What Le Forem does

Le Forem (legal name: Office Wallon de la Formation professionnelle et de l'Emploi) is the public employment and vocational training service of the Walloon Region of Belgium, established by decree of the Walloon Government on May 6, 1999. Headquartered in Charleroi with approximately 3,742 employees, it delivers free job-matching, career guidance, vocational training, recruitment support, and unemployment-registration services to job seekers and employers across Wallonia. It operates as the mandatory registration channel for unemployment benefit recipients and coordinates with the federal ONEM (Office National de l'Emploi) and payment organisms such as CAPAC and the recognized trade unions (CSC, FGTB, CGSLB). Geographically, its mandate is restricted to Wallonia, with Brussels and Flanders served by separate public employment services.

Its core digital products include the Espace Personnel — an online personal account for profile, CV, application, and document management — and the Forem mobile application on iOS and Android, which synchronizes with the personal space to enable on-the-go job search and favoriting. The job-matching platform surfaces over 40,812 active listings and complements the Catalogue Wallon de Formations, which lists more than 10,000 vocational training courses across 15 sectors. Distribution combines this digital layer with an extensive physical network: 12 Services clientèle, 60+ Maisons de l'Emploi, 11 Carrefours/Cités des Métiers, sector-specific Centres de Compétence (Construform for construction, Forem Business, Forem Environnement, Forem Logistique), retraining Plateformes de Reconversion, and a Digital Factory in Liège focused on digital-fabrication training and certifications. FORMAPass serves as the partner-facing platform that lets external training providers publish offerings into the unified catalog, while MISIP, Orientascan, Coup de Boost, and the MOOC du Forem complete the orientation and upskilling portfolio.

Le Forem is funded entirely by the Walloon regional government under its regulatory mandate, and all services are provided free of charge — there is no transactional or subscription revenue from end users. Its go-to-market is direct-to-citizen and direct-to-enterprise via physical offices, dedicated hotlines (0800/93 947 for citizens, 0800/93 946 for companies), digital self-service, and outreach events such as Jobdays. International reach is limited to the EURES European Employment Services network for cross-border mobility, while downstream social-services referrals to CPAS handle cases once unemployment benefits are exhausted.

Name

Le Forem

Legal name

Office Wallon de la Formation professionnelle et de l'Emploi

Website

https://leforem.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Le Forem is the public employment and vocational training service of the Walloon Region of Belgium, providing free job-matching, career guidance, training, and recruitment support to job seekers and companies through digital platforms and a regional network of physical offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Employment Services

NAICS

Employment Services (5613), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Job Readiness Support Services (BPAGAEAJ), Workforce Development, Employment Readiness & Job Placement (BPADAKAE), Workforce & Job-Seeker Services (Community-Based) (EDAAAFAM)

Keywords

• Public employment services
• Vocational training programs
• Job matching platform
• Career guidance services
• Workforce development

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleroi

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices19 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding: Le Forem is a public service (Office wallon de la Formation professionnelle et de l'Emploi) funded by government decree (décret du 6 mai 1999). All services are provided free of charge to citizens and companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Le Forem is the official public employment and vocational training service of Wallonia, Belgium, delivering free job-search assistance, career guidance, vocational training, and recruitment support to job seekers and companies. Its offering combines a digital platform (Espace Personnel, mobile app, FORMAPass) with a regional network of physical offices (Services clientèle, Maisons de l'Emploi, Carrefours/Cités des Métiers) and training centers (Centres de Compétence, Digital Factory). Services span job matching (40,000+ active listings), training enrollment (10,000+ courses), occupational information (650+ fact sheets), professional immersion (MISIP), and recruitment support with financial incentives for hiring.

Product overview

Le Forem is the Walloon public employment service, offering a unified portfolio of employment and vocational training services. Its core digital product is the Espace Personnel (personal online account), complemented by a dedicated mobile application available on iOS and Android. The service portfolio spans job matching (Offres d'Emploi — 40,000+ listings), career guidance (Infos Métiers with 650+ occupational fact sheets, Carrefours/Cités des Métiers, Orientascan, and Coup de Boost), vocational training (Catalogue Wallon de Formations with 10,000+ courses, Digital Factory de Liège, Centres de Compétence), professional testing (MISIP), training provider management (FORMAPass), and local employment support (Maisons de l'Emploi, Plateformes de Reconversion). The mobile app syncs with the personal space for seamless access to saved jobs, applications, and documents. Jobdays and featured job listings (Jobs à la Une) serve as targeted employer-engagement features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FORMAPass: Platform for training providers to publish and manage their training offerings.
• Cités et Carrefours des Métiers
• Digital Factory

Products and services

• Espace Personnel Personal online account service for job seekers providing access to job search tools, personal dossier management, profile creation, job application tracking, document upload, and communication with Forem advisors.
• Application Mobile du Forem Free mobile application (iOS and Android) enabling job seekers to search and save job offers, apply online, upload documents, sync data with their personal account, and locate nearby Forem offices via GPS.
• Catalogue Wallon de Formations Comprehensive catalog of over 10,000 vocational training courses available across Wallonia, offered by Forem and its training partners across 15 sectors and language courses.
• Offres d'Emploi Online job board featuring over 40,000 active employment listings in Wallonia, with search, filtering, and online application capabilities.
• Jobdays Job fair events organized by Forem connecting job seekers directly with employers in various sectors.
• Infos Métiers Occupational information portal providing over 650 detailed job fiches (occupational fact sheets) and sector information to help users explore careers.
• Mise en Situation Professionnelle (MISIP) Unpaid short-term internship program allowing job seekers to test a specific profession in a real company environment, validate their career project, and identify required competencies.
• FORMAPass Partner platform enabling training providers to publish and manage their training offerings in the Walloon training catalog.
• Carrefours des Métiers et Cités des Métiers Network of career guidance centers offering free orientation services, workshops, career tests, and information on professions and training across multiple locations in Wallonia.
• Digital Factory de Liège Digital learning and experimentation space offering short, practical training courses to discover digital technologies, learn digital fabrication tools, and obtain professional certifications.
• Orientascan Online career orientation tool available on CDMetiers.be that analyzes users' interests and provides tailored advice and resources to guide career decisions.
• Coup de Boost Collective guidance program for young people aged 18-25 to help them define their professional project in a group setting with peers facing similar challenges.
• MOOC du Forem Online training courses accessible via the Forem MOOC platform for developing professional and behavioral skills.
• Centres de Compétence Network of specialized training centers covering sectors such as construction, business, environment, food, logistics, green sectors, tourism, and wood, providing advanced vocational training.
• Maisons de l'Emploi Local employment offices offering job search support, training advice, professional orientation, and business creation assistance across Wallonia.
• Plateformes de Reconversion Retraining platforms providing support for collective reconversion programs to help workers transition into new sectors or professions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40,812 job listings available
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EURES (European Employment Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEURES is the European network for labour mobility. Le Forem collaborates with EURES to provide information and support for job seekers and employers interested in international employment opportunities, including cross-border work within Europe.
• CDMetiers (Cités et Carrefours des Métiers de Wallonie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of career information centers (Carrefours and Cités des Métiers) operating across Wallonia to provide free, independent guidance on careers, training, and job opportunities. Le Forem co-manages these facilities with regional partners.
• ONEM (Office National de l'Emploi)coreOthersNational employment office that manages unemployment benefits in Belgium. Le Forem works with ONEM to coordinate job seeker registration, unemployment benefits, and professional integration services.
• CAPAC (Caisse auxiliaire de paiement des allocations de chômage)coreOthersPublic unemployment payment organism. Le Forem refers job seekers to CAPAC for unemployment benefit payments once ONEM approves their claims.
• Trade unions (CSC, FGTB, CGSLB)coreOthersRecognized Belgian trade unions that can serve as payment organisms for unemployment benefits alongside CAPAC. Job seekers can choose their preferred payment organism.
• SynerjobminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of Walloon employment services. Le Forem collaborates with Synerjob member organizations for shared initiatives in employment support and training.
• FORMAPasscoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform for training providers to publish and manage their training offerings in the Walloon training catalog. Le Forem integrates Formapass into its training ecosystem.
• CPAS (Centres Publics d'Action Sociale)minorOthersLocal public social action centers. When job seekers exhaust unemployment benefits, Le Forem can refer them to CPAS for social integration income (RIS) and support services.
• Regional training centers and competency centerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of specialized training centers including Construform (construction), Forem Business (business skills), Forem Environnement (environment), Forem Logistique (logistics), and others providing sector-specific professional training.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VDAB: Flemish public employment service operating in Flanders under a similar regional mandate to Le Forem. Provides job matching, training, and career guidance with a comparable one-stop-shop model, making it the closest structural peer in Belgium.
• Actiris: Brussels-Capital Region public employment service offering job placement, training, and employer services. Directly comparable mission and service portfolio to Le Forem, serving the bilingual Brussels region.

Broad incumbents

• UWV: Dutch national employee insurance agency managing unemployment benefits and labor market services. Closest comparable to Le Forem's combined employment-services-and-benefits administration model.
• France Travail (formerly Pôle Emploi): France's national public employment agency operating at much larger scale but with the same core mandate of unemployment registration, job placement, training referrals, and benefits administration. A benchmark for Le Forem's service model.
• LinkedIn: Global professional networking platform with dominant market share in online job matching and employer recruitment. Represents the primary private competitor for employer mindshare and job-seeker engagement.
• Indeed: Largest global job search engine by volume. Private-sector incumbent whose aggregator model competes directly with Le Forem's Offres d'Emploi platform for active job-seeker traffic in Wallonia.

Others

• Synerjob: Association of Walloon employment services including Le Forem and training providers. Coordinates shared initiatives rather than competing directly, but represents an adjacent ecosystem participant.
• EURES: European job mobility network that Le Forem is a member of. Acts as a coordination layer rather than a direct competitor, but represents the cross-border dimension of Le Forem's service offering.

Regional players

• ADEM: Luxembourg's public employment service (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi). Comparable mission in a neighboring Benelux country, particularly relevant given cross-border labor flows with Wallonia.
• StepStone: Leading European online job board with strong presence in Belgium and Germany. Competes for employer recruitment budgets and skilled job-seeker attention in Wallonia's higher-skill segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@videosLeForem
• Facebookfacebook.com/LeForem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-forem
• Instagraminstagram.com/le_forem/?hl=fr
• TikToktiktok.com/@le_forem?lang=fr

Compliance1 record

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 Le Forem