In "De ochtend" on Radio 1, Bart Somers commented on a recent study released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): "Only 59 percent of non-EU citizens living in Belgium are employed. The average in the EU is 71 percent."

According to Bart Somers, the lack of proper training is often the reason why newcomers cannot find a job. That is why the Flemish government wants to oblige newcomers to undergo on-the-job training, which means that newcomers will be paid during the training. They will be encouraged to choose training for shortage occupations but they will be able to opt for occupations that are not on the shortage occupation list. 

This training will be part of the civic integration programme that all newcomers who settle in the Flemish region have to follow, which also includes Dutch language classes and a social orientation course.

The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor, has spoken out about the Turbo Plan, claiming that it does not go far enough in ensuring access to the labour market for persons who fall outside of the scope of the mandatory integration programme, such as asylum-seekers or individuals who have been on the territory for more than three years.

Read more about Bart Somers's declaration and turbo plan (in Dutch).
Read more about Nicole de Moor's reaction to the turbo plan (in Dutch). 

Integration policy in Belgium falls under the competence of the three language-based communities: the French Community, the Flemish Community, and the German-speaking Community. This means that in practice, third-country nationals may be subject to different obligations. For instance, whereas the integration programme is mandatory in the Flemish region since 2003, the one applicable in the Brussels-Capital Region (where both the Flemish and French Communities coexist) only became mandatory last year.

Read more about the evolution of integration programmes and their disparities across Belgian regions (in French).