7 organizations - Apides, CIMB Wapi, DUO for a JOB, DUO for a JOB, FMDO, MentorYou, Randstad RiseSmart and Team4Job - join forces to structure and promote the mentoring sector. Mentoring Belgium wants to occupy a central place in the current debates on getting back to work.
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A pillar of employment policies
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Walloon, Brussels and Flemish actors who are experts in mentoring come together to create “Mentoring Belgium”. The objective? Develop mentoring on a large scale and guarantee the quality of programs by aligning with European standards. A Belgian first in the landscape of socio-professional integration.
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According to these organizations, mentoring is a human, effective solution that has proven its positive impact and must now become a pillar of employment policies. They require a structural legislative and financial framework.
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Support the return to work, without excluding
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The federal government's Easter agreement plans to limit unemployment benefits over time, with more than 100,000 people excluded as early as 2026. Presented as an incentive to employment, this measure is likely to worsen the precariousness of unemployed people, especially those who work for a long time.
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To be effective, a real investment in human and individualized support is essential. Without this, governments risk the opposite effect: more discouragement and poverty.
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A human solution that works
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In this context, mentoring towards employment plays an essential role. Mentoring is based on a relationship of trust between a volunteer mentor and a person looking for a job, who engages in it on a voluntary basis. It strengthens motivation, self-confidence and autonomy. It also helps to expand your network, understand professional codes and actively look for a job.
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In Brussels, 6,500 people have already benefited from it, with a 77% success rate. Even for those who are furthest from employment.
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Julie Bodson, spokesperson for Mentoring Belgium, concludes:
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“In a context of profound reforms, we call on the authorities to make mentoring a strategic lever for social and professional inclusion. It is one of the few human and concrete solutions that has been proven to work and whose impact has been measured! Everywhere in Europe, mentoring is emerging as a relevant response to current socio-economic challenges. Moreover, France has chosen an ambitious Mentoring Plan with real public investments. In Belgium, the sector is ready. We are working together, at the disposal of administrations and politicians, to make mentoring a real public policy tool.”
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Press contact
Guillaume Albessard | g.albessard@duoforajob.org | +32 487 18 03 40
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