With the study 'Be The Change' – of which Jeroen Franssen, Lead Expert at Agoria, is the face – Agoria maps out the evolution of the labor market in Belgium until 2030. This study examines how big the demand for labor is today and how it will evolve by 2030.

2016 to 2019

2020 to  2021

towards 2030

With the economy once again reaching cruising speed, the labor market evolving rapidly and the battle for talent fierce, the challenges for companies are immense.

The creation and filling of vacancies merely by increasing the level of activity is not sufficient. Continuously arming people with the right competencies, that will be the challenge.

In addition, entry into the labor market should be facilitated by achieving upward job mobility for all workers. This means that people at a certain level on the career ladder upskill and move on, making way for new entrants. People in declining jobs need to be retrained. For people in changing jobs, we need to invest in skills to allow them to remain relevant.

Lifelong learning – with greater accessibility through various forms of training – should prepare employees for the future labor market.

Companies can play a key role in training employees 'on the job' so that they become employable in evolving roles and multiple projects. This task is also the shared responsibility of employer and employee.

Companies must also strive to no longer focus solely on degrees and fixed 'labels' when recruiting and employing, but rather on people's potential and character traits, diversity and complementarity.

The rigid idea of permanent jobs – working for the same employer for life – is more and more giving way to agile roles and projects in ecosystems of clients who unite around a common goal.

In practice, all the parties concerned – government, sectors, companies and the public – will have to make the necessary efforts to narrow the gap between the supply and demand of labor and must set their sights on the future.

Jeroen Franssen argues for abandoning the quasi exclusive focus on digitization. After all, in addition to digital transformation, there are other 'drivers for change', such as sustainability, that we all can respond to proactively and take action around.

In addition, the symbiosis between man and machine is becoming paramount for keeping productivity at a high level within companies. Higher productivity is no longer synonymous with working harder, but above all with working smarter, in all comfort and optimally assisted by new technologies.

This is only possible with the right skills on the shop floor. Proximus is already being part of ensuring that new hi-tech solutions – such as a new digital workplace, IoT, bots or data analytics – are implemented as efficiently as possible.

Last but not least, Jeroen Franssen refers to the '70/20/10 rule' to increase employability. This rule says that employees should divide their job into three sections, with 70 percent of the work time going to the main task, 20 percent to support in another project and 10 percent going to preparing for the role of the future, in line with the company strategy.

“In the future, we will work in ecosystems of clients, united around a common goal.”

Jeroen Franssen, 
Lead Expert of the People & Organization Expertise Center at Agoria

4 out of 10 Belgians score below the basic level of digital skills. What does that level imply and how important are these skills in today's labor market? 

Lecot

is Belgium's largest hardware dealer founded over 125 years ago. Lecot's customers include manufacturers of doorsand windows, carpenters, electricians and plumbers.

VDAB

The Flemish Service for Recruitment and Work Training is the Flemish public employment service and operates one of the largest job sites in Flanders. The VDAB helps people in their search for work by, among other things, offering training courses and guiding job searchers.