Faced with the magnitude of the challenges related to employment, social exclusion and professional transitions, it is obvious: supporting people, rather than forcing them, is the key to sustainable inclusion. In this rapidly changing landscape, a human, effective and proven solution deserves a central place: mentoring towards employment.
It is in this spirit that Mentoring Belgium was born, a coalition of seven expert mentoring organizations: Apides, CIMB Wapi, DUO for a JOB, FMDO, MentorYou, Randstad RiseSmart and Team4Job. Together, they join forces to structure, promote and strengthen mentoring for employment as a central tool for social and professional inclusion.
The return to work cannot be decreed, it is accompanied
The Easter agreement, recently concluded by the federal government, calls for a profound reform of our unemployment insurance system. Among the measures announced, the limitation on the time of unemployment benefits with the concrete consequence of the end of benefits for more than 100,000 people as of January 2026. This change, presented as a lever to “encourage” people to return to work, risks, by itself, to further weaken people who are already in difficulty, in particular those facing long-term unemployment.
If the current reform really wants to promote their return to work, it must be accompanied by massive investment in targeted and individualized human support systems. Otherwise, this decision risks producing the opposite effect: increased precariousness, a feeling of abandonment and... a distance from the conditions in which these people would be able to find a stable job again.
Mentoring: human, targeted and effective support
Based on a relationship of trust between an experienced volunteer (the mentor) and a person looking for a job (the mentee), mentoring is an individualized and intensive support system — at least two meetings per month — that allows action to be taken at several levels. On a psychological level, it helps to strengthen motivation, self-confidence and autonomy. On the social level, it makes it possible to broaden one's network, to appropriate the codes of the professional world and to mobilize skills. Finally, mentoring offers concrete support in the search for a job: writing resumes and cover letters, preparing for job interviews, understanding market expectations or orientation in an often complex administrative environment.
In Brussels, 6,500 job seekers benefitted. According to a study conducted by Actiris, 77% of participants register a positive exit (employment, training or internship), of which 63% have direct access to employment. Remarkable fact: these results are maintained even among the groups most distant from the labour market, in particular the long-term unemployed, women, low-skilled people or those whose degrees are not recognized. With such a high success rate, mentoring is not a cost to the community, but a strategic investment with high returns.
Mentoring Belgium: a coalition to structure, promote and strengthen mentoring
To make mentoring a real lever for employment policies, Mentoring Belgium is committed on the one hand to advocacy work with public decision-makers. The objective: to obtain a sustainable financing framework guaranteeing the stability and development of mentoring programs, while ensuring a high level of quality, thanks to a common definition of mentoring and harmonized practices, aligned with European standards.
On the other hand, the coalition aims to strengthen cooperation between actors in the field, to promote the exchange of good practices and promote synergies between the various actors, in order to address the diversity of needs of people looking for work. By also ensuring national representation at the European level, Mentoring Belgium intends to position Belgium as a reference player in terms of social innovation and professional integration.
Appeal to public authorities
In a context of major structural reforms, Mentoring Belgium calls on the authorities to recognize mentoring as a strategic lever for social and professional inclusion. It is time to rethink employment support, not through coercion, but through human, individualized and proven support.
In Europe, mentoring is emerging as a relevant response to current socio-economic challenges. In 2024, France made it its major national cause and launched a country-wide Mentoring Plan, supported by significant public investments.
Belgium also has the opportunity to join this dynamic and to make mentoring a real public policy tool, in line with the social, economic and human challenges we face.
Website - www.mentoringBelgium.com
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/mentoring-Belgium
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