Cité des métiers .Brussels

What Cité des métiers .Brussels does

Cité des métiers .Brussels is a public service organization established in March 2018 and inaugurated in April 2018 at the Tour Astro building (Avenue de l'Astronomie 14, Brussels) by three Brussels-Capital Region institutions: Actiris (regional employment service), Bruxelles Formation (French-language vocational training), and VDAB Brussel (Flemish employment service). It is the first bilingual (French-Dutch) Cité des métiers and operates as a member of the International Network of Cités des métiers, having received the Universcience quality label in 2019. The organization functions as a free, anonymous, walk-in one-stop shop for career guidance, training information, job-search support, entrepreneurship resources, competency validation across 60+ occupations, and mobility guidance for the Brussels population, with a stated user base of nearly 56,000 visitors in 2019 and a reported 95% satisfaction rate. Its technology stack is conventional rather than AI-driven, comprising a searchable catalog of 2,500+ training courses and 1,000+ documentary resources, the Guidelia virtual-visit platform, the Miti live-chat service (powered by Tawk.to), Google and Microsoft Forms for event registration, VR headsets for immersive career discovery, and integrations with external job boards including Actiris, Indeed, Jobat, Randstad, and Optioncarriere. Distribution combines the central walk-in center, a mobile 'Formtruck' outreach unit, school-based 'Espace écoles' programming (co-funded by the European Social Fund and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles), and digital channels.

The business model is non-commercial: all services are provided free of charge to end users, and the organization is funded entirely through public budgets from its three founding regional partners plus targeted European Social Fund grants. It serves five primary personas — job seekers, students and young people aged 15-30, aspiring entrepreneurs, career changers, and educational institutions — with no transaction pricing, no subscription tiers, and no commercial revenue streams. Approximately 30 staff operate the center, which spans roughly 1,100 m² of physical space in central Brussels. Strategic reach extends through thematic sector days (healthcare with GIBBIS, defense, IT, sustainable jobs), entrepreneurship programming with Microstart, hub.brussels and Womenpreneur, and youth coaching in partnership with Infor Jeunes Bruxelles.

Name

Cité des métiers .Brussels

Legal name

Cité des métiers de Bruxelles

Website

https://citedesmetiers.brussels

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cité des métiers .Brussels is a publicly funded, bilingual (French-Dutch) career guidance and lifelong-learning center in Brussels, jointly operated by Actiris, Bruxelles Formation, and VDAB Brussel, offering free walk-in and online services to job seekers, students, career changers, and aspiring entrepreneurs across the Brussels-Capital Region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: As a public service initiative jointly funded by Actiris, Bruxelles Formation, and VDAB Brussel, the organization operates entirely on government funding. All services are provided free of charge to the public.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Cité des métiers de Bruxelles is a free, anonymous, no-appointment-required public service center that provides career guidance, training information, and competency validation to job seekers, students, career changers, and aspiring entrepreneurs in the Brussels-Capital Region. It operates bilingually in French and Dutch and offers individual advisory sessions, collective activities, an online training course catalog of 2,500+ courses, virtual reality career discovery experiences, and mobile outreach via its Formtruck.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Career Guidance Counseling
• Competency Validation Service
• Online Training Course Catalog
• Espace Jeunes 15-30 ans
• Espace Écoles
• Formtruck Mobile Outreach Service
• Virtual Reality Career Discovery
• Entrepreneurship Guidance Service
• Job Search and Internship Support

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 56,000 visitors served in 2019, demonstrating high demand for free guidance services
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• ActiriscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrussels public employment service and founding partner. Provides expertise on job market information, employment counseling, and job seeker support. Co-funds the initiative and refers users to Cité des métiers services.
• Bruxelles FormationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench-language professional training service for Brussels. Provides training course catalog data (2,500+ courses), training expertise, and co-organizes orientation activities. Major operational partner in service delivery.
• VDAB BrusselcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlemish public employment service for Brussels. Ensures bilingual service delivery and provides Dutch-language career guidance resources. Essential partner for serving Brussels' diverse population.
• International Network of Cité des métiers (Réseau International des Cités des métiers)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network connecting career guidance centers across multiple countries. Enables sharing of best practices, joint projects, and collaboration with national and international institutions. The Brussels location holds 'operating' label status within this network.
• Fédération Wallonie-BruxellescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench-speaking educational authority. Collaborates on the 'Espace écoles' educational and pedagogical pole, providing educational resources and support for school-based orientation activities. Project co-funded by European Social Fund.
• MicrostartminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrofinance organization for entrepreneurship. Co-organized 'Entreprendre avec impact' event in March 2026 to support aspiring entrepreneurs with information on microfinance and business creation.
• hub.brusselsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrussels business support agency (formerly Brussels Enterprise). Provides information and resources for business creation and entrepreneurship support through Cité des métiers platform.
• WomenpreneurminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting women entrepreneurs in Brussels. Partnered on International Women's Day initiative to showcase inspirational stories of Brussels women entrepreneurs.
• GIBBISminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederation of public and private healthcare institutions in Brussels. Co-organized healthcare sector employment day with Actiris and Cité des métiers.
• Infor Jeunes BruxellesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth information service. Provides orientation workshops for young people aged 15-29 at Cité des métiers, helping them explore career possibilities.
• Defence (Belgian Armed Forces)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganized career discovery day at Cité des métiers in September 2025 to inform about military career opportunities and training programs with over 4,500 positions available.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• France Travail (formerly Pôle Emploi): France's national public employment agency. Comparably delivers free career guidance, training referrals, and job-matching services to job seekers, but at national scale and with broader mandate including unemployment benefit administration.
• VDAB: Flemish public employment and vocational training service. Offers career guidance, training, and job matching across Flanders; serves a similar mission for the Dutch-speaking community in Belgium and is one of the Brussels center's founding partners.
• Actiris: Brussels-Capital Region public employment service. Directly comparable in providing job-seeker support, training referrals, and career guidance in the same geography; also a founding partner and primary referral source.
• Bruxelles Formation: French-speaking professional training service for Brussels. Provides the 2,500+ training course catalog data powering the center and offers its own career guidance and training services; founding partner of the center.

Direct peers

• Cité des métiers de Paris: The original Cité des métiers in Paris, sharing the same brand, methodology, and international network affiliation. Provides walk-in career guidance, training info, and competency validation — the closest operational peer.
• CIDJ (Centre d'Information et de Documentation Jeunesse): Paris-based national youth information center. Compares on providing free, no-appointment walk-in orientation services to young people covering employment, training, and study pathways.
• Infor Jeunes Bruxelles: Brussels youth information service offering free orientation workshops for 15-29 year olds. Directly comparable audience and mission; actively partners with Cité des métiers on youth programming.

Emerging players

• Maison de l'Emploi: French network of local employment houses coordinating employment, training, and orientation services at municipal level. Comparable model of locally embedded public-service career guidance delivery.

Others

• Réseau International des Cités des métiers: International network organization coordinating the global Cité des métiers network. Relevant as the umbrella governance and quality-standard body, not as a direct service competitor.
• Euroguidance: European network of national career guidance resource centers supporting cross-border mobility for learning and work. Conceptually aligned with the center's 'Bouger entre régions ou à l'étranger' pillar.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Citedesmetiers-BeroepenpuntBru
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cit%C3%A9-des-m%C3%A9tiers-Beroepenpunt-Brussels-169451480353464
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cit%C3%A9-des-m%C3%A9tiers-beroepenpunt-brussels
• Instagraminstagram.com/cdm_bp.brussels

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cité des métiers .Brussels