Second meeting of the EURES network

Last October 15th and 16th the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg participated in the second meeting of the EURES network that took place in Brussels.

Several European national employment agencies, different representatives of the European Commission and the recently incorporated partners of the network attended the event. Attendees had the chance to get to know cases of success and celebrate the 25th anniversary of EURES.

Moreover, through the workshops, attendees were able to discover the good practices of other organizations and propose their suggestions to improve the services that EURES offers.

The Chamber, as new partner of the network in Belgium, presented its employment platform, EmpleoBeLux, which is aimed at Spanish people in search of employment opportunities in BeLux.

The Chamber, new member of the EURES network in Belgium

Last June, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg was selected as a new member of the EURES network in Belgium for the Brussels and Wallonia regions.

EURES is a cooperation network designed to facilitate the free movement of workers within the EU 28 countries plus Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Employment agencies, unions and business organizations are part of this network.  Likewise, EURES provides its services through the portal and through a human network of around 1.000 advisers that are in daily contact with jobseekers and employers across Europe.

Since 2014, the Chamber has supported the Spanish residents of the BeLux in search of employment and the Belgian and Luxembourgish companies in search of personnel through its employment platform, initially called Programa Jóvenes; and currently EmpleoBelux.

With this recognition, the Chamber intends to continue supporting both jobseekers and companies and, therefore, will provide support services directly to jobseekers and employers in terms of intra-European contracting and contracting opportunities.

IV edition of the Social Networking Night

Last 13th of June took place in Brussels the IV edition of the Social Networking Night, an activity organized by the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg in the framework of its program Empleo BeLux. The main objective of this activity is to optimize the tools available in BeLux for the job search. The event took place at the BNP Paribas Fortis facilities in Brussels.

First of all, the Secretary General of the Chamber, María Catalán, thanked all the attendees, speakers and sponsors BNP Paribas Fortis and Esade Business School for their presence, and presented the program of the event and the website Empleo BeLux.

Then Salvatore Orlando, Expat Manager of BNP Paribas Fortis, addressed some tips for expats in Brussels, emphasizing how to develop and where to expand their contact network.

The first presentation of the event was in charge of Andrés Álvarez, Project Officer at the European Commission, who presented the different possibilities and options that exist to work in the European Union. Álvarez explained the range of possibilities for having access to institutions, emphasizing the different options available without the need to access through EPSO competitions, such as contractual contracts.

For her part, Ursi Van der Herten, Associate Director International Executive Programs at ESADE, made a presentation on how to study an Executive MBA can help accelerate your professional career, highlighting the importance of the business school choice. Among the advices, she remarked to seek information through the alumni network for the choice of the school.

Francesc Cots, Financial Director at Eurofirms, underlined the importance of the Personal Branding to finding employment and placed particular emphasis on Personal Branding on social media and specifically on LinkedIn. Cots advised to share activities carried out by the company that you work through your personal profile.

In this edition, the success story of “Emprende Belux” was led by Paloma Cantero, CEO of YouthProAktiv and CWC Consulting. Cantero shared her experience as an entrepreneur in Belgium and explained the difficulties she had to face, as well as the satisfactions and motivation to undertake in a foreign country. Likewise, the entrepreneur participates in the Erasmus Program for Young Entrepreneurs of the Chamber, which Arturo Ibáñez subsequently explained.

Arturo Ibáñez and Soraya Bravo, Project Managers of the Chamber, explained the main features of two Chamber’s programs related to entrepreneurship: the Erasmus Program for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE), a European program of transnational exchanges that offers new entrepreneurs and people who want to create a business the opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who run small businesses in other participating countries, which the Chamber is a local point of contact, and the Emprende BeLux, a program to support Spanish residents in Belgium and Luxembourg on the long road to entrepreneurship and business consolidation.

Among the different interventions, the attendees had the opportunity to participate in three workshops. In the first one, Asier Marquina, from Arcelomittal, highlighted the techniques to enhance networking and contact network, through a dynamic and participate intervention. In the second one, the life coach Marta Cela gave the keys to successfully answer the cheating questions in a job interview and she outlined the self-confidence and attitude when facing the interview as a candidate. In the last workshop, Victoria Martinez, HR Talent Acquisition Consultant in Everis, developed the importance of social networks as a jobs search tool and provided useful advices for making an attractive curriculum for the employer.

Finally, the attendees enjoyed a networking cocktail, in which they could interact with the speakers and other participants in a relaxed atmosphere.

The Chamber and StepStone company sign a collaboration agreement

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg has signed a collaboration agreement with StepStone, a leading digital employment platform with more than 20 years of experience in the search of online workers, with the aim of benefiting all members of the Chamber as well as the users of the Empleobelux.com portal.

On the one hand, this collaboration will facilitate the search for employment to all users of the web managed by the Chamber as the number of daily published offers in which Spanish is demanded will be expanded.

Also, thanks to this collaboration, the members of the Chamber will be able to benefit from a 15% discount on the first publication of job offers through StepStone. The information corresponding to the application of the discount is published on the Intranet of the Chamber and it is addressed exclusively to members. StepStone has a large pool of candidates with Spanish proficiency that complements the ones of the EmpleoBelux portal, which is an added value for companies that need to incorporate employees with this profile in Belux.

With this recent collaboration, the Chamber seeks to provide a wider and more beneficial service for its members and users of EmpleoBelux, facilitating the processes of personnel selection in Belgium and/or Luxembourg thanks to a recognized company such as StepStone.

The Chamber presents its employment and entrepreneurship programs in Granada

The Secretary General of the Chamber, María Catalán, participated on June 7th and 8th in the III Youth Employment and Mobility Fair organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Granada.

During the conference, more than 400 young people had the opportunity to get information on more than 120 jobs to cover immediately in the 42 companies and institutions of the province participating in the fair.

In relation to opportunities for employability abroad, María Catalán presented the employment and entrepreneurship programs currently managed by the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Among them, the programs EmpleoBeLux, Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, Emprende BeLux and Reactivate.

In addition, Catalán reported on the possibilities of professional internships in Europe through the Mobility Plan of the PICE programhighlighting the active offers currently in Belgium and Luxembourg through the portal enabled to view all of them.

[AFG_gallery id=’83’]

Success in the 3rd edition of the Social Networking Night

Last Thursday May 31 took place in Brussels the 3rd edition of the Social Networking Night, an activity organized by the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg in the framework of its program Empleo BeLux. The main objective of this activity is to optimize the tools available in BeLux for the job search.The event took place at the BNP Paribas Fortis facilities in Brussels.

The Secretary General of the Chamber, María Catalán, thanked all the attendees, speakers and sponsor BNP Paribas Fortis, and presented the program of the event and the website Empleo BeLux.

Then the first presentation took place, in which Marisa Jiménez Martín, Director EU Affairs and Deputy Head of Office of Facebook, explained how to make a career in public policy and regulatory affairs, focusing on the interviews. In a job interview, the interviewee is analyzed according to their leadership and the opinion creation they have, in addition to the training and experience acquired.

Subsequently, Luis Planas Herrera, Policy Assistant to the Director-General – DG ENV, presented the different possibilities and options available to work for the European Union. In the European Union there is a demand for all types of profiles, but applicants must be clear about their motivations, besides knowing that 95% of the jobs are between Brussels and Luxembourg.

Among the different interventions, the attendees had the opportunity to participate in three workshops. In the first one, Marta Cela, life coach, highlighted the importance of personal values ​​when looking for a job and when doing interviews. On the other hand, networking expert Ángel Rebollo, Senior European Affairs Consultant and director of the Atrevia office, gave very useful advices to make networking and explained some case studies. Finally, Noelia Cortés advised the participants on the writing of the CV and the motivation letter when looking for a job.

Mark de Smedt, Regional Head of The Adecco Group Northern Europe, explained how the labor market is and the main profiles currently demanded, emphasizing the employment opportunities in BeLux because of the low unemployment rate.

On the other hand, María Casado, director of the Associated Center of the UNED in Brussels, highlighted the importance of continuing education and presented the different opportunities to study that has the university at distance.

This year the success story was led by Marian Durá, from EasyBabyTrip. Marian is a Spaniard who moved to Brussels and for different reasons decided to start and create her own business. Marian, underscoring the difficulties and the advantages, encouraged the attendees to undertake and pursue their objectives, since it is very satisfying to be able to make all your business ideas come true.

María Catalán also presented a new project of the Chamber called “Emprende BeLux“, which is focused on entrepreneurs. This program offers the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to promote a business idea, while the entrepreneur exchanges ideas and collaborates with other entrepreneurs.

Next, Ángela Ustarroz, Country Manager in Belgium, presented the Integral Program of Qualification and Employment (PICE) which is designed to improve the employability of young people through transnational mobility in the territory of the European Union.

Finally, Arturo Ibáñez explained the main characteristics of the Erasmus Program for Young Entrepreneurs, a European program of transnational exchanges that offers new entrepreneurs and people who want to create a business the opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who run small businesses in other participating countries, which the Chamber is a local point of contact

To finish, the attendees enjoyed a networking cocktail, in which they could interact with the speakers, the experts and other participants.

 

#NetworkingBeLux

[AFG_gallery id=’82’]

Conference: Employment opportunities and permanent training in Belgium

The past 20th February, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg took part in a conference about employment opportunities and permanent training in Belgium, organized by the UNED centre in Brussels. It was an information session for UNED students and young professionals living in Belgium who are interested about permanent training offered by UNED, as well as job portals and support national employment offices.

Firstly, María Casado, Director at the associated center of UNED in Brussels, welcomed all the young professionals attending to the conference. Afterwards, she presented the services offered by UNED in Brussels, as well as the different employment and internship opportunities that are accessible for young residents in Belgium.

On the other hand, Concepción Gutiérrez del Castillo and José Luis Estébanez, Employment Counselor and head of citizen information respectively, at the Employment and Healthcare Counseling of the Embassy of Spain in Belgium detailed some information related to accommodation and health coverage in Belgium. They also presented the employment portal that the Counseling offers the Spanish citizens through their webpage.

Lastly, María Catalán, Secretary General of the Chamber presented the services that the institution offers to Spanish citizens. In addition to the organization of training events and workshops, the Chamber has an employment portal, which by the way, has just been redesigned (www.empleobelux.com). Through a virtual visit tour, the Secretary General showed which are the services offered by this portal for both people searching for a job in Belgium and Luxembourg and companies that are searching for new talents.

As services for candidates, this portal does not only inform about job offers for Spanish speaking people, it also provides the necessary information for a quick adaptation and integration in BeLux, administrative procedures, accommodation, etc.

Finally, María Catalán presented the Chamber as a local contact point in BeLux of the EYE Programme (Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs) for all those entrepreneurs that want to take part in the project.

Success of the Social Networking Night II

Last Thusrday, June 8th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized the 2nd edition of the Social Networking Night, which took place within the framework of Programa Jóvenes BeLux. The main goal was to support young Spanish expats in Brussels in their social and professional integration in Belgium and Luxembourg. The event was held at the headquarters of BNP Paribas Fortis.

The secretary general of the Chamber, María Catalán, thanked the attendees for their pressence, as well as the speakers and the sponsors: BNP Paribas Fortis and LSI, and explained the event’s program.

Afterwards Salvatore Orlando, in representation of  BNP Paribas Fortis Belgium, explained some tips for expats to begin building their network in Brussels.

Then the MEP Javi López explained the latest activity of the European Parliament on youth employment. He underlined the relevance of skills and the adaptation to the change of job opportunities after the digitalization of European economy.

Between the speeches, the participants had the opportunity to attend to three different workshops. In the first one, Asier Marquina from Arcelormittal showed different keys to practice networking and your contact network in BeLux. On the other hand, the digital marketing expert Philippe Schifflers gave a workshop on social media as a tool to optimize your professional profile. At last, Ramón López Peláez, manager of Programa Jóvenes BeLux, advised the participants about writing your CV and a motivation letter when looking for a job.

     

On the other hand, Zohra Dailal, in representation of the language school LSI, highlighted the importance of learning different languages when searching for a job in Belgium.

This year the success history was for David Sánchez from Atelier David Sánchez, Samuel Díaz, from Samuel Diaz 3D and José Serrano from Dlinea Architecture&Design. They are Spanish men who moved to Luxembourg for different reasons and decided to become self-employed in their particular sectors: digital marketing, architecture and infographic design. 

They brought to light how important differentiation and communication are for entrepreneurs, as well as synergies, which is the reason they met and joined in a common project which led them to professional success. Highliting challenges, pros and cons, they encouraged the attendees to start their business and follow their goals, in and outside of Spain.

At last, Ramón López Peláez explained the insights of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program, European program for transnational exchange whigh offers new entrepreneurs and people who want to start a business the opportunity to learn from businessmen/women and their experience. The Chamber is a local contact spot for this program as well.

To finish up, the attendees enjoyed a networking cocktail, in which they could chat with the speakers, the experts and the rest of participants.

 

[AFG_gallery id=’52’]

“Active Job Search 2.0” – Free workshop held in the framework of Programa Jóvenes Belux

On the 6 October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held the free workshop “Active Job Search 2.0”. The workshop was given by Philippe Schifflers, digital marketing and communications expert. This course took place in the framework of the Programa Jóvenes BeLux, supported by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security of Spain.

Around 15 young people attended to this course with a very participative attitude. “80 % of firms in Brussels, when a new professional is needed, they search among LinkedIn candidates”, outlined the lecturer. Based on this data, Schifflers focused the first part of the workshop on the ways to improve LinkedIn’s profile. The attendees could also learn some other useful tools, such as RSS, Google Alerts or Buffer that allow to customize the job search, and therefore, to save time.

Finally, the lecturer shared with the attendees the different methods to increase the chances of finding a job. Besides, he gave them advice about how to deal with the interview and how to prepare the motivation letter. The participants were really involved in the course with their interventions, in which they stated their personal cases and therefore the rest of participants could learn of their mistakes.

The Chambers acknowledges Philippe Schifflers for giving this workshop in their facilities and hopes it has been useful to the attendees.

The Chamber renews its partnership with the exclusive sponsor for Programa Jovenes Belux, BNP Paribas Fortis

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg has the pleasure to announce the renewal of the partnership with the exclusive sponsor for Programa Jóvenes Belux, the bank BNP Paribas Fortis.

Thanks to BNP Paribas Fortis and the Ministry of Employment and Social Security support, through the Programa Jóvenes Belux, the Chamber can realize job guidance to young Spaniards between 18 and 35 years old living in Belgium and Luxembourg. During this year different activities have been carried out, which include individualized coaching sessions or language courses. Some different events took place as well, such as the Social Networking Night, where the Spanish youngsters knew different tools available for the job search, encouraging at the same time the networking as a key tool for the job search abroad. This is also the purpose of a free workshop, Active Job Searching 2.0., which will take place on the premises of the Chamber next October 6.

Furthermore, the Program has a webpage with exclusive information foryoung jobseekers and local companies in search of new employees. Besides, every Monday a newsletter is published with job offers and news of interest related to the labor market in Belgium and Luxembourg.