Brussels Minister-President Boris Dilliès visited a Bruxelles Formation centre in the north of the capital this Thursday, accompanied by several Brussels MPs.
The aim: to highlight training programmes for construction trades, a sector particularly hard hit by the labour shortage.
Located in Neder-Over-Heembeek, the centre trains jobseekers in all trades within the sector, from structural work to finishing, such as tiling, painting and plastering.
During his visit, Boris Dilliès spoke with trainers and trainees in the "formworker" and "roofer" sections, two professions currently classified among the shortage occupations in the Brussels Region.
"Training and employment are among the region's main challenges. We want to give manual work its rightful value, especially as we face high youth unemployment even as the construction sector is experiencing strong demand for workers", explained Boris Dilliès.
This gap could widen further, as numerous construction projects are planned in Brussels in the coming years: new tram lines, the Confex project at Heysel, and the revitalisation of the Audi and Port of Brussels sites.
In this context, Bruxelles Formation has begun work to better align its training programmes with market needs. The Minister-President intends to support this effort by facilitating contacts with economic stakeholders: "We need to encourage businesses to place greater trust in Brussels' youth."
In 2025, more than 16,000 jobseekers were trained through Bruxelles Formation, around 900 of them in construction trades. The aim is to raise this figure to 20,000 by the end of the legislature.