As one of the largest family construction groups in Belgium, we consider it our duty to contribute to a sustainable and qualitative society and world. And our employees also find it important to stand behind this commitment. We have all made joint efforts in recent years to improve the impact of our activities on the environment. For example, we are committed to the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals. Willemen Groep was one of the first Belgian companies to sign the SDG charter. In 2020, the United Nations rewarded our efforts with the UNITAR certificate. A recognition of which we are particularly proud.

As mentioned above, we are already taking many specific measures to implement the 17 sustainable development objectives. These have been positively assessed so far by the evaluation committee, which rewarded us with the Voka Sustainable Business Charter (VCDO) for the third year in a row in 2020. It even earned us recognition at the highest level with the UNITAR certificate. In addition, we are pioneering circular construction together with several other players from the construction sector. Together with the other partners in the Circular Construction Green Deal, we are committed to building up and exchanging experience around this form of recycling economy in the coming years.

Our group currently has more than 2,400 employees belonging to over 30 different nationalities. Approximately one third of our workforce is over the age of 50. Only one principle counts in our recruitment policy: the best candidate gets the job. We never distinguish between gender, ethnic origin, religion, age, or sexual orientation.

In addition, some of our companies have been recognised as a hiring company because they offer opportunities for long-term employment to the long-term unemployed. In addition, several of our employees work under the IBO (Individual Vocational Training for Jobseekers) or GIBO (Specialised IBO for people with disabilities) status. These employees can count on internal guidance and additional training opportunities.

n addition to Belgium, we are also active abroad. We recruit local workers for our foreign projects. We often provide additional training for these people so that they can grow in their profession and further develop their skills. Moreover, they can count on excellent terms of employment.

Our group has a total of around 350 employees under the age of 36. For them, there is the Willemen Intercompany Network for a Great Start (WINGS). WINGS brings them into contact with each other at regular intervals during fun and instructive activities. It makes it easier for our young – and therefore less experienced – employees to find each other if they need some advice or help. In other words, WINGS helps our young employees fly.

Accidents happen quickly, especially in our sector. That is why we regularly roll out awareness-raising campaigns with a focus on safety and safe working practices. It is our ambition to reduce the number of lost-time accidents to zero because every accident is one too many. In order to achieve that goal, the ‘GO FOR ZERO’, our own safety campaign in which we take numerous actions.

A company can only grow if its employees grow along with it. That’s why we give our people every opportunity to develop themselves. In  we founded the Willemen Academy, our own training institute in which we offer, among other things, two-year (Advanced) Masterclass courses. The Willemen Academy bundles all of our internal training courses.