An investigation by the VDAB obliges the Flemish government to intervene. The outsourcing policy reads opaque and is not very efficient.
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The Flemish Employment Agency (VDAB) is a giant. With a budget of almost one billion euros, it employs more than 5,000 civil servants. Last year, the Flemish Parliament ordered an audit at the Court of Audit. Suspicions about an inefficient outsourcing policy persisted. The Court of Audit confirms that. Collaboration with third parties – accounting for a third of the operating budget – is done on an ad hoc basis without insight into efficiency. Moreover, the importance of cooperation sometimes takes precedence over the right service provision.
The VDAB is an essential link in increasing the employment rate to 80 percent. At the same time, there is a tight labor market. The mismatch between supply and demand makes it a challenge to offer companies the desired personnel. In addition, the organization plays a role in activation, as a career director and as a data manager.
Laundry list of pain points
In its report, the Court of Audit lists a laundry list of pain points. The institution understands the cooperation with external partners, which fits in with an international trend. The coalition agreement also encourages cooperation in order to operate as efficiently as possible. But in practice, countless applications fail. The report writes that both the organization and management are falling short and that they are not reaching the target groups and customers.
The competency enhancement, necessary to increase the chances on the labor market, is going wrong. The VDAB has no insight into the success factors.
On July 15, the Flemish Parliament organizes a hearing, at the initiative of the majority parties, who are all bored with the sobering findings. For the Flemish Minister of Work, Hilde Crevits (CD&V), the critical report was ‘a shock, because it was not the first time that the alarm bells went off’. She hastened to say that the report says nothing about ‘the services or the work of the many VDAB mediators’.
At the request of the minister, the VDAB, whose management admitted that it is aware of the shortages, developed an action plan to fine-tune the internal organization. This must professionalize the outsourcing policy and data management, clarify the directing role of the VDAB and use the necessary control instruments. The organization can count on external support for its improvement process.
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