Since the founding of the Belgian Digital Infrastructure Association (BDIA), we have advocated for the growth of the digital infrastructure sector in Belgium. With the rapid pace of the digital transition, BDIA is also focusing more on two important issues: Education & Work Employment and promoting diversity.
To drive progress as a nation, quality education is essential. It is a cornerstone of the economy and the development of a society where everyone has the opportunity to participate. This is closely tied to the growth and visibility of an industry as an employer. When examining IT in its broadest sense, the European Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) indicates that over 272,000 IT professionals are active in Belgium. The total workforce amounts to just over 5 million people (source: STATBEL, 2024).
Focusing specifically on the data center industry, the market research report State of the Belgian Data Centers (2024) reveals that 2,100 full-time employees work in Belgian data centers. Note: this figure includes not only IT professionals but also other roles. The report further projects that this number will increase by 4% by 2029.
#SmartNation
Despite this positive growth, challenges remain. The Belgian labor market remains tight—partly due to an aging population. At the same time, the federal government’s ambitions are clear. The Federal Public Service (FPS) Policy and Support (BOSA), responsible for this domain, has launched the SmartNation strategy, which outlines 10 objectives for 2030 divided into five main focus areas:
- Infrastructure: Ensuring a minimum baseline of free internet access for online public services (for government agencies and schools), connections of at least 100 Mbps, and minimum speeds of 1 Gbps, among others.
- Trust: Data governance, new roles for regulators beyond data protection, defense against cyberattacks, etc.
- Administration: Digital identity for all Belgians (via a digital wallet), training public sector employees in digital technologies, etc.
- Digital Skills: 80% labor market participation by 2030, digital inclusion, digital courses for children, promotion of lifelong learning, and the development of specific skills for future professions, etc.
- Economy: Prioritization of e-health and its applications in artificial intelligence, stimulation of business innovation, open data repositories, support for Belgian digital champions, green action through ICT, etc.
As BDIA, we support these comprehensive ambitions of the federal and Flemish government, particularly in the field of education. For instance, BOSA emphasizes that “digital development must reflect the entire society (gender, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity), with particular attention to the inclusion of women in digital fields.” The strategy also aims to ensure that by 2030, 50% of ICT specialists will be women (compared to 20% in 2022). Additionally, the federal government aims to increase the percentage of ICT graduates to 20% by 2030 (currently 2.2%).
Unfortunately, large steps need to be taken to turn this ambition into reality. A recent report by the Court of Audit on the digitization of education reveals that only 40% of schools have an up-to-date ICT policy plan. Furthermore, the use of digital teaching tools by educators is not universally encouraged or systematically evaluated. One-third of schools indicate that their teaching staff has adequate digital competency.
Therefore, BDIA is working hard to establish a multidisciplinary Education Taskforce. This task force will bring together educational institutions (both public and private) and companies from the digital infrastructure sector to exchange knowledge and bridge gaps. Through intensive collaboration, we aim to increase awareness among teachers and students about the digital sector and the career opportunities available at different education levels.
Belgium as the New European Hub for Data Centers
It is notable that “data centers” are not explicitly mentioned in the outlined #SmartNation objectives. Yet, data centers are a key driver for strengthening Belgium as a new data center hub in Europe. While the plans address improving connectivity—ensuring all citizens have access to a minimum of 100 Mbps internet and connecting 95% of the population with at least 1 Gbps bandwidth—specific mention of data centers is absent.
Belgium has the potential to become a new data center hub, partly due to its strategic location. Recent market developments, such as the Nexus Data Center in Brussels, Google’s hyperscale expansion in Wallonia, and the construction of new data centers like KevlinX, are just the beginning of a digital revolution.
BDIA calls for dialogue with the federal government to discuss how data centers can be integrated into a sustainable and digital future. We want to emphasize why and how we aim to increase diversity in (data center) education and demonstrate how data centers are critical to Belgium’s digital infrastructure. Together, we want to commit to achieving the goals of SmartNation.
For more information about our positions, please contact Carole Santens (Managing Director of the Belgian Digital Infrastructure Association) at csantens@bdia.be
