MolenGeek risks losing funding due to conflict with Bruxelles Formation

Molenbeek’s technical and computer training centre MolenGeek could lose some €180,000 in subsidies as well as general support from regional government service Bruxelles Formation, and their current collaboration could be suspended indefinitely, following an investigation into whether rules surrounding public procurement have been violated.

MolenGeek offers training courses and events to prepare young people without a diploma for a tech career.

But MolenGeek founder Ibrahim Ouassari said a “difference in vision” was at the root of the conflict with Bruxelles Formation.

"For us, it’s all about discipline and preparation for the labour market," he said. "We want to prepare our students for a professional career, and that requires clear rules, such as being on time and taking responsibility."

This approach led to tensions last year, he said: “Our method demands a lot from the students, but that is necessary to prepare them for the reality of the workplace.”

During their training, participants are monitored by a Bruxelles Formation employee, who evaluates their performance every month.

But, according to Ouassari, some employees took a different approach, and did not work hard enough, but Bruxelles Formation did not take action.

“If they allow exceptions [to the rules], a toxic atmosphere is created, because the young people see that we are not on the same page,” he added.

Ouassari told L’Echo newspaper: “According to Bruxelles Formation, we had to be accommodating in certain cases, because these were students who used to be unemployed and played video games until 4.00 in the morning. Some students take advantage of being here and drag [the level of] their whole class down with them.”

After complaints from students, MolenGeek was visited by several inspection services, including the employment office Actiris.

“I am in favour of checks, but we are being checked very often, and only on the basis of a few complaints from students,” Ouassari said.

Meanwhile, losing links with Bruxelles Formation will affect MolenGeek students in many ways. Notably, it will no longer be exempt from rules requiring them to say yes to interviews and work opportunities that arise.

“If students are called up in the middle of their training to work as a temporary worker or part-time in a restaurant, that can indeed be a problem,” Oussari added.

In addition, the students will lose their right to insurance during or leading up to the programme, as well as the €2 gross per hour internship allowance, and they will no longer benefit from Bruxelles Formation assessments, or the chance to see social workers and receive job training.

No decision has been made on whether MolenGeek will definitively lose the Bruxelles Formation contract. But Ouassari said that regardless, “for us, the link has already been broken. We tried to find a solution, but did not succeed.”

If the collaboration with Bruxelles Formation does end permanently, MolenGeek stands to lose about €180,000 in subsidies per year.

But ultimately, even without the subsidy, MolenGeek will survive, Ouassari made clear, arguing that the money from Bruxelles Formation amounted to "financial support, not [whole] financing".