Did you know that BECI was the founder of EPFC and CVO Semper, two well-known training organisations in Brussels? An important role for the Chamber of Commerce, which supports companies in training their employees and updating their skills. We went out into the field to see what these two schools for social advancement had to offer.
60 years of training at EPFC
Flashback. In 1963, the Brussels Chamber of Commerce (CCB) set up a training service for its members, initially focusing on learning the three national languages: the EPFC. ‘The range of courses was quickly expanded to give companies the practical opportunity to boost their staff's performance through appropriate retraining that was compatible with working hours,’ explains Serge Bressers, Managing Director of the EPFC. The initiative met a real need and was an immediate success. The courses, which initially focused on languages, gradually evolved towards business-related professions (accounting, administration, IT).
From 1981 onwards, the ULB provided the EPFC with its pedagogical and scientific backing and the university became the guarantee of the quality of the teaching provided by the establishment. ‘The ambition at the time was to make the EPFC a school offering adults of all origins and ages courses focused as much on languages and business careers as on social reintegration.’
The EPFC's history has also been marked by the takeover of various local educational establishments in the 70s and 80s, as well as the Institut de Technologies Nouvelles et d'Informatique - Philips. Another takeover took place in 2006, with the École d'Ergologie. ‘Its nursing training courses are a perfect complement to our range of services for both the commercial and non-commercial sectors,’ says Serge. At the end of the 1990s, the EPFC had 10 branches and was the largest social promotion school in Brussels. After acquiring a 14,000 m² building, the EPFC moved there in 2017.
A major player in Brussels
Today, the EPFC is a major player in adult education in the Brussels-Capital region. ‘Being in contact with the business world, and more generally with the players in our socio-economic world, is essential. All the more so as our courses focus mainly on languages and the tertiary sector,’ explains Serge. Two projects are currently underway to move us further in this direction. ‘The first is to set up a ‘catalogue committee’, made up of members of the EPFC as well as members of BECI. This committee should help us to be more proactive about our training offer and its adaptation to our socio-economic environment. The EPFC will shortly be launching a new bachelor's degree in cybersecurity and is working on the creation of a bachelor's degree in artificial intelligence.
Another project, again in collaboration with BECI, is to set up partnerships to make it easier for EPFC graduates to become entrepreneurs and create their own jobs. ‘One of the strengths of the EPFC is that it offers a continuum of training courses that enable learners to get the most out of their education. In addition, our teachers are really focused on the learners to support them in their success,’ concludes Serge.
EPFC represents:
· 170,000 periods in 2023
· 10,000 students, 11% of whom are job seekers
· 17,000 certificates of achievement in 2023
· 500 employees, including 400 lecturers.
Secondary and higher education, as well as languages (14 languages)
‘SEMPER’, meaning ‘always’ in Latin
CVO Semper, meanwhile, is almost 55 years old. The Centrum voor Volwassenenonderwijs (CVO) was founded by BECI in 1970. Almost fifty years later, it became CVO Semper following the merger of four Dutch-speaking social promotion centres.
Today, CVO Semper stands as a pillar of education for learners of all ages and backgrounds. The organisation embraces a fundamental mission: to make education accessible to everyone, whatever stage of life they find themselves in. The school strives to provide varied and relevant educational programmes tailored to the individual needs of each learner.
A pragmatic and entrepreneurial school
‘Constant evolution and the ongoing search for appropriate responses are part of the daily life of our school. As an offshoot of the Brussels Chamber of Commerce, we are a pragmatic and entrepreneurial school’, explains Ria Cauchie, Managing Director of CVO Semper. CVO Semper offers foreign language courses and vocational training programmes in sectors such as IT, administrative management, commerce, accountancy etc.
CVO Semper adopts a student-centred teaching approach. ‘We encourage active involvement and participation. In addition to face-to-face courses, the school offers distance learning options, enabling students to follow courses at their own pace and according to their own timetable. ‘This flexibility ensures that education remains accessible to those whose personal or professional commitments may be restrictive. One of our objectives is to offer 20% of our courses online. CVO Semper also organises modules tailored to companies and organisations. ‘Companies, learners and teachers all want more and more flexibility.'
A strong link with the labour market
To strengthen its impact, CVO Semper maintains strategic partnerships with local businesses, community organisations and educational institutions. ‘These collaborations enable us to stay at the forefront of economic and social developments and adapt our programmes to meet changing market needs. The link with the labour market is at the heart of what we do,’ says Ria.
In 2022, at the request of the Flemish government, CVO Semper carried out a ‘regio scan’ (a field survey) on the training needs of adults in Brussels. The survey revealed that there is still a lack of awareness of adult education provision. Only 12% of respondents had a good understanding of it. ‘We need to raise the profile of what's on offer through targeted communication campaigns. We also need to make a stronger link between continuing education and personal development. In terms of content, expectations are focused on 21st century skills, i.e. languages, but also everything to do with technology and various soft skills. We are living in a period of intense transition, both socially and digitally, and also environmentally. Fortunately, this is also being felt in the world of education,’ concludes Ria.
CVO Semper represents:
• 16,161 students per year
• 196 nationalities
• 3,150 courses/modules per year
• 400 employees
• 137 programmes
BECI and CVO Semper are also involved in the European ‘EULEP’ project
This project, launched by Eurochambres, aims to make vocational education and training more attractive. ‘Vocational training is still often perceived as ‘an orientation for those who are not capable of following other studies’, which is a real shame. We need to raise the profile of adult education, while promoting the excellence that continuing vocational training should pursue,’ explains Joëlle Evenepoel, Beci Secretary General.
In order to encourage employees to take up training, we need to give meaning to continuing training and highlight the development potential associated with it. As part of this, we are looking at the certification of training courses and a different approach to offering them (more modular, flexible, hybrid, etc.). We are also considering a vocational training offering that incorporates learning in innovative fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and Social Innovation Skills (SI) into the curricula. The ultimate goal will be to create a European platform enabling teachers/company trainers/external trainers to use and develop new online modules.