Plasterers and roofers wanted: too few training courses and “Belgians are not eager to do such a tough job”

Roofer, road worker, plasterer, joiner; these are professions that are in great need, but which are hardly ever filled. That appears from a report of the Social and Economic Council of Flanders, the SERV. This is an advisory body that unites employers’ and employees’ organisations.

How come? In the first place because there are fewer and fewer courses in secondary education that can prepare students for such a subject. Now take the box roofer. There are 7,000 roofers employed throughout Flanders, accounting for 7 percent of all workers in the construction sector. Yet only 37 students are still following training for this. 25 of them even follow a direction that will soon no longer exist: that of roofer or roof poet.