Actiris Lists 103 Critical Professions in Brussels

Brussels’ regional employment agency Actiris has published its official 2026 list of 103 professions classified as “critical functions” in the Brussels-Capital Region, highlighting persistent and severe labour shortages across key sectors of the capital’s economy. The list, released on 1 July, is designed to guide job seekers, training providers, and policymakers toward the areas of highest demand.

What Defines a Critical Function?

According to Actiris, a critical function is a profession for which employers face significant difficulty finding staff — whether due to too few candidates, a lack of proper qualifications, or difficult working conditions. The annual list serves as a strategic policy tool for career guidance, training prioritisation, and economic migration, as foreign workers qualified in shortage professions can benefit from facilitated work permit procedures.

Sectors Most Affected

The majority of professions on the 2026 list have been present for several years, indicating deep structural shortages rather than temporary market fluctuations. The non-market sector remains the hardest hit, with persistent deficits in teaching and nursing staff. Hospitality (horeca), technical trades, and the construction sector also feature prominently, reflecting ongoing challenges in attracting and retaining workers in these fields.

Examples of listed professions include cook (cuisinier), electrician (électricien), and insurance manager (gestionnaire d’assurances), as reported by L’Avenir.

New Additions and Removals

The 2026 list includes two notable additions: automotive technician (technical inspection) and legal assistant, reflecting evolving regulatory and market needs. Meanwhile, financial analyst and electrical appliance salesperson have been removed, suggesting improved availability of candidates or reduced demand in those fields.

According to DHNet, the list of 103 represents a slight decrease from 108 critical functions identified in 2023, though this may reflect methodological adjustments rather than genuine improvement in labour market conditions.

Regional Context: Brussels and Wallonia

The Actiris publication coincides with the release of the Forem’s 2026 list of 144 shortage professions in Wallonia, which includes 69 new additions. The Forem has introduced a new methodology this year, shifting from job vacancy data to the Labour Needs Survey (Enquête sur les Besoins en Main-d’Œuvre, or BMO) conducted among all Walloon employers. This new approach incorporates a “criticity index” based on three criteria: recruitment difficulty, recruitment intensity, and labour market tension.

As RTBF reported, the construction sector remains the most affected in Wallonia with 38 shortage professions, followed by technological industry and health and social care, each with 19.

Implications for Job Seekers and Policymakers

The annual list of critical functions serves multiple strategic purposes. For job seekers, it provides a clear roadmap to high-demand fields with better employment prospects. For training providers, it signals which programmes should be prioritised to address skills gaps. For policymakers, it highlights sectors requiring targeted intervention, whether through improved working conditions, wage adjustments, or enhanced training pathways.

The persistence of shortages in teaching, nursing, construction, and hospitality suggests that annual list updates alone cannot resolve the underlying structural issues. Experts point to difficult working conditions, perceived low attractiveness of certain sectors, and mismatches between available qualifications and employer needs as key factors driving the crisis.

What to Watch For

As Brussels and Wallonia grapple with these labour shortages, attention will turn to the specific policy measures Actiris and regional governments will implement to address the gaps. Questions remain about the vacancy-to-applicant ratio for the most critical professions, how the Brussels methodology compares to the Forem’s new criticity index, and what role economic migration will play in filling these positions.

The 2023 figure of 108 critical functions, as documented by The Brussels Times, provides historical context for the current list, underscoring that these shortages are not a new phenomenon but a deepening structural challenge for the Belgian capital.