VDAB

What it is

VDAB runs a site for job seekers in Belgium that combines job search, training and career guidance, and its online learning section is a free course catalog in Dutch. The page title promises "Online opleidingen: gratis voor wie wil bijleren" (online training, free for anyone who wants to learn more), and the page opens with the aim: "Bereid je voor op de arbeidsmarkt van morgen en schaaf je competenties bij met een online opleiding, workshop, video of podcast" (prepare for tomorrow's labor market and sharpen your skills with an online course, workshop, video or podcast).

It is a learner product, and VDAB makes the audience broad. "Onze opleidingen zijn er voor iedereen! Of je nu werk zoekt of werk hebt" (our training is for everyone, whether you are looking for work or have a job). That places it among government course portals and among open online course catalogs: free, online and open to working people as well as the unemployed.

Three ways to learn online

The online learning page sets out three formats.

Online courses. These are for independent study "wanneer het jou past" (whenever it suits you). Learners work at their own pace and do exercises as they go, and the page counts "meer dan 200 gratis opleidingen in verschillende vakgebieden" (more than 200 free courses in different fields).

Online workshops. These are short and practical: "In enkele uren een nieuwe skill bijleren die je meteen kan gebruiken" (learn a new skill in a few hours that you can use right away), with explanation from professional and enthusiastic instructors. The page lists "meer dan 50 gratis praktijkgerichte workshops voor werkzoekenden" (more than 50 free practical workshops for job seekers), so this format is aimed at people looking for work.

Videos and podcasts. Learners can brush up their professional knowledge with videos taken from VDAB's own courses. The podcast "Zo werkt het!" (that is how it works) presents a knelpuntberoep, an occupation employers struggle to fill, in every episode. For someone choosing a new direction, that is a quick way to hear what a hard-to-fill job actually involves.

The subject areas

The course finder groups the catalog into training domains that follow the labor market rather than academic subjects:

• Administratie (administration)
• Boekhouding en recht (accounting and law)
• Bouw en hout (construction and woodworking)
• Commercieel (sales)
• Communicatie en marketing (communication and marketing)
• Grafisch (graphics)
• Horeca en toerisme (hospitality and tourism)
• Human resources
• ICT
• Management
• Onderhoud (maintenance)
• Productie (production)
• Soft skills
• Talen (languages)
• Techniek (technical trades)
• Transport en logistiek (transport and logistics)
• Zorg en gezondheid (care and health)

Learners who are already enrolled find their course in their VDAB account through a "Ga naar je cursus" (go to your course) link.

How it fits the rest of VDAB's training

Online learning is one entry in a wider training menu, and the other entries matter to anyone planning a career change. The menu also lists free and low-cost learning (gratis en voordelig leren), workshops, a skills test (test je vaardigheden), combined learning and working (leren en werken), earning a diploma (diploma behalen) and recognition of work experience (werkervaring erkennen).

The diploma route stands out. The home page says that people without work who want to go back to studying can earn a secondary or higher education diploma for free through VDAB. In its words, "Dan kan je via VDAB gratis een diploma secundair of hoger onderwijs behalen" (then you can earn a secondary or higher education diploma for free through VDAB), and a link leads to the conditions. The online courses build skills; this is the route for a formal qualification.

Training is also promoted through VDAB's events calendar. Current listings include an online information session about training as a logistics clerk in the Antwerp area, an information session about training as an assistant cook in a large kitchen in Antwerp, a preparatory session for JobStart, and an information and job day in Genk about working as a panel builder.

Guidance and job search around the courses

The site wraps the courses in career support. Under orientation, VDAB offers a "which job suits me?" tool, career guidance (loopbaanbegeleiding), information on occupations and sectors, and guides for particular situations: leaving school, being 55 or older, losing a job, temporary unemployment, a disability or illness, and being new in Belgium.

The jobs side of the site sits next to the courses: job suggestions, help with searching for work and with applying, information on working as a student, working abroad and becoming self-employed (ondernemer worden), plus separate sites for employers and for partners.

Job seekers can register with VDAB, which the home page says is needed to start the professional integration period after leaving school or graduating and to apply for an unemployment, integration or income guarantee benefit. Once logged in, users have a profile, their occupations, their vacancies and applications, assignments, messages, documents and a calendar. The home page also greets visitors with the number of jobs on offer that day, 100.000 in its current welcome line, so the step from a course to a vacancy is short.

Help and contact

VDAB lists a free phone line, 0800 30 700, open every working day from 8 to 16.30, plus email, a chat (shown as currently unavailable), a list of VDAB locations and a new option to start a co-browse session. The site also links to frequently asked questions, testimonials, figures, an accessibility page, a suggestion and complaint form and pages in other languages.

Who it suits

VDAB's online learning suits anyone who reads Dutch and wants free, practical training tied to work: a job seeker filling a gap before applying, a school leaver building basic skills, someone over 55 or recently laid off who wants to retrain, or an employee picking up ICT, language or management skills in their own time. Because the self-paced courses can be followed whenever it suits the learner, they fit around a working week as easily as around a job search. The workshops are the fastest option for job seekers, the podcast helps people weighing a move into a shortage occupation, and the free diploma route is there for those who need a formal qualification.

It suits less well a learner who does not read Dutch, since the catalog and site are in Dutch, though the site does offer some information in other languages.