A future-proof labor market starts with the right mindset

The Belgian labor market in figures

With the study 'Be The Change' – of which Jeroen Franssen, Lead Expert at Agoria, is the face – Agoria maps out the evolution of the labor market in Belgium until 2030. This study examines how big the demand for labor is today and how it will evolve through 2030.

The increasing pressure on the labor market is partly due to the accelerated outflow of baby boomers. Their departure also puts extra pressure on the retention of internal knowledge and experience within organizations, and many employers are not ready for that.

The disappearance of this know-how and the rapidly evolving competency needs cannot be met by our education system alone. The result? The ball is more than ever in the camp of employers and young people as well as experienced workers to put lifelong learning into practice.

Challenges and opportunities for businesses

With the economy once again reaching cruising speed, the labor market is evolving rapidly. The battle for talent is fierce, the challenges for companies are immense.

The creation and filling of vacancies merely by increasing the level of activity is not sufficient. Continuously arming people with the right competencies, that will be the challenge.

In addition, entry into the labor market should be facilitated by achieving upward job mobility for all workers. This means that people at a certain level on the career ladder upskill and move on, making way for new entrants. People in declining jobs need to be retrained, for people in changing jobs we need to invest in skills to allow them to remain relevant.

Jeroen Franssen, Lead Expert at Agoria

Lifelong learning – with greater accessibility through various forms of training – should prepare employees for the future labor market.

Companies can play a key role in training employees 'on the job' so that they become employable in evolving roles and multiple projects. This task is also the shared responsibility of employer and employee.

Companies must also strive to no longer focus solely on diplomas and fixed 'labels' when recruiting and employing, but rather on people's potential and character traits, diversity and complementarity.

The rigid idea of permanent jobs – working for the same employer for life – is more and more giving way to agile roles and projects in ecosystems of clients who unite around a common goal.

Towards 2030: working together!

In practice, all the parties concerned – government, sectors, companies and the public – will have to make the necessary efforts to narrow the gap between the supply and demand of labor and must set their sights on the future.

Jeroen Franssen argues for abandoning the quasi exclusive focus on digitization. After all, in addition to digital transformation, there are other 'drivers for change' such as sustainability that we all can respond to proactively and take action around.

Jeroen Franssen, Lead Expert at Agoria

In addition, the symbiosis between man and machine is becoming paramount for keeping productivity at a high level within companies. Higher productivity is no longer synonymous with working harder but, above all, with working smarter, in all comfort and optimally assisted by new technologies.

This is only possible with the right skills on the shop-floor. Proximus is already being part of ensuring that new hi-tech solutions – such as a new digital workplace, IoT, bots or data analytics – are implemented as efficiently as possible.

Last but not, least Franssen refers to the '70/20/10 rule' to increase employability. This rule says that an employee should divide their job into three sections, with 70 percent of the work time going to the main task, 20 percent to support in another project and 10 percent going to preparing for the role of the future, in line with the company strategy.