Last year, more than 2,000 jobseekers successfully earned diplomas through the Flemish Employment Service (VDAB), with approximately 80 percent securing employment within three months.

VDAB offers a range of educational paths for jobseekers to achieve secondary school diplomas, higher education credentials, professional bachelor's degrees, or abridged master's degrees. The count of jobseekers attaining diplomas using these paths reached a peak of 2,070 last year, marking a 22 percent increase from 2021, as reported by Het Nieuwsblad.

Higher vocational education and professional bachelor's degrees are particularly sought after, notably in fields such as healthcare and teaching. The availability of training programs has also expanded from 96 to 233 since 2015, a factor contributing to the uptick in diploma acquisition.

Approximately 80 percent of VDAB graduates secure employment within three months of completion. Flemish Employment Minister Jo Brouns (CD&V, Flemish Christian Democrats) explained to Het Nieuwsblad, "This includes individuals who reclaim control of their careers after experiencing layoffs and decide to retrain as educators or healthcare professionals. Although it necessitates short-term societal investment, it yields a twofold return in the long run." Photo by Phil Whitehouse, Wikimedia commons.