Indians in top-3 of foreign employees in Belgium
The number of foreign workers in Belgium has seen a four-fold increase in just four years' time. That's according to figures supplied by human resources management company SD Worx. The number of Indians has seen a spectacular rise in recent years.
Most foreign employees hail from France and the Netherlands (see below), but it's India snatching up third place, at the expense of Britain and Italy. It turns out that many Indian companies are sending staff to Europe for a certain time to let them get a taste of the European labour market.
"Indian employees are wanted by Belgian employers", confirms Greet Joos of SD Worx. "They usually boast a high degree, speak fluent English and have skills which are underrepresented in Belgium." The latter refers mostly to IT profiles. Telecom giants such as Telenet and Proximus have a lot of Indians in their workforce, but so do the financial and chemical sector with wholesale and consultancy jobs also being popular. "They often work here as expats, enjoying a special tax regime", says Joos. "This is linked to their work status: they are only here on a temporary basis."
Another country doing particularly well is Japan, now 9th on the list. And while Britain is still on number 4, it has seen the weakest growth of all countries in the top-10 in the past 4 years.
