Political and economic situation
Political situation
The Government of Flanders is responsible for education policy. Each new administration appoints a minister who has Education and Training in his portfolio. This Minister of Education and Training draws up a policy memorandum based on the coalition agreement agreed between the government partners. This policy memorandum will be adopted by the Flemish Parliament. The policy memorandum on Education contains the main objectives for education policy for a period of five years. The policy memorandum is monitored by means an annually recurring policy letter in which the Minister lists the achievements booked in the past year and the objectives.
The current Government of Flanders will govern from 2019 to 2024. A discussion of the policy memorandum and the recent developments (of the previous government) is included in section 14.
The education budget is part of the Flemish budget. Below only shows the ratio of the education budget in relationship to a gross regional product and not to a gross national product. It should be noted that the education budget is subject to a number of decree-regulated automatic costs (for example, the number of pupils in compulsory education and the click mechanism in higher and adult education, the ageing of the teaching staff). Salaries account for 68.6% of the total education budget.
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Economic situation
In the Flemish economy, the tertiary sector (commercial services) is the largest economic sector with more than one million employees. The quaternary sector (public services) follows with 672,628 employees. The secondary sector (industry) has 464,429 employees. The primary sector (agriculture, horticulture and fisheries) is some way off: 11,256 employees work in this sector (Work Support Centre, employees according to Work and Social Economy sector).
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When compared with 2008, clear trends become visible:
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(Source: Quality Report Flemish Labour Market January 2019)
According to the Federal Planning Bureau (FPB), the real economic growth over a long time horizon (1980-2022) is 2.1% per year. Real economic growth increased during the period 2011-2015 by on average 1.5% annually. For 2015-2022, an average increase of 1.6% is expected (VRIND 2017).
The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the Flemish Region in 2018 can be estimated at almost EUR 36,700 purchasing power standard (PPS). In recent years, the GDP per capita showed an increase. 2008 and 2009 during the financial and economic crisis were an exception. Compared to 2003, the GDP per capita in 2018 is more than 40% higher. That is an increase on average of 2.3% per year.
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In Belgium, many Flemish people commute to the Brussels-Capital Region for work. They thereby contribute to the Brussels GDP but take their income with them to their place of residence. Attributing commuters’ work to their place of residence allows for a more realistic comparison with other countries. In the Flemish Region, GDP taking into account commuter movements amounts to EUR 39,100 PPS, which is 7% higher than in the traditional calculation without commuter movements.
The Flemish gross domestic product is doing well compared to the European perspective. The per capital GDP in the Flemish Region in 2018 was above the European Union average (EUR 31,000 PPS).
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
The graph below gives an indication of the performance of Flanders in comparison with the rest of the European Union in terms of a number of relevant performance indicators for research and development, employment and training.
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(Source: Policy paper Work, Social Economy and Innovation 2017-2018).
The labour productivity in Flanders is 30% higher than the EU28 average and between 2008 and 2012, the Flemish Region was able to extend its lead over the EU28 . Since then, the difference remains more or less constant. This good Flemish performance is also reflected in the ranking against the benchmark regions: only South-East Ireland has a higher labour productivity.
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(Source: VRIND 2017)
Share of the population of working age
In 2017, the share of the working-age population in the total population in the Flemish Region was 64%, compared to 66% in 1999. The working age means: between 15 and 64. That share is slightly lower than that of the Walloon Region (65%) and the Brussels-Capital Region (67%). It is also one percentage point below the European average.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
The share of the population of working age (15-64) was, over the entire period from 1999, three percentage points higher for men than for women. This is because there are slightly more men aged 15 to 64 than women and at the same time, the number of men in the total population is smaller than the number of women.
The share of low-skilled people in the working-age population (maximum lower-secondary education) dropped sharply: from 43% in 1999 to 24% in 2017. The proportion of the medium-schooled (higher secondary education qualification) rose from almost 35% in 1999 to 40% in 2008. Since then, the share remained virtually the same until 2017. The proportion with a higher education qualification rose even more sharply: from 23% in 1999 to nearly 37% in 2017.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
The ageing indicator (ratio of those aged 67+ to those between the ages of 0-17) increases considerably until 2040 and then levels out. In 2015 the ratio was 88%. In 2026, the population of the Flemish Region had as many people over the age of 67 as people younger than 18 (100%) and in 2040, more people above the age of 67 than below the age of 18 and the indicator shows 123%. In addition to this ageing population, there is also, between 2030 and 2050, an increase in this people in the share in the population of people above the age of 80. By 2030, around one in three of those over the age of 67 will be over 80; in 2050 it will be nearly one out of two. This poses challenges for society in the medical and care sector (see for this, 1 Economic developments). Ageing leads to a clear increase of the dependence ratio or the proportion of those aged under 17 and above 67 in relationship to the population of working age (18-66). The dependence ratio increases sharply between 2016 (58.0%) and 2040 (77.3%). This will then level out to 78.3% in 2060. In Brussels, the dependence ratio is lower and the projected rise less sharp (52.9% in 2016; 58.2% in 2040 and 60.9% in 2060).
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Source: environmental analysis of the Education and Training policy area; observations and forecasts for age groups in the Flemish Region up to 2060
Employment rate
The employment rate in the Flemish Region in 2018 was 67.0%. The employment rate compares total employment (of wage earners and self-employed persons) in a country or region with the total population aged 15 to 64 in that country or region. There was an increase in the Flemish employment rate from 2003 to 2008. That largely coincided with years of good economic activity. The employment rate stabilized from 2009 to 2013. The employment rate once again increased year on year from 2014 onwards.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
The average employment rate in the European Union (EU) (71.8% in 2018) is higher than in the Flemish Region. Most EU Member States have a higher employment rate.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
Level of education
As far as the highest achieved qualification (or the level of education) is concerned, there are three groups:
- short or low qualified (at most lower-secondary education);
- medium qualified (completed secondary education);
- highly qualified (higher education qualification).
In 2017, 21% of Flemish people aged 25 to 64 were low-qualified, 39% medium-qualified and 41% highly qualified. The breakdown according to educational attainment level is based on the highest qualification gained. Low-qualified are persons with at most a lower-secondary qualification. Medium-qualified persons have successfully completed secondary education. Highly qualified are persons with a higher education qualification.
The share of low-qualified persons dropped between 1999 and 2017 from 42% to 21%. A reverse trend is seen for the medium- and highly qualified: in comparison with 1999, the proportions of medium and highly qualified have risen markedly.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
In 2017, nearly half of Flemish men aged between 25 and 34 and between 35 to 44 were highly qualified. In the age group of 55 to 64, 3 in 10 are highly qualified. In this age group, 35% are low-qualified. This is markedly less in the younger age categories.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
In 2017, nearly half of the working Flemish people between the ages of 25 and 64 were highly qualified. Almost 4 out of 10 of those who are unemployed are highly qualified. Among the non-active (people who are not in work and also not looking for a job), 2 out of 10 are highly qualified. Conversely, 14% of those in work are low-qualified. That is 28% among the unemployed and 43% among the non-active.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
The share of highly qualified in the Flemish Region (41%) was, in 2018, between that in the Brussels-Capital Region (47%) and the Walloon Region (37%). In the countries of the European Union (EU), on average 3 out of 10 inhabitants are highly qualified. In the Flemish Region, this share is higher. There are considerable differences in this area among the EU countries. In Ireland, around 45% of the population is highly qualified; in Romania and Italy the share is below 20%.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
A matter for attention are early school leavers. These are young people who are no longer subject to compulsory education and who leave without a standard Flemish secondary education with a professional purpose or for the purpose of progression into higher education. An early school leaver therefore leaves the Flemish secondary education system without achieving the quality criterion. The percentage is declining but remains under the PACT 2020 target. The European figure for early school leaving is based on the LFS indicator: the “early school leavers” indicator from the Labour Force Survey.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
Flanders monitors early school leaving intensively based on its own statistics. In recent years, the share of early school leavers was around 10%.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
Lifelong learning
In 2017, 9% of the Flemish people aged between 25 and 64 followed an education (within or outside normal education) in the four weeks prior to the survey. In the 2006-2017 period, participation in training was between 7% and 9%. If people are asked whether they have participated in training in the previous 12 months instead of the previous four weeks, participation in training rises to 23%. That share is slightly higher than in 2006.
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Source: Statistics Flanders
In the Flemish Region, more people aged between 25 and 65 (9%) follow training than in the Walloon Region (7%) but fewer than in the Brussels-Capital Region (13%). In the European Union (EU) countries, an average of 11% of the population follows training. That share is therefore higher than in the Flemish Region.
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)
In the main, it is highly-qualified people who follow training courses. The unemployed (11%) participate most frequently, more than those in work (9%). The non-active group (persons who do not work nor are they looking for a job) participate the least in training (7%).
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(Source: Statistics Flanders)