Brussels Airport to create 10,000 more jobs

Brussels Airport expects to have as many as 10,000 job vacancies over the next 10 years, according to CEO Arnaud Feist, speaking this week at the opening of the new Brussels Airport House. The House, on the fourth floor of the passenger terminal at Zaventem, will gather together in one place all information on jobs, training and mobility in and around the airport.

The House is a joint effort of the Flemish training and employment agency VDAB and their  Brussels counterpart Actiris in an effort to attract more people from Brussels to work in and around the airport in Zaventem. Brussels has the highest unemployment rate in Belgium, and the airport, Feist said, offered numerous positions for lower-skilled workers.

Despite the number of vacancies on offer, the airport has trouble finding people to fill them, Feist said. Many applicants are hindered by language requirements, night-time hours or the lack of by public transport outside of normal commuter periods.

Brussels Airport currently offers 60,000 jobs, 20,000 of them on site. Along with the two employment agencies, the new Brussels Airport House involves the co-operation of the Flemish chamber of commerce VOKA, public transport authority De Lijn and Airport Academy, as well as regional and provincial authorities.