why dutch should be mandatory in schools in Wallonia.
This is news to just about no one in this country since our independence 😛
Maybe we should stop discriminating based on language. Just hire these people. Their colleagues and clients can adapt to speak French
/s
Surprised Pikachu face /s
Is this news???