VDAB Vacatures Scraper

Extract comprehensive job vacancy data from VDAB in a structured, repeatable format. Collect listings at scale with support for contract filters, sorting, pagination, and optional deep detail enrichment. This actor is ideal for labor market research, recruitment intelligence, and data-driven job monitoring workflows.

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Features

• VDAB vacancy extraction - Collect job listings directly from the VDAB vacatures search experience.
• Flexible filtering - Use keyword, location, and contract filter settings.
• URL-driven scraping - Start from a VDAB search URL and reuse its query parameters.
• Automatic pagination - Continue collecting pages until your target result count is reached.
• Detail enrichment - Optionally include richer fields for each vacancy.
• Clean structured dataset - Export data in JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML.

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Use Cases

Recruitment Intelligence

Track active vacancies in specific job categories and regions to support sourcing and planning. Compare demand patterns over time with repeatable snapshots.

Labor Market Monitoring

Build trend datasets for contract types, publication frequency, and vacancy freshness. Use recurring runs to monitor shifts in the market.

Competitive Hiring Analysis

Observe which roles and companies are most active in hiring. Use structured outputs to identify hotspots and talent competition areas.

Job Board Analytics

Create dashboards from VDAB vacancy data for internal reporting or client intelligence. Combine exports with BI tools for long-term analysis.

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
startUrl	String	No	https://www.vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacatures?arbeidscircuit=8&sort=standaard	Start from a specific VDAB vacatures URL. Query parameters are reused as filters.
keyword	String	No	software engineer	Search keyword.
trefwoord	String	No	-	Direct VDAB keyword filter. Overrides keyword when provided.
location	String	No	Antwerpen	Location filter.
locatie	String	No	-	Direct VDAB location filter. Overrides location when provided.
arbeidscircuit	Array of String	No	["8"]	Contract type code filters.
sort	String	No	standaard	Sort order: standaard, datum, or relevantie.
collectDetails	Boolean	No	true	Enrich each listing with additional vacancy details.
results_wanted	Integer	No	20	Maximum number of vacancy records to collect.
max_pages	Integer	No	10	Maximum number of result pages to process.
page_size	Integer	No	20	Number of records requested per page.
includeRawData	Boolean	No	false	Include raw payload fields (raw_light, raw_detail) for advanced analysis.
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	Apify Proxy Residential	Proxy settings for stable collection.

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Output Data

Each dataset item can contain the following fields:

Field	Type	Description
vacancy_id	String	VDAB vacancy id
reference_id	String	Reference id for the vacancy
title	String	Job title
company_name	String	Company name
supplier_name	String	Supplier or source organization name
location	String	Vacancy location label
employment_location	String	Detailed work location when available
contract_type	String	Contract type label
first_published_at	String	First publication timestamp
last_modified_at	String	Last modification timestamp
is_closed	Boolean	Vacancy closed flag
is_bottleneck_job	Boolean	Bottleneck job indicator
duplicate_count	Integer	Number of duplicate linked vacancies
description_text	String	Vacancy description text
work_regime	Array	Work schedule information
experience_level	String	Experience requirement label
education_requirements	String	Education requirement text
salary	String	Salary-related text when available
language_requirements	String	Language requirement details
contact_email	String	Contact email when available
source_detail_url	String	Source detail URL when available
url	String	Public VDAB vacancy URL
raw_light	Object	Raw listing payload (only when includeRawData=true)
raw_detail	Object	Raw detail payload (only when includeRawData=true)

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Usage Examples

Basic Run

{
	"startUrl": "https://www.vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacatures?arbeidscircuit=8&sort=standaard",
	"results_wanted": 20
}

Keyword and Location Filtering

{
	"keyword": "data analyst",
	"location": "Gent",
	"sort": "datum",
	"results_wanted": 50,
	"max_pages": 10
}

Contract-Focused Collection with Detail Enrichment

{
	"arbeidscircuit": ["8"],
	"sort": "standaard",
	"collectDetails": true,
	"results_wanted": 100,
	"page_size": 25,
	"proxyConfiguration": {
		"useApifyProxy": true,
		"apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
	}
}

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Sample Output

{
	"vacancy_id": "70745651",
	"reference_id": "70745651",
	"title": "Software Engineer",
	"company_name": "Example Company",
	"supplier_name": "Example Supplier",
	"location": "Antwerpen",
	"employment_location": "Antwerpen",
	"contract_type": "Vaste jobs",
	"first_published_at": "2026-03-02T08:40:16.000+01:00",
	"last_modified_at": "2026-03-04T12:11:02.000+01:00",
	"is_closed": false,
	"is_bottleneck_job": false,
	"duplicate_count": 0,
	"description_text": "Je ontwikkelt en onderhoudt schaalbare software-oplossingen...",
	"work_regime": ["Voltijds"],
	"experience_level": "Enige ervaring",
	"education_requirements": "Bachelor of gelijkwaardig door ervaring",
	"salary": "Competitief loonpakket",
	"language_requirements": "Nederlands, Engels",
	"contact_email": "jobs@example-company.be",
	"source_detail_url": null,
	"url": "https://www.vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacatures/70745651/software-engineer"
}

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Tips for Best Results

Start with a Real VDAB Search URL

• Use a working vacancies URL to capture your intended filters.
• Keep query parameters focused to improve relevance.

Keep Initial Runs Small

• Start with results_wanted: 20 for quick validation.
• Increase limits after confirming output quality.

Use Proxy for Stable Production Runs

• Residential proxy configuration helps keep long runs reliable.
• Re-run failed collections with the same input for consistency checks.

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Integrations

• Google Sheets - Share vacancy data with teams.
• Airtable - Build searchable hiring datasets.
• Looker Studio / BI Tools - Create dashboards from exported data.
• Webhooks - Trigger downstream workflows automatically.
• Zapier / Make - Connect vacancy collection to business automations.

Export Formats

• JSON - API and engineering workflows
• CSV - Spreadsheet analysis
• Excel - Business reporting
• XML - System integrations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I scrape only one contract type?

Yes. Use arbeidscircuit with one or more contract codes.

Does the actor support pagination automatically?

Yes. It paginates until it reaches results_wanted or max_pages.

Can I run without detail enrichment?

Yes. Set collectDetails to false for faster, listing-only runs.

What if some fields are empty?

Some vacancies may not expose all fields. Empty values are expected for optional data.

Can I capture raw source payloads?

Yes. Set includeRawData to true to include raw_light and raw_detail objects.

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Support

For issues, improvements, or feature requests, open a discussion in the Apify actor page or contact support through the Apify Console.

Resources

• Apify Documentation
• Apify API Reference
• Apify Schedules

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Legal Notice

This actor is designed for legitimate data collection. You are responsible for complying with applicable laws, platform terms, and internal data governance rules in your jurisdiction.