Flanders
5 reasons to invest in Flanders
- Highly qualified workforce - " A powerfull asset"
- Great business environment - " The right platform"
- Social stability - " Based on a consensus model"
- Infrastructure - "Highly developed in all of its aspects
- A knowledge based economy - "Driving force of Flanders"
1. Highly qualified workforce - "A powerful asset"
The workforce in Flanders is among the world's most highly educated and productive as well as having a high level of language skills.
Flemish students benefit from a lower pupil to teacher ratio than most other countries and some 38 percent of people aged 25 to 34 have continued their education at a university or other higher education establishment.
The Belgian and Flemish workforce has been among the world's most productive for more than a decade. In GDP per hour worked, the country scores 109 with the US as base at 100 while the G7 average is 90. Moreover, the Flemish workforce has one of the world's highest loyalty to employer rates in terms of years of service.
L
iving right at the point where Europe's three major cultural and language groups meet has brought the Flemish people skills in a range of languages. Many speak up to three languages fluently and these include English.
2. Great business environment - " The right platform"
Its historic place at the crossroads of European trade and culture means that businesses can benefit from the flexibility, language skills, business expertise and enterprise environment built up over centuries.
Flanders offers businesses a stable, market-driven economy and all the advantages of a Euro currency nation. Its location at the heart of Europe's core economy, combined with its highly developed transport and communications infrastructure, provide the right platform for businesses looking to develop or expand opportunities in the wider European market. In addition, Flanders offers a business-minded government that continues to introduce measures aimed at easing the way for enterprise.
3. Social stability - "based on a consenus model"
Belgium has developed a consensus model of industrial relations based on negotiation between all parties. As a result of this approach, Flanders has one of the lowest levels of strike action in Europe.
4. Infrastructure - "highly developped in all of its aspects"
Flanders offers businesses highly developed infrastructure in all of its aspects - from excellent accessibility by sea and air to extensive connectivity by rail, road and inland waterway.
Flanders is home to the Port of Antwerp, the second largest port in the Hamburg-Le Havre range and Europe's leading chemical cluster. Other ports are Ghent, Ostend and Zeebrugge. They all connect with Europe's extensive inland waterway network and with one of the world's densest rail networks.
Brussels International Airport is ranked Europe's fifth for freight operations, while Ostend airport on the coast provides facilities for outsized and special cargoes. Ports and airports are all close to the region's highway network, which links directly with those of France, Germany, the Netherlands and, across the Channel, the UK.
5. A knowledge based economy - "Driving force of Flanders"
With a successful track record of discovery, research and innovation across a range of disciplines and a variety of sectors, Flanders offers businesses a knowledge-based economy with innovation-driven knowledge workers. Government and industry are placing increasing emphasis on research and development.
The Flemish Government's Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science & Technology (IWT), for instance, supports and stimulates industrial research and technology transfer within Flemish industry. The Flemish Government has created competence centers for almost every industry: Flanders' Drive, Flanders' Food, Flanders' Bio, Flanders In Shape, etc.
