VDAB.be Jobs Scraper: Extract Belgian Job Listings Instantly

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What Is VDAB.be?

VDAB (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding) is the official Flemish public employment service in Belgium, listing thousands of vacancies across all industries and regions. The platform is a primary source for Belgian labor market data. Manually collecting listings at scale is impractical — the VDAB.be Jobs Scraper automates extraction from search result pages, delivering structured records ready for analysis.

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Overview

The VDAB Jobs Scraper targets VDAB's vacancy search pages and returns clean, structured job data per listing. It is built for:

• HR analysts tracking Belgian labor market trends
• Recruiters monitoring vacancy activity by region or function
• Researchers studying shortage occupations and employment patterns
• Developers feeding Belgian job data into aggregator platforms

The scraper supports bulk URL input, configurable item limits, and fault-tolerant URL handling.

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Input Format

{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacatures?trefwoord=engi&sort=standaard&p=2"
  ],
  "ignore_url_failures": true,
  "max_items_per_url": 50
}

Field	Type	Description
urls	array	One or more VDAB job search result page URLs. Supports pagination via the &p= parameter. Add URLs one by one or use bulk edit.
max_items_per_url	integer	Maximum number of job records to collect per URL. Default: 20.
ignore_url_failures	boolean	If true, the scraper skips failed URLs and continues running instead of stopping the entire run.

Tip: To collect across multiple pages, add each paginated URL separately (e.g., &p=1, &p=2, &p=3). Use search filters like trefwoord (keyword) and sort to narrow results before scraping.

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Output Format

Sample output

{
  "id": {
    "id": 73588810
  },
  "is_closed": false,
  "first_publication_date": "2026-04-28T05:58:36Z",
  "last_modified_date": "2026-04-28T05:58:36Z",
  "total_jobs": 1,
  "layout": {
    "logo": "https://cdn.app-prd-cdn.aws.vdab-prd.be/vindeenjob/templates/bedrijven/2969/mobileLogo.png",
    "alt_text": "Logo LGA Engineering"
  },
  "job_function": {
    "naam": "Aftersales Project Engineer",
    "arbeidscircuit_lijn": "Vaste job"
  },
  "company_name": "LGA Engineering",
  "employment_location_region_or_address": "BEVEREN-KRUIBEKE-ZWIJNDRECHT",
  "supplier": {
    "type": "INTERMEDIAIREN",
    "gemandateerd": true,
    "bedrijven_galerij_id": 2969
  },
  "duplicates": [],
  "working_schedule": [
    "Dagwerk"
  ],
  "experience": "Minstens 2 jaar ervaring",
  "shortage_occupation": true,
  "location": {}
}

Each job listing returns a flat record with the following fields:

Identification & Status

Field	Meaning
ID	Unique VDAB internal identifier for the vacancy
Is Closed	Boolean flag — true if the vacancy is no longer accepting applications
First Publication Date	Date the listing first appeared publicly on VDAB
Last Modified Date	Timestamp of the most recent update to the listing
Total Jobs	Number of open positions associated with this vacancy

Job Details

Field	Meaning
Layout	Display type or listing format used on the platform
Job Function	Occupational category or function title (e.g., Engineer, Sales)
Working Schedule	Contract schedule type (e.g., full-time, part-time, shifts)
Experience	Required experience level (e.g., no experience, 1–2 years, senior)
Shortage Occupation	Flags whether the role is classified as a Flemish shortage occupation (knelpuntberoep) — useful for policy research

Location & Company

Field	Meaning
Company Name	Name of the hiring employer
Employment Location Region Or Address	Work location, which may be a full address or a regional label
Location	Structured location data (city, municipality, or coordinates)

Sourcing Metadata

Field	Meaning
Supplier	Source or partner channel that submitted the vacancy to VDAB
Duplicates	Indicates whether similar or duplicate listings were detected for this vacancy

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How to Use

1. Build your search URL — Go to vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacatures, apply your filters (keyword, region, sector), then copy the URL from the browser.
2. Add pagination if needed — Append &p=2, &p=3, etc. for additional result pages.
3. Configure the input — Paste URLs into the urls array, set max_items_per_url to your desired limit.
4. Run the scraper — Start the actor and monitor progress in the run log.
5. Export — Download results as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Common issues:

• Only use search result page URLs, not individual job detail pages.
• If results seem incomplete, check whether VDAB's search applied a region filter that limits output.
• Set ignore_url_failures: true for bulk runs to avoid interruptions from occasional page timeouts.

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Use Cases & Business Value

• Labor market research: Identify high-demand roles and shortage occupations in Flanders
• Recruitment intelligence: Track hiring activity by company, region, or job function
• Policy analysis: Monitor trends in Shortage Occupation flags over time
• Job aggregation: Enrich Belgian job boards with structured VDAB data

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Conclusion

The VDAB.be Jobs Scraper provides reliable, structured access to Belgium's largest public job database. With fields covering job function, location, schedule, experience, and shortage occupation status, it delivers the depth needed for serious labor market work. Configure your search, run the scraper, and get clean data in minutes.