Working abroad

Actiris (FR/NL), the Brussels Region’s Public Employment Service, includes an international placement service, Actiris International. This passes on offers of jobs or internships to jobseekers in Brussels. Among the roles of Actiris International is the management of internship programmes, such as Eurodyssey. As a young person from Brussels, you can benefit from a period of professional experience in one of the countries in the European Economic Area.

Actiris International can help you to find out about the professional opportunities abroad which are open to you as a jobseeker in Brussels. Some time spent working outside our borders gives you the chance to learn about another culture, gain some new skills related to the sector you have trained in, and above all, to be more competitive on the employment market!

Visit www.actirisinternational.be to find out about the professional internship scheme in Europe that matches your ambitions, to find job offers abroad, and to read about the important procedures you will need to go through to prepare for moving abroad, as well as all sorts of useful information to support your mobility project.

Actiris International also offers companies, both in Belgium and abroad, the Select International service whereby it shortlists applicants in order to help the companies to satisfy their manpower recruitment needs.

If you want to go beyond Europe’s borders, there are several options to choose from. The web is the most obvious one of course. Several jobsites are part of international groups with a presence in other countries and continents. Visit these jobsites in the country of your choice or use your favourite search engine to look for “job centres” in the local language.

• www.monster.com: jobs in over 40 countries
• www.careerjet.be (NL): vacancies from around the world
• www.the-network.com: an alliance of recruitment job sites
• www.overseasjobcentre.co.uk: links to lots of international work opportunities
• www.idealist.org: vacancies and work opportunities in the non-profit sector

Before packing your bags, you should find out how a foreign stay can affect your social security (such as benefit entitlements, pension and mutual health insurance).

• To find out more, see the interactive database of the Federal Public Service Social Security (FR/NL/DE).

You can work as a volunteer on projects in a developing country. Most NGOs working in development cooperation are looking for volunteers with solid experience and require you to follow training courses in specific fields, among other things.

For more information, contact the Belgian Development Agency, the two development cooperation federations or visit www.ong-livreouvert.be (FR/NL).

• Belgian Development Agency (BTC)
  Rue Haute, 147, 1000 Brussels
  Phone: +32 (0)2 505 37 00
  Email: info@btcctb.org
  Online: www.btcctb.org
• Acodev (Federation of French-speaking and German-speaking development cooperation NGOs)
  Phone: +32 (0)2 219 88 55
  Email: info@acodev.be
  Online: www.acodev.be (FR)
• NGO Federatie (Flemish Federation of development cooperation NGOs)
  Phone: +32 (0)2 536 19 26
  Contact : www.ngo-federatie.be
  Online: www.ngo-federatie.be (NL)

Another possibility for experienced professionals is the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, offering work on UN projects. To find out more about the UNV, see www.unv.org.