Resolution of Creative StartUp Europe Program

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, Finnova, FIBICC, the Department of Culture and Department of Labor and Social Security of the Spanish Embassy in Belgium, participating entities of Programme’s Creative StartUp Europe, agreed on providing personalized support fostering a relevant improvement as well as contributing to the general development of initiatives aimed at all program’s participating candidates*.

The Creative SartUp Europe Programme’s goal is primarily focused on the acknowledgement of the entrepreneurship of every Spanish young person located in Belgium regarding the cultural sector and creative industries. So on, this program aims at positively contributing to the empleability of Spanish youth living abroad in the cultural sector and creative industries.

In addition to this, thanks to the Program, the importance of culture and innovation as tools for the enhancement of social and economic development is recognized. As well as contributing to the stimulation of new generations to be employed at cultural projects abroad.

The Creative StartUp Europe Programme accounts for a relevant support towards culture, creation and innovation conceived as paths for entrepreneurship and support of enterprising in Belgium.

*Fulfillment of call’s requirements is required.

Success of the Social Networking Night organized within the framework of the Programa Jóvenes Belux

Last Thursday, the ProgramaJóvenesBeLux-3514th of April, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized the first edition of the Social Networking Night in Brussels. By means of this activity, that took place within the framework of the Programa Jóvenes BeLux, they introduced the young Spanish residents the different available tools for job search, encouraging at the same time networking as a key tool in the search for job opportunities abroad.

María Catalán, Secretary General of the Chamber, welcomed the attendees and presented the event schedule and the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program in which the Chamber is a new local contact point in Belgium and which aims to promote professional experiences among entrepreneurs in Europe.

Likewise, she thanked the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security and BNP Paribas for their support for the Programa Jóvenes. She also expressed her gratitude to the contributors who made the organization of the Social Networking Night possible.

During the event various talks and workshops took place. The talks focused on entrepreneurship, working for European institutions and related entities and the presentation of real experiences concerning the development of a professional career in Belgium.

Estefanía Andreu, representing Everis, gave presentations and advice on how to work for an outsourcing company of the European institutions. Juan Manuel Revuelta, of Finnova, talked about “The EU and self-employment as integration mode”. Finally, César Pla, explained the distinctive features of the EPSO exam as access to the European institutions.

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After the first round of talks the workshops started. Ramón López Peláez, manager of the Programa Jóvenes Belux, explained the assistants how to create a good CV and motivational letter to help us find the job we want. It was also the moment to share our doubts when writing our CV. How to prioritize the most important information?, How long should a CV be? What should a good motivational letter contain?, etc.

Philippe Schifflers, Community Manager, explained how to make the most of social media in order to optimize our professional profile and how to obtain work opportunities by means of it. He mainly focused on LinkedIn, an essential tool for job search.

Asier Maquina, employee at Arcelormittal, encouraged the assistants to extend their contact network by means of networking and by putting into practice his advice given during the Social Networking Night.

During the final presentations, which alternately dealt with professional successful cases, José Alonso from Buendía Tours, talked about his experience as entrepreneur in Brussels. It takes a lot of effort to start a new business but you feel so satisfied when you see it grow and consolidate!

Ángel Rebollo, from Atrevia, presented his professional background in Belgium. Being considered a “successful case” because of the evolution of his career, he made clear which difficulties and opportunities the country offers concerning job search. He recommended the youngsters to “insist, persist and resist” when looking for a job and new opportunities.

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To end the Social Networking Night, Eduardo Arranz told about his experience when searching a job. He highlighted the importance of never giving up, being very proactive when detecting opportunities and he emphasized the assistance of the Programa Jóvenes Belux.

Finally, the youngsters could interact with the speakers and put the advice they collected during the event into practice during the time devoted to networking.

With a Spanish aperitif and drinks offered by Codorníu, Belgibeer, Mediterranea and Vinespa, we had an entertaining and dynamic day.

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We would like to thank all of the attendees, the participants as well as the speakers, who made the event possible. Take a look at the pictures at our Facebook page.

We hope you enjoy your night!

Remember that we are at your service until the end of May for the Programa Jóvenes Belux to help you with your job search. Our contact email is programajovenes@e-camara.com.

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“Programa Jóvenes BeLux” has been renewed

The Migrations General Direction of the Spanish Employment and Social Security Department from the Government of Spain, has decided to approve the subsidy for the Chamber to continue during the first months of 2016 with the development of the “Programa Jóvenes BeLux”

With this initiative, The Chamber offers free information and advice on employment for young Spanish people under 35 years old who are living in Belgium and Luxembourg. This service includes individualized coaching sessions provided to young jobseekers, language courses and the support of initiatives for young entrepreneurs.

Companies can also benefit from the free services of the program through www.empleobelux.com, a job portal created to facilitate the process of recruitment of our associates and creating a direct connection with young Spanish job-seekers living in BeLux.

Our sincere thanks to the Migrations General Direction and to the cooperation received from the Social Security Department in Brussels.

Thank you for trusting the Chamber for the implementation of this project, fundamental for the young Spaniards living in Belgium and Luxembourg.

In cooperation with:

Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social

La Pluie Est Belge presents the members of the Chamber a special offer

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium & Luxembourg has the pleasure to present you La Pluie Est Belge, a firm of exclusive umbrellas manufactured in Spain.

This Project was awarded with the “Young Entrepeneur 2014” award, organized by the Chamber within the framework of its “Programa Jóvenes Belux”.

On the occasion of the launch of its first collection, La Pluie Est Belge provides the Chamber’s members a special offer:

  • 10% discount on all products of the collection.
  • Customized umbrella service, both for private individuals (name, initials and date) and companies (logo or name of the company).

Free shipping from 5 units order.

In order to benefit from this offer, access the Intranet for members of the Chamber.

Support for recruitment in the Brussels-Capital region

The public employment office of the Brussels-Capital region, Actiris, makes a free information service about the different plans and support for staff recruitment available to the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg members for training, internships and advise for the selection of candidates.

You can find more information here.

Due to the wide variety measures, it is important to know which are the ones that suit your situation and your activity sector best. The Chamber will bring you in contact with the Actiris expert consultants.

If you are interested, send an email to emploi@e-camara.com, indicating the activity sector of your company as well as your availability to fix a meeting.

Visit to the Job Center of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain in France

On 29 October, the General Secretaries of the Official Spanish and French Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber in BeLux met in Paris, in order to exchange experiences on the management of Youth Programme and assess possible ways of collaboration in the supply of services for young Spaniards unemployed seeking a job abroad.

Both chambers, FEDECOM members, have developed since last March a program to help young Spaniards under the age of 35 living in France and BeLux, respectively. The activities under the program are supported and subsidized by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

Presentation of the “Programa Jóvenes BeLux”

Yesterday the presentation of the Programa Jóvenes and the job portal www.empleobelux.com place in Brussels. The event counted on the presence of more than 70 persons, including youngsters and companies interested in getting to know our employment services. We could also enjoy the assistance of representatives of various official institutions and organizations in Spain and Belgium, as well as the assistance of the Official Flemish employment service (VDAB).

The inauguration was in charge of the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Juan Rodríguez-Villa, who presented two speakers: the Job and Social Security Counselor, Vicente Pérez Menayo and the Program Manager, Ramón López-Peláez.

consejeroThe presentation of the Job Counselor concerned the Ministerial Plan for support of young Spaniards abroad approved for 2014 (‘Programa de Jóvenes’) and aims to increase employability and the entrepreneurial business spirit abroad on the part of this segment of citizens, continuing thus the philosophy marked by the Program of the year 2013. In order to achieve this, the Ministry promotes advisory activities as well as activities for career guidance, and, among other things, training, internships in companies and language improvement of the country of residence.

Furthermore, the requirements to be fulfilled by the beneficiaries of the programs were explained, in other words, nonprofit companies and institutions abroad, in charge of providing the services to the youngsters as well as the requirements to be fulfilled by the recipients of the services, in other words, the youngsters themselves: Spanish citizens under the age of 35 registered at the Consular Register.

In conclusion, Vicente Pérez highlighted the different initiatives that, in light of the mentioned program, are being developed in Belgium –the country that achieved a greater budget allocation for the Program of 2013 of 208.000 Euro- and stressed the existing complementarity between them and, of course, emphasizing the work conducted by the Programa Jóvenes of the Chamber of Commerce.
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On the other hand, the Program Manager, Ramón López-Peláez, presented the attendants the specific objectives of the Program of the Chamber. These are:
Provide a personalized accompaniment and advisory service for job search and
Serving as a linking platform between job applicants and employers by means of the website www.empleobelux.com

With regard to the first objective, the relevance of this type of service of coaching as a qualitative support instrument for the accompaniment on a journey was stressed, as is the case with job search, almost always challenging, especially when someone lives in a foreign country. In this regard, the ambition of the Chamber is contributing to the fact that the youngsters can be launched at the labor market under the best possible conditions and as well-prepared as possible.
With regard to the second objective, this one is addressed especially towards companies and invites them to use the services of our program in order to obtain a triple benefit: being capable of publishing job offers and practices on our website; using our candidate database already in function of selecting the required job profiles, and counting on the expertise of the Chamber’s own staff in order to help companies with the selection of the mentioned candidates.

To conclude his presentation, Ramón-López-Peláez remembered the assistants of the meeting of the ‘Young Entrepreneur Award’, an initiative promoted by the Chamber to reward the entrepreneurial business spirit of our youngsters immigrated to Belgium, inviting all of these interested in participating.

Informative session in Luxembourg: Programa Jóvenes BeLux

On the first of July an informative session about the Programa Jóvenes and the website www.empleobelux.com took place in Luxembourg. The projects, based on the orientation, counseling and support for job search for Spaniards living in Belgium and Luxembourg, counted the collaboration of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

programajovenes-2The event counted on the assistance of about 30 youngsters interested in the search for employment in Luxembourg, as well as representatives of local companies and Spanish and European institutions located in the Grand duchy.

The meeting started with the performance of Sergio de Miguel-Jessel, Vice-president of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, who revealed the difficult economic situation in Spain and thus, the great difficulty young Spaniards experience in the search for employment. Likewise, he stressed the necessity of this type of programs abroad in light of the increased output abroad of young Spaniards in search of job opportunities.

Then, María Catalán, Secretary General, took the floor and gave a detailed presentation of the Programa Jóvenes Belux and the www.empleobelux.com job portal. www.empleobelux.com First of all, she presented all of the possibilities the Programa Jóvenes Belux offers in order to help youngsters concerning labor matters. Afterwards, she highlighted the great possibilities of the web portal for companies searching for qualified workers, as well as for Spaniards in search of job offers and information about practical aspects in both of the countries. The presentation ended with reference to the first call for the Young Entrepeneur Award, from which the high quality of the presented projects is highlighted.

The event ended with Question Time in which the attendants could state their questions and comments.