Both in number of contacts or public satisfaction, the Cité des métiers or Beroepenpunt in Dutch, can uplift a positive balance sheet after five years of presence in Brussels. It has established itself as the undisputable bilingual reference point for finding information or advice concerning all aspects of one’s professional life (employment, education and training).
Open since in March 2018, the Cité des métiers Brussels welcomes all people who have questions related to their professional lives. Under one roof, customers can find all the main actors of guidance, education, training and employment. The Brussels organization is characterized by its free, anonymous, walk-in service and is part of the International Network of Cités des métiers.
Satisfied customers and objectives achieved
In 2019, one year after its opening, the Cité des métiers had exceeded its initial goal of 50,000 annual contacts. The health crisis tempered this enthusiasm, but innovative tools have been put in place to adapt the way of working and compensate for face-to-face meetings: individual counseling and group activities were organized remotely, a call center has been set up as well as internal communication tools for employees.
Subsequently, an online advice platform, Miti, was set up in cooperation with the other Belgian Cités des métiers. In 2022, the partnership dynamics and the motivation of the team made it possible to renew the ambitions and to exceed the targets again. Last year, more than 52,000 contacts were recorded.
At the beginning of 2023, a user satisfaction survey was conducted. These results can be compared with the survey conducted in 2020 and are quite revealing: the satisfaction rate remains unchanged.
94.1% of visitors are satisfied or very satisfied with their visit and 94% would recommend the Cité des métiers to someone they knew. For more than half of them (54.3%), it was their first visit.
Individual counseling (38%) and the use of the multimedia area (32%) are favored by the public, especially for information on education and training (56.4%). Visitors particularly appreciate the welcome they receive (71.8%) at the desk reception, the walk-in visits (58.4%), the free admission (50.1%), and the documentation available (35.9%).
In 2022, the Cité des métiers Brussels demonstrated great responsiveness, adjusting its offer and also serving the public in Ukrainian, resulting in more than 4500 contacts in Ukrainian over the past year.
Being the reference in career guidance by covering five different subjects
Initiated by the three main stakeholders, Actiris, Bruxelles Formation and the VDAB Brussel, the Cité des métiers provides an answer to those who wish to guide themselves: to go back to school, to find a training, to look for a job, to work abroad or to start a business.
Since May 2022, the Cité des métiers Brussels has been the central focal point of the OTLAV system, which stands for ‘Orientation Tout au Long de La Vie’ (Lifelong Orientation) and aims to guide people during their whole career.
Thanks to the many partnerships and collaborations that have been put in place, many activities have been created which go to the heart of the five subjects: Choosing, Learning, Working, Moving, and Entrepreneurship. Throughout the year, the Cité des métiers organizes group activities. A multidisciplinary team of counsellors welcomes the public to find a solution to their problem together and to learn about labour market in general. A multimedia area with more than 40 computers and a documentation area rich in resources are accessible to all the citizens of Brussels.
Over the past five years, the Cité des métiers Brussels has intrigued many institutions, both in Brussels and abroad. Present at many events, the Cité des métiers finds it crucial to honor the user at the heart of the solution, to inform and guide people towards all the possibilities available in terms of education, training and jobs.
DESK RECEPTION TEAM CITE DES METIERS BRUSSELS 2023.
Article written by: Cindy Worms & CdM Brussels, 2023