JUNIOR PROGRAMMEof the Belgian Development Cooperation

Stepping stone for an exciting career in Belgium or abroad

September 2014

The Junior ProgrammeThe Junior Programme of the Belgian Development Cooperation provides young people with a first professional experience in devel-opment cooperation. Since the Programme's start in 2006 more than 350 young graduates have taken advantage of this opportu-nity.

Through the Junior Programme future development workers can work with the help of a coach for one or maximum two years in a project of the Belgian governmental cooperation or a Belgian NGO in one of the 18 partner countries of the Belgian Development Coop-eration.

In 2010, the Junior Programme started a test phase with six NGOs, and since 2013 all recog-nized Belgian NGOs can join the Junior Programme. Since, 25% of the Junior Assistants have worked for an NGO, and this percentage keeps rising.

The goal of the programme is to train young professionals and constitute a new generation of de-velopment workers.

Does the Junior Programme meet expectations?In March 2014 a second survey was conducted with former Juniors to find out whether the Junior Programme meets expectations. Is it a good idea for young peo-ple to become a Junior Assistant if they want to start a career in development cooperation? How many former Juniors have even-tually found a job in development cooperation? What has the Junior Programme meant for their further career?

© BTC / Jonas Verstraete

Young graduates who have worked overseas with the Junior Programme of the Belgian Development Cooperation are very satisfied with their experience. They claim the Programme gave a boost to their career. Most of them found work shortly after their return to Belgium. After such overseas experience, more than half of them (60%) keeps working in development cooperation, mostly with an NGO. The Junior Programme is definitely a stepping stone for a career in development cooperation.

These are the main conclusions from the survey that the Junior Programme conducted among former Junior Assistants eight years into its existence.

Population surveyedThe survey was filled out by no less than 93% of the former Junior Assistants contacted, which amounts to 234 respondents (60% women, 40% men). 95% of the Juniors are Belgian nationals with almost as many Dutch- as French-speaking (47/53). The average age upon completion of the Junior Programme is 26. Most Juniors chose for two years of field experience.

85% of Juniors surveyed worked in a governmental cooperation project from the Belgian development agency BTC. 15% was employed overseas for a Belgian NGO.

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For me, the Junior Programme was a 'fast track' to a career in development cooperation. It was a very enriching experience,

also because of the professional support by people with the necessary expertise.

Filip Former Junior Assistant in Education in Vietnam,

now Education Advisor, VVOB Vietnam

DiplomasJunior Assistants usually hold degrees in agricultural engineering, political sciences and diplomacy, economics and marketing, and communication and journalism.

Do former Juniors find employment?Half of the former Juniors find a job within two months. 72% have a job within four months.

Do they work in development cooperation?88% of Juniors want to continue working in development cooperation after the Junior Programme. Unfortunately, not all of them find employment in the sector.

56% of them found a first job in development cooperation after the Junior Programme. More than 8 in 10 of these are still working in development cooperation. Of those who found a first job outside the sector, less than 2 in 10 returned to development cooperation later.

From the former Juniors who are employed, 60% are still working in development cooperation today.

So if you want to be employed in development cooperation, your first job after the Junior Programme had better be a job in development cooperation. The first job after the Junior Programme is of crucial significance for a further career in development cooperation.

If a Junior Assistant wants to pursue a career in development cooperation after the Junior Programme, it seems he/she had

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Figure 1: number of Juniors per degree (basic degree)

Political sciences, International relations, DiplomacyAgricultural engineering, Bioscience engineering

Economics, Business engineering, MarketingCommunication, PR, Journalism

History, Philosophy, Arts, ReligionSociology, Anthropology, Social work

Law, CriminologyLanguage & culture, translations

Pedagogical sciencesCivil & industrial engineering, Architecture

Biology, Environmental sciencesMedical sciences (physician, nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist)

PsychologyGeography

Employment sciences, Industrial and organisational psychology, HRDevelopment cooperation

Exact sciences, MathematicsOthers

0 10 20 30 40 50

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Today, eight years later, I would definitely not be where I am without this experience as a Junior Assistant. Due to the experience acquired in Congo in a setting that was not an evident one, the appreciation I got for the work done, the contacts and the meetings... Little by little one job lead to another.

Gülten Former Junior Assistant AIDS/HIV in Congo, now Technical Assistant for BTC in Niger

better do an internship or volunteer's work in the development sector rather than getting (even a temporary) job outside the sector.

Finally, there also seems to be a significant relation between the contract's length and the first job in development coop-eration: The longer the Junior Programme lasts, the more often the former Junior is employed in development cooperation. This indicates that the contract's term is important for continuing in the sector after the Junior Programme, which is actually confirmed by the Juniors themselves.

Where are they employed? 63% of former Juniors find a job in Belgium after the Junior Programme, while 32% find a first job in the country or region where they already worked as Junior Assistants.

At the time of the survey, 85% of former Juniors worked in Belgium. This shows that in the long run most former Juniors return to Belgium even though they keep working in develop-ment cooperation. Almost 80% of former Juniors who work in development cooperation currently work in Belgium.

Juniors who worked for an NGO seem to need more time be-fore finding a job, but appear to more likely find employment in development cooperation1. This is probably due to the broad-er network of NGOs. The NGO sector now also is the main employer of former Juniors.

Half of former Juniors worked with an NGO, 23% with a multilateral organisation and 20% with the governmental cooperation.

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© BTC / Jonas Verstraete

1 | The number of NGO Juniors surveyed is still too low to be able to draw such conclusions, even though available figures point in that direction.

Figure 2: type of cooperation the former Juniors work in

Non-governmental cooperation: 50%Multilateral cooperation: 23%Governmental cooperation: 20%Other: 3%Fourth pillar: 2%Private initiative: 2%

The Junior Programme gives young people a taste of professional development cooperation work. It is managed by BTC.

Read the full survey on line www.btcctb.org/en/junior-programme

Men-womenWomen form the majority of participants to the Junior Programme (60%). But if we consider first employment in development cooperation following the Junior Programme, the trend is reversed: 67% of men against only half of women find a first job in development cooperation.

Also for long-term employment in the South, the gender split significantly differs from what we noticed at the start of the Junior contract. Of the former Junior Assistants, at the time of the survey, only 16% of men worked in the South against 7% of women.

Why development cooperation?The reasons why former Juniors choose to further pursue a career in development cooperation are, in decreasing order of importance:� Relevance for society, social commitment, altruism,

satisfaction with social impact;� Professional and personal enrichment;� Multicultural and international context;� Dynamics and changing setting.

Satisfaction with the Junior ProgrammeIn general, former Juniors are very satisfied with the Junior Programme: 7.7/10 is slightly better than the results of the 2010 survey.

Former Juniors appreciate the personal and professional development offered by the Junior Programme most. The longer the experience lasts, the more opportunities there are for development, which shows in the relation between the con-tract's term and overall satisfaction. It is pinpointed that BTC unfortunately does not offer opportunities for further promotion and that two years of experience is usually still not enough.

Added value of the Junior Programme90% of former Juniors say the Junior Programme provided added value in their job search. The reasons cited are the know-how gathered and the two years of professional experi-ence gained. BTC's reputation and the responsibility which the Junior Assistants are entrusted with during their overseas stay appear to be just as important.

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I do not believe I would have been hired by FOS if I had not been in the Junior Programme. As a former Junior Assistant you can definitely apply with an NGO. I have the impression two years of experience are helpful if you want to get hired by an NGO. And, definitely look for a job in Belgium too, because that experience can also count towards going overseas later again.

Anke Former Junior Assistant Monitoring & Evaluation in Benin, now South officer for FOS in Brussels

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