BritishZebra

Hi,

I moved to Leuven recently and am having problems finding a job, mostly because I don't speak Dutch, I did learn French at secondary school, but not practiced it much, I didn't think that would be the most useful GSCE I would be taking at the time lol. I did fine at it though.

I tried contacting Stonemanor etc. but am not having much luck there, does anyone have any suggestions? Would be grateful for any help as I love it here and need to find a job to be able to stay here.

FlyingDutchman6666

Hello Zebra,

I used to live in Belgium/Flanders for a long time. I would keep the following in mind:

1. speaking your clients'/suppliers'/colleagues'... language is important. When working in Flanders, you will frequently interact with people from Brussels, Wallonia, Holland, France, UK, Germany, and even farther afield.

2. Anyone graduating from compulsory secondary school in Flanders will have a good working knowledge of at least three languages: NL, F and ENG. Many people add German or Spanish.

3. Given 1 and 2 above, put yourself in the shoes of an employer. In absence of specialist, hard-to-find skills, why would (s)he hire a unilingual foreigner, when locals are just as qualified, know the local market and speak 3 languages to boot?

I'm certainly not saying it's impossible, I just want to give you a friendly warning of a few simple realities out there.

Best strategy for finding a job in Flanders or Brussels: start learning Dutch.

Enjoy your time there. It's an overlooked, offbeat place, with an exceptionally high standard of living.

nelly1927

Looking for construction painting jobs any ideas please

Dramaction

[QUOTE=BritishZebra;10454640]Hi,

I moved to Leuven recently and am having problems finding a job, mostly because I don't speak Dutch, I did learn French at secondary school, but not practiced it much, I didn't think that would be the most useful GSCE I would be taking at the time lol. I did fine at it though.

It will be very difficult if you're not speaking any Dutch, maybe you can try an international company in the Zaventem/Brucargo area. Good luck!

gioppino

Have you considered working in Holland? Usually Dutch employers pay travel expenses, even from abroad. All my former colleagues lived in Belgium and commuted. There's plenty of call centre work in Maastricht.

luisv64

I have been working for 4 years in Belgium.

My view is that if you do not speak Flemish you will have more chances to find a job in Brussels than in Leuven and it is less than 30 mins commuting time. Then, of course, it depends on your branch.


Good luck

Ray51

Historically ,
Belgium maintains some of the highest unemployment in all of western EUrope ; much as it is a good place to live ( I am a resident , since 1999 ) the buxxxx do come quite handy , too .
Are you sure you want to be there , in this situation ?

FlyingDutchman6666

Really? Unemployment figures from this week's The Economist:

Belgium 7.4%
Britain 7.8%
Netherlands 7.7%
France 10.6%
Mean for Euro area 11.6%

JB80

How did you contact Stonemanor?
I would say it's probably best to go in person with a CV. If you go to the Everberg store right now they are looking for a delivery driver to start immediately, they do have a set up to submit an application online but surely going in person will be better.

Of course that is if you have a license, if not then maybe your best bet is to hit the English and Irish bars and ask if you can do anything for them. You don't say what exactly your qualifications are so I'm just trying to think of something.