Provision to raise achievement in basic skills

Distance learning, organized in e-learning

In collaboration with full-time education, distance learning, organized in e-learning, is developing online remediation modules to address recurrent gaps in students’ knowledge and skills. Some of these are aimed specifically at young people aged 10 to 14 years, and seek to remedy shortcomings in basic skills, such as reading speeds in French or oral comprehension in Dutch.

Adult literacy

“Adult literacy policies concern French-speaking adults or not, who do not master the basic languages (oral, reading, writing and numeracy) and basic knowledge equivalent to the CEB in any language” (see Comité de pilotage permanent sur l’alphabétisation des adultes).

Diagnostic tests have been devised, and are mainly used by the regional branches of the network for the coordination of adult literacy campaigns in French-speaking Belgium, Lire et écrire. Training of operators in the use of these tests and their dissemination is in progress. The tests make it possible to identify the target public and assess individual progress.

Adult literacy training does not directly aim at the obtaining of certificates or diplomas.

However, exams are organized annually with a view to awarding the certificate of primary education (CEB) to people who are no longer subject to compulsory education. The inspectorate is responsible for giving written notice that the examination will be held to all organisations recognised by the French Community involved in literacy or other adult training which are located in its area, as well as to other bodies and individuals at its own discretion. The assessment is based on a written assignment submitted beforehand by the candidate, an oral presentation of this work, and the acquisition and use in the elaboration and production of this work of the defined core skills.

Within the framework defined for further education, literacy training is characterised by an integrated approach: in addition to instruction in the strict sense, numerous providers arrange other activities with learners (visits to museums and other public places, local outings, workshops, etc.). Various forms of expression are explored: workshops in writing, drama, singing, etc. Other workshops focus on specific learning areas such as preparing to get a driver’s licence or civic participation and involvement (topical issues workshops, learners’ committees, etc.), health and well-being (health workshops, vegetable gardening workshops, etc.), daily life (administrative documents, looking for a job, etc.) or leisure (reading groups, games, etc.) (see Comité de pilotage permanent sur l’alphabétisation des adultes (2019). État des lieux de l'alphabétisation - 8e exercice. Données 2014-2016).

Provision to achieve a recognised qualification during adulthood

Adult education in the strict sense

Adult education runs training courses which usually correspond to professional profiles. Each course consists of one or more training units which count as credits towards a qualification. Successful completion of a training unit entitles the student to a pass certificate. Pass certificates for the training units which make up a study section can then be converted by the holder into the qualification that is issued on completion of that section. The study sections are associated with certificates or qualification certificates in secondary education and degrees in higher education (short type and long type).

In adult secondary education :

1. specific titles are awarded to students who successfully complete a section that does not correspond to full-time education ;
2. titles corresponding to those issued by full-time secondary education are issued to students who successfully complete a section whose pedagogical file has been approved by the Government of the French Community and has been declared as awarding a certificate for a set of skills equivalent to the set of skills awarded by one of the titles of full-time education (including CEB, CQ and CESS) ;
3. The institutions of adult education also deliver the certificate corresponding to the CESS to the holders of some CQs and the certificate of complement of general education with a view to the delivery of the certificate corresponding to the CESS organized by the adult education (CESS delivered by capitalization).

Adult higher education delivers the titles provided for in the decree of 7 November 2013 defining the landscape of higher education and the academic organization of studies (Décret Paysage).

The habilitation to organize higher education studies and to confer the academic degrees that award them is granted or withdrawn to a higher education institution by decree. The habilitations granted to the adult education institutions are decided by the Parliament of the French Community on the advice of the Academy of Research and Higher Education (ARES).

Adult education also issues the CAP (certificate of pedagogical aptitude) and organizes the CAPAES (certificate of pedagogical aptitude adapted to higher education).

The courses of higher education for adult education are organized in the first cycle (BES and baccalaureate) and in the second cycle (master).

Distance learning, organized in e-learning

Distance learning, organized in e-learning, does not lead to the award of diplomas, but to a certificate for the course of study chosen. A student who has studied for exams with a view to obtaining a diploma must take these in the presence of the French Community Examination Board. In computer science, however, certification is provided and recognized by adult education.

Forem and Bruxelles Formation

Successful completion of a training programme organised by Bruxelles Formation or by Forem, depending on the track chosen, leads to a certificate or attestation.

Once the professional training has been completed, Forem or Bruxelles Formation awards trainees an attestation which stipulates which course or module(s) have been taken. This attestation is not formally recognised in the education system, and does not confer entitlement to admission to specific study courses, or to adult education. However, it is taken into account by companies, which recruit new personnel on the basis of it. As regards qualifications awarded in vocational training, they are largely based on the standards of the Service francophone des Métiers et des Qualifications (SFMQ), thus ensuring the consistency of the programmes with those in place in initial and adult education and their positioning on the French-speaking Certifications Framework (Cadre francophone des Certifications (CFC)).

IFAPME and sfpme

IFAPME

At the end of each year and level of adult education at IFAPME, certification tests are planned. The passing of the year is based on the successful completion of the professional courses related to the year in question. 

At the end of each level and with a view to certification, a test to validate the skills of the profession is organized. The test of the qualified professional is done only on professional skills, and that of coordination and supervision is done on the entrepreneurial skills of a company. It is also possible to validate the partial success of the tests via CECAF (Certificate of Competence Acquired in Training) or Credentials (RAF = Recognition of Training Acquired). In some professions, collaboration with the sectors (mobility and construction) allows sectoral recognitions to facilitate employment. 

IFAPME diplomas are accredited by the French Community.

Sfpme

Like IFAPME, and in order to better understand the evolution of skills needs, the realities on the ground and the changes in the labour market, sfpme has undertaken substantive work to rethink training pathways for young adults from the age of 18, for people undergoing retraining and for those wishing to develop an entrepreneurial project. These training courses are structured in several levels or steps. This organisation makes it possible to respond to the diversity of learners’ profiles and objectives, while ensuring a logical and consistent progression towards professional integration or the development of self-employment. Each level of training gives rise to a valuable and recognized certification, approved by the French Community. In addition, partial certification schemes, such as the CECAF and the Credentials (RAF), are maintained in order to promote the recognition of intermediate qualifications and to support flexible and individualised pathways.

Provision targeting the transition to the labour market

In the Walloon Region, the integrated socio-occupational integration scheme (2004) aims to provide access to lasting, quality jobs within a maximum of two years (including a maximum of six months of employment support). On the basis of a personal and professional profile and an assessment of the person’s needs, FOREM’s advisers identify with that person the steps to be taken towards employment, and make individualised training or employment proposals. The job seeker’s pathway starts as soon as he or she registers. The job seeker fills in his/her online profile which includes his/her CV as well as his/her expectations. It is then taken care of, either in-presence or remotely within 8 days of registration. The Personalised Action Plan is defined and an appointment is set within one month. The counsellor adapts the support according to the profile of the job seeker and revises, if necessary, the mode of care. Subsequently, new follow-up interviews are planned on the basis of the Action Plan, with an assessment, evaluation of the actions, and, if necessary, the formalisation of the interviews as part of the control procedure (for the continuation or not of unemployment benefits). Each pathway is personalised according to the job seeker’s profile (job placement, skills, languages used, necessary training, etc.), and formalised in the Action Plan.

Forem and Bruxelles Formation

The teaching methods used by Forem and Bruxelles Formation are based on the alternation of practical case studies and theoretical courses. Internships offer first-hand involvement in the environment of the chosen trade.

Forem runs qualifying training courses relating to all industrial and service sectors and at all qualification levels. It also works with several hundred companies, offering them courses which are adapted to their requirements (individual training in the company, courses created together with the company and collective training in the company).

The training programmes are designed in the form of highly flexible modules which enable each individual to construct his /her own training pathway. The training focuses on practical learning, is given by experienced instructors, and is both in line with the employment market and personalised. To develop a quality approach on the one hand and satisfy the legitimate aspirations of its customers on the other hand, Forem’s vocational training organisation uses working methods which ensure that customer requirements are addressed within the agreed time, divide its training provision into modules in line with customer requirements and ensure suitable follow-up after training. Forem’s vocational training is ISO9001-certified. Specific schemes are provided for workers who suffer collective redundancy. They are taken under the supervision of retraining units, which among other things offer them training possibilities.

In the Brussels-Capital Region, Bruxelles Formation shares the same approach as Forem when it comes to the modularisation of pathways. Training is provided by experienced trainers and the programmes are designed in line with the identified needs of the Brussels labour market. Bruxelles Formation is also ISO90001 certified. More than 200 qualifying training courses, provided by the 11 Brussels Training Centres or its partners, are offered to job seekers and French-speaking workers living in Brussels.

As a BF crossroads information and orientation centre, Bruxelles Formation has been a stakeholder since 2018 in the Cité des Métiers de Bruxelles, which acts as a ‘single point of contact’ for all Brussels residents wishing to find their way into education, training or employment.

In its regional manager function of providing training, Bruxelles Formation collaborates with many organisations through partnership agreements, including in particular 40 OISPs, 9 local missions, several adult education institutions or the training centres of the sectoral funds.

Among its services to employers, Bruxelles Formation organises individual vocational training in companies in the Brussels region. As on-the-job training, these training courses allow trainees to transition to a fixed-term job. For the company, it provides financial facilities to reduce the cost of recruitment.

Training pathways are organised either on an inter-company basis or within individual companies, in line with their needs. The trainees are included in an existing course at a Bruxelles Formation centre, or an instructor is assigned to the company, or specific sections or training modules may be set up in the company or at a Bruxelles Formation centre. The methods used are mainly practical, based on working realities in companies (workshops, simulations, case studies, etc.).

Forem and Bruxelles Formation also organise a range of distance learning courses, which are modular in structure and free of charge.

IFAPME and sfpme

IFAPME and sfpme organise dual vocational education and training, training for adults, company manager’s training courses and continuing training which enables all people, workers, self-employed people, directors of small and medium-sized businesses and their employees to acquire a qualification as well as additional professional skills and to adapt to new techniques and changes in the economic, legal or employment-law situation. IFAPME’s as well as sfpme’s adult training also include coordination and management training and training of qualified professionals.

Training comes in different forms, depending on the learners’ age and skills. The following forms of training are distinguished :

• The training for adults, whatever the level of training (professional, qualified, coordination and management), company manager’s training, which lasts for 1 to 3 years depending upon the profession, consists firstly of 8 to 12 hours of courses per week in a training center, usually spread over two or three evenings, and secondly the difference calculated over 38 hours/week is followed in practical training in a company. There are two types of traineeships : the traineeship agreement on paid work placements in companies, on a dual vocational basis, and the professional practice traineeship (accessible under certain conditions). Under cover of a traineeship agreement, the candidate receives a progressive training allowance which varies according to level of qualification whereas the duration of the professional practice traineeship is 250 hours per year on average and is not paid ;
• Continuing traning enables people to learn or improve throughout their lives and is aimed at professionals who wish to update or develop their skills ; 
• Business creation training (‘Je monte ma boite’ for IFAPME or ‘Passeport réussite’ (Passport to Success)organised by efp, the Brussels vocational training centre) is intended for people with a project to create or resume activity and accompanies the project leader in drawing up his/her business plan and his/her financial plan.

To obtain the company manager’s diploma, the candidate must show that he/she has acquired professional knowledge and practical experience :

• before or during the training, he/she may be/have been a helper in a family business, under a contract of employment, self-employed, hired in the framework of a training-employment contract, or even registered as a job-seeker (in this last case, he/she performs voluntary work placements in a company) ;

• he/she can benefit from a work placement agreement if he/she lacks the opportunity to acquire professional knowledge in the company during training. This agreement enables the person in question to gain practical experience in a company and to start learning about its management.

At-risk groups

Some operators’ actions target an ‘at risk’ group: their objective is to increase the chances for unemployed, low-skilled job-seekers of finding work on the job market.

In the Walloon Region, the socio-professional integration Centres (CISP) provide training for trainees away from work using a specific pedagogy. Since 2017, they have included and replaced the socio-professional integration Organisations (OISP) and the Work-Based Training Companies (Entreprises de Formation par le Travail (EFT)). 

Currently, two methodological frameworks can be implemented by the centres : 

• either a Training and Integration Approach (Démarche de Formation et d’Insertion (DEFI)), including courses and practical exercises supplemented, if necessary, by traineeships in companies; 
• Or an EFT approach consisting of a real work situation through the production of goods and services related to one or more professions possibly integrating courses and internships in companies. 

These operators are in charge of pre-qualifying training. 

The training pathways have one or other of the following objectives : 

• Career guidance : allows the trainee to learn about the various alternatives available to him/her to promote his/her socio-professional integration, to design or confirm his/her professional and personal project. ; 
• Basic training : emphasises the acquisition of basic knowledge, general and technical skills and behaviours useful for socio-professional integration; 
• Professional training : aims to acquire the socio-professional knowledge, skills and behaviour necessary for the exercise of a given profession.

The sectors organised by the CISPs cover in particular the following areas : literacy, upgrading, personal development, building, horeca (Hospitality, catering and café sector), green professions, personal services, secretariat, trade.

In the Brussels-Capital Region, Bruxelles Formation has formed a series of partnership agreements with authorised socio-occupational integration agencies (OISPs): training operators that undertake activities in the area of adult literacy, basic training, preliminary training targeting a vocational sector and training leading to qualification, on-the-job training workshops (AFTs) which undertake on-the-job training activities within the organisation in question leading to the output (commercialised or non-commercialised) of goods or services, and local missions that, in addition to their local coordination roles, arrange vocational training programmes and ensure consultation between different parties involved in training and employment services for vulnerable job-seekers. The AFTs’approach involves introducing trainees to the real working environment within the framework of activities within the organisation. Their activities are subsidised for the implementation, within the framework of socio-occupational integration activities, of vocational training leading to qualifications, of dual vocational training leading to qualifications, of basic pre-qualification training, of literacy education and of on-the-job training. Another aim of the AFTs is to provide basic education and training from a lifelong learning perspective. The decrees which define the conditions for the approval and subsidisation of OISPs include certain stipulations regarding the arrangements to be put in place. Thus in the Brussels-Capital Region, socio-occupational integration schemes involve the implementation, in an integrated approach, of activities relating to reception, guidance, further education, vocational training and working in a company. The OISP website stipulates that the training uses a specially adapted educational approach to enable trainees to acquire general and technical skills, and that trainees receive psychological and social support.

Bodies approved as CISPs and OISPs issue attendance certificates.

Competence centres are places of expertise for the training of the workers of tomorrow. Thanks to their state-of-the-art infrastructure and their anchoring in economic development poles, these centres provide training, information and awareness-raising for workers, job seekers, students, teachers, business leaders and managers, and contribute to supporting the competitiveness of businesses. 

Wallonia has 22 competence centres spread over more than 50 locations. They form a modern and agile network dedicated to excellence and the future of skills. Together, they create a rich, coherent and collaborative ecosystem. 

Their priority is to anticipate and respond to the real needs of sectors and companies with state-of-the-art and up-to-date training. They are also technical and technological watch centers on emerging skills and professions. 

Several of them are supported by Europe for this new ESF+ programming 2021-2027. Examples include Technocité, which focuses on information and communication technologies (ICT), covering computing, office automation, multimedia, infographics, networks and telecommunications, Aptaskil, a centre of competence in the chemical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology professions, and Epicuris, a centre dedicated to the food industry. 

Since 2020, the Walloon Competence Centres label has been part of the reference model for Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) promoted by the European Commission. These Centres of Vocational Excellence are world-class reference points for training. They are formed on the basis of public-private partnerships.

In the Brussels-Capital Region, expertise centres and later the Employment-Training Poles, have been set up on similar principles. There are currently four of these.

Vocational training in agriculture is a form of post-school training. It is provided either in the form of courses (general, technical or management training), or on a more intermittent basis, in the form of study sessions, lectures, guided tours, contact days and advanced learning days. The basic, remedial and advanced programmes, at the end of which examinations are set, include courses on agricultural techniques, management and agricultural economy, as well as practical sessions. The training activities are run by authorised centres.

For those working in the non-commercial sector, suitable training is provided by non-profit organisations, certain sectoral funds and adult organisations.

Companies are playing an increasing role in the vocational training of employees in the private sector: as well as organising training courses for existing and newly-recruited workers, they also contribute to schemes which enable job-seekers to sample a working environment (in particular via the Training-Integration Plan). Some companies also work with vocational and technical schools in connection with initial training (internships), while a larger number of others enter into agreements with adult education providers, Forem and Bruxelles Formation in connection with refresher training for workers. Most large companies have developed their own internal training centres. Recent initiatives have related to areas such as quality circles.

In some sectors, Training Funds which are financed by a specific sectoral contribution pay for vocational training. Examples include the construction sector (the Construction Training Fund, FFC), the metalworking sector (Vocational Training Institute of the Metallurgical Sector, IFPM), the automotive sector (the Foundation for Vocational Training in the Automotive and Related Sectors, EDUCAM), textiles, chemicals, banking and insurance, timber and so on. The chambers of commerce are also involved in this process.

With regard to vocational training for public sector employees, some ministries provide training courses for their own staff. The oldest instance of this is the Ministry of Finance, which developed a training centre founded in the 1950s with a turnover of approximately 5,000 civil servants per year, in courses of a technical and vocational nature or training in communications. The Communities and Regions have also developed their own staff training policies. In particular, in-service teacher training is organised by the French Community.

Certain measures enable young people to attend initial training in a company in partnership with other training operators: these are the industrial apprenticeship contract, the employment/training agreements and the first job agreement.

Other initiatives have a preliminary training function among other things. The Walloon Region also finances the district associations and the regional missions. The district associations are non-profit organisations working in districts characterised by social housing and/or urban regeneration. They work to develop local dynamism (improving the local quality of life, activity leadership, social activities and local democracy), while supporting the socio-occupational integration of job-seekers and those on social welfare by providing them with preliminary training. The regional missions have developed within the framework of the integrated socio-occupational integration scheme (DIISP). Their primary goal is to implement integration and support actions.

Other initiatives include a pre-training function. The Walloon Region also finances district authorities and regional missions. Neighbourhood boards are non-profit organisations active in social housing and/or urban renewal districts. They aim to develop neighbourhood dynamics (improvement of the living environment, animation, conviviality and exercise of citizenship) while supporting the socio-professional integration of job seekers or people receiving social assistance by providing them with pre-training. Regional missions (missions régionales (MIRE)) are developed within the framework of the integrated socio-professional integration system (DIISP). Their main task is to implement integration and support measures. In particular, pre-qualifying trainings focusing on behavioural skills and ‘business’ trainings are organised to enable jobseekers far removed from the labour market and vulnerable people to find a job. These trainings are part of the intensive support of job seekers and are only one element. Support can be provided by providing training and/or intensive coaching. MIREs have a network of companies that allows them to perfectly match a job seeker and an employer in search of a candidate. They thus play an intermediary role between the job seeker and his future employer, using a methodology called "intermediation", which requires both parties to adjust their expectations. 

For more information : Missions Régionales pour l'Emploi - Emploi et Formation professionnelle en Wallonie (Regional Employment Missions - Employment and Vocational Training in Wallonia).

Provision of liberal (popular) adult education

Part-time secondary arts education

As a complement to the teaching of arts in compulsory and higher education, Part-time secondary arts education (ESAHR) is organized in the French Community in 111 establishments, generally known as "academies". For the most part, these establishments are organized by the communes.

It is a non-compulsory, subsidised type of education, aimed at people of all ages : children from the age of 5, teenagers and adults.

Part-time secondary arts education is mainly arranged outside normal working hours, so that it is accessible to pupils and students in full-time education and to working adults.

Its three main aims are to :

• work towards the personal artistic development of pupils by promoting an artistic culture through learning various artistic languages and practices ;

• give pupils the means and training that allow them to become artistically independent, awakening their personal creativity ;

• provide an education that prepares pupils to satisfy the requirements for access to higher arts education.

In order to meet its aims, part-time secondary arts education can be provided in the following four areas : music ; speech and theatre arts ; dance ; plastic, visual and spatial arts.

The basic artistic courses are organized in training, qualification or transition streams, so as to enable students to acquire artistic and technical skills to be practiced until the end of their training and to master at the end of each stage of it. Pupils shall be assessed on the basis of artistic education and training objectives and skills taking into account :

• the pupil’s artistic intelligence, i.e. the ability to perceive the coherence of an artistic language ;

• the pupil’s technical mastery, i.e. his/her ability to make full use of the technical resources associated with each specialization ;

• the pupil’s autonomy, i.e. his/her ability to discover, develop and engage on his/her own in artistic activity of an equivalent quality to that which the course enabled him/her to achieve ;

• the pupil’s creativity, i.e. his/her ability to make full use of an individual artistic language with a view to producing original work.

The minimum admission age varies depending on the field and stream. Access to certain streams also requires certain educational requirements to be satisfied: attendance or successful completion of certain courses or the holding of certain certificates, and/or a favorable opinion from the class council and the admission council for the specialist field in question. Apart from these conditions, access to ESAHR is entirely free.

Part-time secondary arts education (ESAHR) issues certificates and/or diplomas for each of the basic arts courses. Unless exception, the certificates and diplomas awarded in ESAHR are not recognized for obtaining employment, for example in education.

Forem and Bruxelles Formation

The Forem offers training, accessible in person, in business or remotely. Online trainings cover key sectors such as IT, construction, management, commerce, horeca, industry, etc.

The integrated skills management system based on job-employment repositories (référentiels emplois-métiers (EMRs)) remains central. 

It is used to: 

• Self-positioning of candidates ;
• Screening of skills before signing a contract ;
• Alignment of training benchmarks with labour market needs.

This is complemented by digital tools for personalised follow-up and a better match between skills and job vacancies.

Bruxelles Formation, through Bruxelles Formation Tremplin (Springboard Pole), organises remobilisation and support for the job-seekers in their integration scheme. This centre, principally for young people who have signed an integration agreement with the Brussels Regional Employment Office (ACTIRIS), is positioned as the starting-point of the training path. This centre is responsible, with a view to securing career pathways in vocational training, for assessing trainees’ basic skills, evaluating the feasibility of the professional project, and determining the steps needed to achieve it.

Other types of publicly subsidised provision for adult learners

Further education :

There are no legal texts setting out general regulations for the admission conditions for further education associations, nor for the evaluation of those who attend them. Moreover, further education activity does not directly aim at the obtaining of certificates or diplomas.

In January 2025, some 270 associations had received recognition from the French Community as further education associations. The areas covered vary greatly: adult literacy, equal opportunities for men and women, the environment, urban planning, etc.

Associations and movements are recognised and supported with respect to four focus areas :

• civic participation and education (actions and programmes devised with the participants with a view to developing the exercise of active citizenship in terms of emancipation, equal rights, social progress, changing behaviour and mentalities, integration and responsibility) ;
• training of activity leaders, trainers and voluntary sector actors (programmes designed and organised or run on their own initiative or at the request of the organisations, whether recognised or not within the scope of the decree) ;
• participatory services, studies and research (including provision of documentation, educational and/or cultural tools; participatory analyses, studies and research on society-based themes – designed and run on their own initiative or at the request of the non-profit sector, whether recognised or not within the scope of the decree) ;
• awareness and information (information or communication campaigns aimed at increasing public awareness with a view to changing behaviour and mentalities about issues of culture, citizenship and democracy).

In order to benefit from recognition, the education and training programmes and actions that are part of Focus 1, ‘Civic participation, education and training’, must :

• develop coherently with the social class and environment that they target ;
• plan and develop means of ensuring accessibility to and actual participation by the target group, public visibility and publicity for the activities and the association’s objectives ;
• differ by their content, the methodology used, and where applicable, the target public, from school, para-school, university, para-university, academic or vocational programmes ;
• differ by their objectives from adult and socio-occupational programmes.