Employment policy

Since 1st January 2000, the German-speaking Community has the competence to act as regards employment policy owing to a transfer of competencies from the Walloon region. Three main fields of application constitute this responsibility:

1. Work placement

The employment agency of the German-speaking Community with the partial help of private temping agencies help people find jobs in the German-speaking community.

The intervention of the employment agency is about:

• Work placement in general,
• Work placement for persons who have difficulties to integrate socially,
• Work placement within the framework of temporary employment contracts,
• Work placement within the scope of measures taken to create employments,
• Outplacement,
• Helping non-European Economic Area workers to find jobs.

The mediation capacity of this body stretches very largely; it includes:

• The setting up of a direct meeting between the employers and the unemployed as well as the employment applicants,
• Vocational guidance,
• Vocational pieces of advice,
• Occupational ability verification,
• Guidance after starting work,
• A study on the labour market and the professional life,
• Occupational retraining and (continuing) vocational training.

2. The employment creation programme

The employment creation programme is usually meant for totally insured unemployed and for equivalent persons. In Belgium, the federal, regional and communitarian authorities encourage the taking of actions concerning the employment creation by subsidizing them.

Since 1st January 2000, the German-speaking Community manages a series of unemployment curbing measures, including among others:

• Subsidized contract employees,
• The inter-departmental fund for employment promotion,
• The transition-to-work scheme,
• Unemployment compensation offer,
• The occupation of persons on income support.

3. The occupation of the foreign labour force

The Federal authorities are competent for the supervision of the keeping of the standards applying to foreign workers. Provided that they are empowered to do it, the regional civil servants have the possibility to record breaches of the rules.

Since 1st January 2000, the German-speaking Community is entitled to issue working permits for companies and for non-European Economic Area citizens.