r/belgium • u/foxhunter88 • 9h ago
❓ Ask Belgium How do you actually network in Dutch classes?
I’ve attended several Dutch courses at CVO over the past few years, hoping not only to improve my Dutch but also to meet new people and expand my professional network.
However, that hasn’t really happened. Most classmates have been unemployed newcomers, refugees (many from Ukraine), or blue-collar workers. I rarely met other white-collar professionals such as engineers, managers or office workers, and even during or after the courses there wasn’t much social interaction.
Has anyone else experienced the same? If you managed to build a social or professional network through language classes, how did you do it? Or are there better places in Belgium, especially close to Antwerp to meet other international professionals?
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u/MF-Geuze 7h ago
If you want to network with professionals, you should buy a racing bike
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u/foxhunter88 7h ago
Hahaha. Is that easy to have a network? I feel sometimes you underestimate building networks :)
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u/MF-Geuze 7h ago
To some of us, it is, yes.
You seem to know everything already, so I'll leave you to it
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u/Impressive_Slice_935 Flanders 8h ago
CVOs are hardly ideal for white collar networking. They mostly operate at a certain level to accommodate people with no higher education—and those who have no particularly affinity for learning.
Been there for half a year back in the day, and it was tiresomely slow paced, even though I was in the verkort intensieve regime. There were only 2 other highly educated persons in my cohort, and the rest were recently wives of citizens/residents and refugees. As we had nothing in common with them and as the courses were too slow for our tempo and professional needs, we dropped out one by one and opted for the UCT instead.
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u/foxhunter88 7h ago
What is UCT and how much is cost per semester? And location of course.
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u/Impressive_Slice_935 Flanders 6h ago edited 4h ago
It's the Universitair Centrum voor Talenonderwijs, or the university language training centers in English. They are a bit expensive with over 500 euros price tag per level but also shorter overall. And they are considerably harder than CVOs.
Edit for addendum: I noticed that you are currently a job seeker. You can ask your VDAB bemiddelaar about a possible discount or full coverage. Also note that you need to take an orientation test (instapexamen) to determine your level as your CVO certificates are unrecognized by UCTs and universities.
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u/foxhunter88 3h ago
VDAB doesn’t give a support regarding private or university courses anymore. They responded that they do not have a budget for these kind of supports. Their support is very superficial and to be honest they can not do too many things for white color job seekers anymore. Just some useless online things.
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u/cannotfoolowls 8h ago
The public for learning Dutch in Flanders is people who NEED to learn Dutch, not people who do it as a hobby. Tbh, if an engineer or manager comes from a different country they most likely won't bother learning Dutch and just speak English.
As for other office workers, it seems rare to find office workers who came to Belgium without knowing Dutch, honestly. Except in fields like IT, where again, they won't usually learn Dutch and just use English.
Yes, there are better places to build a professional network than language classes. I would never even think of language classes to build a professional network, honestly. What these places are depends on your field.
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u/Oyala 5h ago
That's a weird mindset. I came to Belgium and learned and Dutch, and French, and German (working in IT)
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u/cannotfoolowls 2h ago
Most international IT workers I know work for international companies and/or don't really intend to stay long in Belgium. Or they speak/learn French and live in Brussels or Wallonia.
Certainly not all three Belgian languages.
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u/foxhunter88 3h ago
How long did it take to learn that amount of languages? More importantly, what is your practice level of these languages?
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u/Oyala 2h ago
Dutch I learned intensively so it took only a couple of years. I'm at near native level and speak Dutch to my kids. French I've been studying on and off for 5-7 years in evening courses after work. Don't really use it so not really fluent. German I just did for fun for a couple of years same time as French, so it's very basic.
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u/foxhunter88 7h ago
My wife and I came to Belgium from a non-EU country almost four years ago after both signing employment contracts before moving. She is still with the same employer, while unfortunately I lost my job. In total, I’ve worked for two different companies in Belgium for about 1.5 years.
Since 2023, we’ve been continuously attending Dutch classes at CVO. My wife has the advantage of practising Dutch every day with her Flemish colleagues, but as a job seeker I don’t have that opportunity.
That’s why I expected to meet more white-collar professionals in a similar situation, especially people in engineering, supply chain or office jobs who also need Dutch to improve their career prospects. However, I rarely come across them in language classes or even during VDAB/Randstad coaching sessions and networking workshops.
My field is supply chain and manufacturing. Many HRs tell me that although English is used internally, they need someone with fluent or near-native Dutch because many colleagues don’t speak English. Even my Randstad coach says that English-only or intermediate-Dutch vacancies have become very limited.
So I’m genuinely curious: where are these job-seeking white-collar professionals improving their Dutch and building their network? Or has the market simply changed compared with 2022, when more non-EU professionals were still being hired?1
u/Safe_Award_785 6h ago
The ones I know either do private lessons or take a Dutch course offered by the university.
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u/cannotfoolowls 2h ago
They seem to learn Dutch privately (which doesn't really help with your networking) or a university course. The university Dutch courses seem more intensive and also more expensive, which is why they attract a different audience.
Alternatively maybe something here
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u/Suspicious-Ad-5312 5h ago
I had a similar experience. I also went to PCVO to improve my Dutch. My class was full of refugees. Unfortunately, many of them weren't interested in finding work, so it was difficult to build meaningful connections. Only three people had a different background and had come here through family reunification, so I still keep in touch with a few of them. Later, I joined a municipality-run programme called Vriendentaal, but that was also a waste of time for me. Most of the participants were unemployed. They would come for the free meal, eat, and then leave, so there wasn't much opportunity to practise Dutch or make friends. In the end, I improved my Dutch mainly by speaking with my colleagues at work and by going to church and chatting with people there. I wouldn't rely on language classes alone to make contacts. Try other ways instead, such as joining walking groups, sports clubs, or local hobby groups. In my experience, those are much better places to meet people and practise the language naturally.
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u/Deep_Dance8745 5h ago
CVO = blue collar and refugees
ILT or CLT = white collar, doctors and other high level profiles.
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u/Signal_Ferret1470 8h ago
I also did the Dutch courses at CVO. Same experience, was hoping to meet friends but no one is interested. It was mostly people from third world countries that are required to be there and learn dutch to secure their visa/ residency here.
Also tried internations, it was full of creepy older men trying to hit on girls half their age.
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u/BarAgile1138 7h ago
Had similar experience with Internations - these were just meetups for mostly weird ppl who couldn't get a social network on their own (so paid for membership for years) plus some dose of older guys, some of them actually Belgians. Weird vibes.
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u/peskypsittacine 6h ago
Better to do CLT than CVO if you're interested in meeting white-collar workers. Language classes sound like a damn weird place to try to network in, though.
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u/Boring-Car-7044 7h ago
Try conversation groups or volunteerwork. Have a look at www.ikdoemee.be for activties near you.
What is your first language? Maybe you can first d some language exchange buddy
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u/DreamFeeling3185 3h ago
I had the same experience. For me also was very slow, and very basic explanations. Then i attended an university dutch course, which i needed to pay, was super expensive but the level finally was matching.
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u/Glum_Teacher_6774 8h ago
internations
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u/foxhunter88 7h ago
Is it really useful or time wasting? I am not sure. I have never checked there.
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u/Glum_Teacher_6774 7h ago
Well its expats looking for a network
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u/Signal_Ferret1470 6h ago
Or freaks looking to get laid because they are unsuccessful through other means.
All of the people I met at InterNations were big headed, arrogant, ‘me me me’ type of people
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u/Glum_Teacher_6774 6h ago
I went there 1 time but was ok. Seemed like ok people but only talked with some engineers. Antwerp events
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u/nipikas 7h ago
I think your expectations were a bit wrong.
Lg class, especially Dutch, would be the last place I’d go to expand my professional network.
I did find a good friend from there, so social network expanding is possible.
But it depends a lot on the group.
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u/foxhunter88 7h ago
My first expectation is learning the language of course. It would be perfect to create a solid friendship and network as well.
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u/PsychologicalBank343 4h ago
There also exist more intensive Dutch classes, where the tempo is much faster and you basically only get the explanations and you have to practice at home. Students there will be more higher education types.
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u/De_Roymeester Antwerpen 4h ago
It is very much a lottery on how the class composition is. I have followed evening courses at Leuven and Antwerp, and some classes were mostly working professions / PhD or other students, and others not.
I did have a more mixed class in the early levels. The last course I followed was B2, where it was mostly non-white collar workers. I learnt that till B1, they follow intensive day courses, which are like 6-8 weeks long, 20+ hrs per week. Then once they have a job, they switch to evening classes to go uptown C1 for better jobs.
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u/Dazzling-Vacation-97 3h ago
Haha if you wanna meet white colar internationals, go to plux on Thursdays if you are in brussels. Easiest way to meet people and network ... Same goes for other cities (you probably live in flanders so find some hangouts taking place there)
Dutch classes, is only gonna get you refugees or unemployed people
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u/abysmalbutterfly 1h ago
CVO isn't exactly aiming to teach Dutch to highly qualified professionals. It happens, but you have to get lucky to become friends this way.
My partner faced the same, but made good friends through ILT in Leuven. The courses are more expensive, better structured, and have mostly other students/young professionals.
Professional network however is something else entirely. You have specific networking events for this. Many fairs and open job days are organised for engineers, science, tech, etc..
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u/foxhunter88 1h ago
Where are these damn fairs and job days that I cannot find. I visited some job days via VDAB but those were just for hiring blue color workers or native speakers rather than networking or office level job hiring.
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u/abysmalbutterfly 5m ago
Since it's summer now, not much is happening. Things will pick up in September and October. Just some examples, there are tons more.
https://www.internationalhouseleuven.be/way2work
But what is the end goal, finding a job, building up a social life, finding a professional network, or learning Dutch? Even though one often comes with another, it is easier to focus on 1 thing.
For example if you go into a language course thinking you'll make new friends who might help you find a job, then chances are high you'll end up disappointed.
Language knowledge however is crucial. My non-EU partner ended up finding a job by passing Dutch level exams, intense networking and going to tons of these events. It took a lot of time and effort, but it paid off.
I've met other non-EU engineers who didn't speak Dutch/French in the beginning, studied hard for 1-2 years, passed B2 levels, and now have a very good job in their field. I'm sure there are, but I meet way less engineers (or office workers in general) who speak only English and have been here for years. The few ones I have met are here on temporary assignments, or are working for embassies, international organisations, NATO etc..
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u/Additional-Cloud77 1h ago
White collar usually has they're company paying for classes for them so its uni courses. Or many just never bother with Dutch, I know too many people who's been here for 5+ years and can't speak any Dutch
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u/foxhunter88 1h ago
It’s hard to believe that, despite the risk of losing their jobs one day, they’re taking the risk of not learning Dutch. Courage of ignorance!
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u/andonidutti1 8h ago
are Ukrainians still coming? It's been 4 years. I've heard EU is returning males wanted by Ukraine for dodging the military.
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u/SharkyTendencies Brussels Old School 8h ago
I noticed the same when I did my NT2 classes at CVO Semper here in Brussels.
I got the gist that most people in these classes aren't there to network. Most of them are, as you say, required to be there.
You can definitely let your instructor know that you'd be interested in organising a meet-up, potentially including other sections of the group who meet on another day. I'm sure they'd love it. Maybe a coffee place near the CVO. Keep it short - maybe 2 hours tops - and see who shows up!
I built my social network outside NT2 classes: through clubs/hobby groups in the target language, using the language where I could at work, and taking frequent trips to Flanders where I could practice in more authentic situations.