The Pilot Project of on-the-job education in construction companies is a traineeship program intended for high school students in construction sections. It is organized by the Confederation Construction Brussels-Capital, the regional advocacy organization for construction companies.
In coming years, Brussels will be facing demographical, environmental and economic challenges. In this context, the construction sector will be an important employment provider. However, to meet those challenges, the sector needs to find dynamic and skilled workers. Therefore, it is essential that our schools welcome more and more motivated pupils, who are devoted to be tomorrow’s workforce.
While the shortage of skilled labor is raging, this pilot project intends to give a fresh boost to young people’s training. It aims to attract young people to construction jobs by making them discover and realize what the job is really about. The underlying idea is to increase the share of professional practice in their training and to move towards the German and Swiss model of "dual vocational training”. Concretely, students from the fourth to the sixth grade undertake an internship from 1 to 6 weeks. They may discover construction jobs by practicing them and being guided by skilled workers.
The Brussels’ construction sector has gathered its forces through the Confederation Construction Brussels-Capital and the FVB-FFC Constructiv, supported by The Brussels-Capital Region and the Federation Wallonia-Brussels to implement this project. Five enterprises and one school have been implicated so far.