Sustainability
As a talent placement company, it is our dream, but also our social duty, to have a sustainable impact on the world. Providing employment for 25,000 people every day – that’s contributing to the economic impact at companies, but above all to the job satisfaction and prospects of our candidates and colleagues. We also strive for equal opportunities in the labour market every day.
Our sustainability policy is built on several pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations. We have chosen six pillars to guide our sustainability policy.
We use these pillars as the basis not only for our own sustainability initiatives, but also for the support we give to existing organisations or projects. Here’s an overview.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
At Accent, we think diversity, equity and inclusion are hugely important. We believe that people are much more than their CV. People have stories, a past, desires, goals, dreams. Everyone has talent. It is one of the building blocks of our business. We therefore make no secret of our desire to become Belgium’s most inclusive employer. We believe that those who feel good at work do a better job. Only by embracing every talent can we grow as a company.
JobRoad: (re)-integration through work
In 2016, we founded JobRoad, together with House of HR, VDAB and VOKA. JobRoad ivzw is a networking organisation for companies, intermediary organisations and vulnerable jobseekers. This CSR project has since evolved into an independent, international non-profit organisation focusing on vulnerable target groups in the labour market.
JobRoad has been guiding people for whom a suitable job is harder to achieve (such as refugees or prisoners) to an appropriate employer since 2016. JobRoad’s highly personal and integrated approach breaks through the barriers of language, mobility and competency that hamper easy access to the labour market. It is an efficient lever to help jobseekers into a job within a year, significantly speeding up their integration process.
It is thanks to financial support from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), among others, that JobRoad’s projects can be realised. JobRoad’s latest project, for which they are collaborating with Accent, is called Refugees2Work. Their aim with this project is to promote the integration of asylum seekers by putting them in touch with employers looking for talent in various collective reception centres.
Jobs in Flanders: uniting Brussels unemployed with Flemish jobs
At 15%, nowhere in Belgium is the unemployment rate as high as in Brussels. At the same time, we have an awful lot of vacancies in Flanders that are sometimes difficult to fill. That is why we launched Jobs in Flanders in 2020: a project with a specific team of job coaches to get unemployed people in Brussels excited about a job in Flanders. Since its launch in 2020*, we have already reached 316 candidates, 169 of whom are now permanently employed in Flanders. Of these, half have moved to Flanders and the other half commute daily.
Anna Gaik
With Jobs in Flanders, our main focus is on people whose status is such that they slip through the cracks and are often unknown to the authorities. We make every effort to target these people. We not only help these people find jobs, but also guide them with regard to housing, integration and language. For instance, we mainly reach Romanians, the second-largest population group in Brussels, but also people from other migration backgrounds.
Partnership with SOS Children’s Villages
Being able to be who you are starts from an early age. A safe, loving home is a crucial element for forming your own identity. Unfortunately, not everyone has the chance to be 100% themselves. SOS Children’s Villages has several projects in Belgium that focus on taking care of children in difficult domestic situations and assisting parents, with a view to a safe return home.
To support SOS Children’s Villages, we have organised several internal campaigns, but we also have a number of colleagues who actively engage in volunteer work with young people who will soon enter the labour market. The young people receive help with preparing a CV, job application tips and administrative support for applications, etc. And this brings success.
Origami: building a new future for Afghan refugees
Together with House of HR, JobRoad and training partner BLCC, we launched the Origami project in 2022: a project that gives female Afghan refugees the chance to fully participate in our society after an intensive follow-up process. Following intensive language education and internal training at Accent, these women are given the instruction they require to start working effectively as job coaches at Accent.
During the summer months, the women receive intensive language training from training partner BLCC. September and October see the start of the vocational training provided by Accent Business School, Accent’s internal training centre. The women still receive one day of language training a week during those months. After four months (July-October), the five women were totally ready to start working effectively as employment consultants in one of Accent’s offices.
Ecovadis: an objective sustainability rating
We set the bar high for ourselves and only want to get better. To have our sustainability policy evaluated in an objective manner, we call on Ecovadis. Ecovadis is a company that assesses corporate sustainability, based on four defined criteria: environment, ethics, human rights and sustainable procurement. Our most recent review earned us a nice commitment badge. And we are proud of that.
