The Belvue4Starters project aims to offer large numbers of young adults in Brussels the opportunity to take a different approach to looking for ‘work’ and grow personally to become the ‘directors’ of their own lives. The project contributes to the development of the social economy of the Molenbeek. The project develops a series of programs for young people in Brussels focusing on personal development and economic integration.
- 26 January 2018
The Hotel Belvue project is a combination of urban renewal, the regeneration of industrial and historical heritage, socio-professional integration and the refurbishment of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean’s touristic character.
The new Hotel Belvue, located in Brussels’ Molenbeek-Saint Jean neighbourhood, offers hotel accommodations plus an education centre where young people interested in the tourism sector can get practical training. The training is aimed at Brussels students 18-24 years old, particularly those with a low level of education or skill level and who are looking for a job in the hospitality industry.
Besides the 3-star newly built passive Hotel Belvue (29-room), inside the historic Belle-Vue Brewery, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean’s local employment and training organisation holds professional trainings for students in the hotel, tourism and event management sectors. After the training is complete, students have the opportunity to put what they learned into practice by working at the Belvue hotel itself.
Real skills, practical training
Since its opening, five groups of nine trainees each have completed the four-month training. The training includes both practical and theoretical course work, with the practical classes teaching basic skills that the students can then immediately take from the classroom to the adjoining hotel and put to use. The theoretical courses, on the other hand, focus on such topics as business vocabulary, housekeeping, codes of conduct, professional communication in French and introduction to English, among others.
After 13 weeks at the training centre and Hotel Belvue, the students take up a one-month internship at another local four or five-star hotel. The aim of this internship is to enhance the students’ professional skills, enlarge their network and provide them with additional real-world experience.
In addition, throughout their training, trainees are provided hands-on help with their job search. This assistance continues even after the training and until the trainee secures their first job in the hospitality industry. Already 42 people have enrolled in the training. Of the 27 that have successfully completed their coursework, eight have gone on to land permanent jobs at a Brussels-based hotel, while two others have used what they’ve learned at the Belvue Hotel to secure jobs in other sectors. An additional three programme graduates are now engaged in temporary employment.
The team behind the Belvue Hotel and training are currently developing additional courses and training opportunities, with the aim of providing a wider choice to Brussels-based youth.
Historic location
The site of the Belle-Vue Brewery forms the final piece of the uninterrupted line of buildings along the Brussels canal. The Hotel Belvue project is one part of a larger effort to renovate the main building of the former industrial site, along with the construction of a new building. Both will serve as reference points of the location, which opens itself up to the canal district, Molenbeek and the heart of Brussels.
The hotel is located in the new building and, as such, is fully compliant with all requirements for ultra-low energy building status.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Belle-Vue Site” is EUR 5 129 721with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 2 564 860for the 2007-2013 programming period and EUR 1.254.304 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 627 151 for the 2014-2020 programming period, through the “Brussels Capital Region” Operational Programme.