Around Ghent there is a broad industrial mix: the port and the steel industry, food and pharma, and a growing biotech cluster. AltusConnect looks for electromechanics, quality engineers, production managers and prevention advisers for companies in Ghent and the rest of East Flanders. We cover the whole region from our office in Antwerp.
Steel and metal need electromechanics and maintenance staff who combine electricity and mechanics. Food and pharma need quality engineers who know their sector's standards, such as BRC or GMP, and that experience does not transfer easily. The Waasland and Dender regions also count many manufacturers with a lasting need for technicians.
How we search in East Flanders
An electromechanic rarely moves house for a job, so we search within a workable distance of your site and also approach recent graduates with internship experience. For quality engineers we start from the standards framework and the type of production, and ask concretely which audits someone has led themselves.
The question. A process operator is a bottleneck profession: those who can do it already work somewhere in shifts and rarely apply actively. Waiting for a fitting application would have left this vacancy open for months.
What we did. We approached the right people ourselves: operators who were not looking but were open to a conversation. One of them was interested in the site and the shift system, and we guided that conversation step by step.
The result. A placement with the client, with a candidate no job board would have surfaced.
Food, Brussels region
Technical manager with a very specific profile
The question. The role combined requirements that rarely come together. The client was receiving profiles from all sides that looked right on paper but fell through in every interview. That cost time and trust.
What we did. A thorough intake, down to the installations and the management style, followed by strict screening. We only introduced candidates we had interviewed at length ourselves and who matched every hard requirement.
The result. Fewer profiles than the client was used to, but the right ones: the role is filled and the stream of unsuitable CVs has stopped.
Real assignments, anonymised. We name no clients and no figures that are not ours.
No, our office is in Antwerp. We work for companies across Belgium, and for employers in Ghent we look for candidates in East Flanders and the neighbouring regions.
Is an electromechanic really that hard to find?
According to VDAB, yes: the industrial electromechanic is one of the ten largest shortages in Flanders. Moreover, anyone who masters both electricity and mechanics is quickly pulled towards maintenance or automation.
Do you also look for a prevention adviser?
Yes. The profile is not on the VDAB list, but the combination of a legally required level, a technical background and persuasiveness on the shop floor makes it hard. We screen on the level obtained and the sector where it was applied.
Do you recruit for food companies around Ghent?
Yes, including quality engineers, production managers and process operators. During the intake we ask which standards framework and which installations you use, because the group of available candidates depends on it.