Flemish Brabant (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The transport company De Lijn has initiated a hiring project for 128 drivers and 15 technicians, and it operates out of Flemish Brabant. Finding employment candidates is difficult for Leuven and its Brussels periphery zone near Zaventem airport.
The transportation company De Lijn experiences critical personnel shortages throughout Flemish Brabant, where it needs 128 bus drivers and 15 maintenance staff, mostly in Leuven city and its neighbouring areas around the capital and Zaventem area.
The unemployment rate remains low, and specific technical expertise with transport experience generates excessive market demand, which presents this recruiting challenge. The organisation participates directly in job fairs, including the Brussels Airport event, in order to recruit new candidates.
“At Zaventem airport, this has to do with the similar profiles they are looking for. People with a technical background or people who like to work with transport. And those are exactly the people we are looking for,”
Says spokesperson Frederik Wittock.
In the region around Leuven, De Lijn also seems to have difficulty finding staff, but that is due to something else.
“In Leuven, the employment rate is very high. In other words, many people already have a job here. That is why we have to look further outside Leuven, towards Diest and Aarschot, to find people who want to come and work in Leuven.”
Those who are interested do not need a specific diploma.
“Drivers must, above all, have a great desire to deal with people, both internally and with passengers. You must have a number of technical skills to be able to drive a large vehicle and have a great responsibility for your passengers. But you learn that with us. From day 1 you are paid for a 6-week training, and after that, you can call yourself a driver at De Lijn.”
What is the employment landscape in Flemish Brabant?
The employment opportunities combined with low unemployment rates characterise Flemish Brabant, particularly in and around Leuven and Zaventem airports. Technical and transport industries within this zone generate strong competition for qualified employees. De Lijn faces recruitment challenges because the unemployment rate in Leuven exceeds 75%, and the city has many universities combined with numerous technology firms.
Technical and logistics professionals are drawn to Zaventem airport as a major economic centre, which strains the employment market. De Lijn traditionally draws new hires from towns in close proximity, such as Diest and Aarschot, because their unemployment rates remain slightly below average. The regional economy operating at a high level combined with specialised labour requirements creates persistent hiring difficulties for technical transport jobs throughout Flemish Brabant.
