FAQ

If you are certain that your trainee has an agreement with the employer to work there on the YOUCA Action Day, he/she/they may go to work. Your trainee is insured as soon as he/she/they are registered on the job bank. YOUCA will sort out all the administrative matters afterwards.

Pupils can register from the start of the school year. They can then apply for the jobs listed on the job bank and register any jobs they have found themselves using the job flyer.

Yes, you can find the manuals here. 

That’s certainly possible! Students are also insured to work abroad. 

The fact that your apprentice has been ‘pending’ for some time means that the employer is taking a long time to confirm the job that your apprentice added themselves.
You can ask your apprentice to do a few things:

Check again that the email address entered is completely correct. Does it say ‘.com’ instead of ‘.be’, or is there a spelling mistake in the name? If the email address is incorrect, the employer won’t receive the automatic email from YOUCA and won’t be able to confirm the application. In this case, please send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required. We will correct the email address and send the employer a new confirmation email. Please contact your employer. Ask if they have seen the email from YOUCA and if they can confirm your application as soon as possible.   Ask the employer to check their SPAM folder. For some employers, the automatic email from YOUCA ends up in the SPAM folder.

If, for any reason, you wish to delete a student’s account (duplicate account, student has changed schools, etc.), you can do so by following these steps: Go to ‘Student overview’, click on ‘View student’ and then click on the ‘Delete student’ button. You can only do this for students who do not have any open applications and are not yet linked to a job. Do you want to delete a student who already has a job? Please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required.

1. At the bottom of your account page, click on ‘Manage school sites and add classes’.   
2. Click on “Add an extra class”
3. Enter your class details
4. Want to add another class? Click on “Add an extra class” again and repeat
5. Click on “Save” at the bottom of the page
6. Click on “Back to overview”

You can delete the incorrect account yourself using the ‘Delete student’ button.

If your student has applied for a number of jobs on the job bank but does not seem to be receiving any replies from employers, you can always encourage them to look for a job themselves within their own network, using the job flyer. 
At YOUCA, we also regularly urge employers registered on the job bank to reply promptly. Employers receive an email every day they receive a new application. In addition, they receive a weekly reminder email from YOUCA to assign jobs. In these emails, we also emphasise the importance of assigning these jobs as a matter of urgency, as trainees are waiting for their reply.

When a student is listed as ‘pending’, this means that the student has added their job themselves and is awaiting confirmation from the employer. Once a trainee has added the job to their account, the employer automatically receives an email containing a link to confirm the job. Until the employer clicks on this link and confirms or rejects the job on the job bank, your trainee will remain ‘pending’. 

Yes, you’ll find it here.

Of course! We actually encourage it. Every school has an extensive network. Just think of the parents’ association, work experience placements or the local council. Perhaps your colleagues’ partners might also be interested in motivated ‘one-day employees’.

If you find jobs yourself within your school’s network, you can keep these exclusively for your pupils via the job flyer. Ask the employer to fill it in, and keep them in reserve until the final week. Pupils who haven’t found a job by then can then add these jobs themselves to the job bank.

We recommend giving this some thought in advance. You can find some inspiration here:
Pupils can take on the role of a teacher or headteacher at school. Or perhaps your playground is in need of a thorough tidy-up. Or take them out and about as YOUCA reporters. We do not expect these roles to be paid. The YOUCA Action Day remains completely free for participating schools. Perhaps you could make use of our educational materials or organise a fundraising campaign? 
 

They do this in two ways

1. looking for work themselves
The YOUCA Action Day is all about empowerment. That is why we encourage young people to look for a job themselves. They can do this within their own network, or by approaching a company where they would like to work. In this way, they immediately learn to explore and get to know their network. To guide them through this search, YOUCA has developed the job flyer. This provides the employer with all the necessary information and gives your student a handy reference to base their explanation on.

The employer fills in the job flyer, after which your student enters this information into the job bank. The employer then automatically receives a confirmation email. As soon as the employer has confirmed this, your student officially has a job. 

2. Looking for a job in the job bank
Your student can also search for a job in our job bank. They can do this from the start of the school year. YOUCA collects job vacancies from a wide range of companies throughout the year. In 2024, around 15,000 pupils will be looking for a job, but there aren’t 15,000 jobs listed on the job bank. That’s why it’s very important that pupils also look for jobs themselves.

The key information is set out in the job leaflet. For further details, please have a look at the employers’ brochure.

You can book the presentations by sending an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required. Please suggest a few dates between the Easter holidays and the end of the school year. In September, you can arrange a visit with the young people involved in the project. We’ll also give a brief introduction to the YOUCA Action Day on that occasion.

In the run-up to YOUCA Action Day, there are various things you can do to get your pupils excited and motivated.

Book a pupil presentation or a visit from the young people involved in the project. Our YOUCA young people will visit your school to tell your pupils all about YOUCA Action Day, their job search and provide some information about the project. Such a presentation lasts one lesson and is available from the Easter holidays until the end of the school year. You can schedule a visit from the young people involved in the project in September. They’ll explain the project in more concrete terms and can really engage in conversation with the pupils.
 

Get started with the educational pack. Pupils who understand the background to the project are even more motivated to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in.

Discover our full range of resources for schools.

School ambassadors are pupils who want to go the extra mile for the YOUCA Action Day at your school. Together with the teachers, they lead the project, motivate and support their fellow pupils, and ensure that the YOUCA Action Day comes to life at school.

They’ll find out how to do this at the School Ambassador Day. We welcome three pupils per school, and you can register them from Friday 1 September. Teachers and supervisors are not welcome; we have our own YOUCA supervisors who will accompany the young people from Antwerp-Berchem station. The school orientation day will take place on Friday 19 September in Antwerp. You can find more information here.

The school must register the YOUCA Action Day as an extracurricular activity. This means that the school’s insurance covers the pupil. YOUCA vzw takes out additional insurance to cover damage to equipment entrusted to the pupils. This ensures that the pupil is fully insured.

You are not obliged to reimburse a young person’s travel expenses. Of course, you are free to do so. Particularly if these expenses make it difficult for the young person to take part in the YOUCA Action Day, or if a young person has to travel a long way, it is helpful if these expenses are reimbursed.

Night work is permitted for the YOUCA Action Day, subject to the hours worked. The hours during which the student will be working must fall within Thursday 15 October. After all, the student is only insured on the YOUCA Action Day itself, from 00:01 to midnight.

As an employer, you are free to decide how many hours you want the apprentice to work. As a guideline, you could use the length of a school day (around 7 hours). 

No, the YOUCA Action Day is on the same day for everyone. The more, the merrier! :)
This makes it very clear to schools and pupils who is taking part when (and won’t be at school that day). At the same time, it’s a question of insurance: on YOUCA Action Day, there’s additional cover for damage to equipment entrusted to us. And a nice little bonus: by all working on the same day, we’re creating a unique event across the whole of Flanders and Brussels – with extra media attention.

Anything is possible: the sky’s the limit! The best jobs offer a learning experience for young people and a fun day in your workplace. Do bear in mind the general rule that you shouldn’t ask young people to carry out tasks that you wouldn’t expect an inexperienced employee to do either. Also, don’t let them work for longer than about 8 hours.
Let young people get to grips with your company’s social media. Creativity guaranteed! Invite young people to share their views on a product or marketing idea. Why not sit someone right next to the CEO or managing director? A brilliant experience for both of them! Administrative tasks that have been left undone for far too long? School pupils can help you out. Organise a repair café at your company: mending buttons, fixing bikes… it’ll be sorted in no time! Community service projects are great too: for example, organise a clean-up in the park, or collaborate with a local charity. 

You can also sponsor jobs. You don’t have to fill these in yourself. We’ll donate them to Natuurpunt (you’ll find this at the bottom of the job bank). They could certainly do with some extra helping hands! 
But perhaps there’s more to do at your workplace than you realise? Let young people get involved with your company’s social media, let them pamper your staff with a manicure, or maybe someone could spend a day shadowing the CEO?
Can’t get enough of YOUCA? Then get in touch with your coordinator, Loes (email hidden; JavaScript is required), to discuss further collaboration. Exciting! 

You’re proud of your involvement in the YOUCA Action Day – and rightly so! Let everyone know by putting up our posters or posting on social media – for example, a photo featuring the pupils from previous events. 
You can also help bring the project to life by sharing the internal newsletter, the project film, etc., both within your company and beyond. Or perhaps a young person who took part previously wrote an article about your workplace for the YOUCA Action Day competition? That’s always a great way to attract new talent to your company! 

In 2026, YOUCA is campaigning for a fair economy. We are doing this in partnership with the youth organisations SomosTerra (Spain), Cordilleran Youth Centre (the Philippines) and YOUCA Brasil (Brazil). In Belgium, too, we’re rolling up our sleeves to organise local campaigns, as we have done in the past with Forest Front.
You can find more information about this year’s theme here! 

On the YOUCA website, you’ll find more information about YOUCA Action Day, covering both the practical details and the projects supported by the proceeds from YOUCA Action Day. You’ll also find plenty of information about YOUCA’s values and all the activities we organise. 

For us, YOUCA Action Day is the highlight of youth engagement, which is why we want to support it in every way possible. That is why YOUCA Action Day offers a range of work placements, so that young people can get involved with an organisation, company or individual that closely matches their interests and way of life. That is why YOUCA does not turn down any work placements. It is important, however, that the employer endorses YOUCA’s values – courage, sustainability, justice, connection and participation – and that the work carried out by the young person does not conflict with these. In this way, every young person can be welcomed into a supportive workplace on YOUCA Action Day.  

Every year, we encourage employers to send us photos and videos of the YOUCA Action Day, which YOUCA vzw can use for various (marketing) purposes. This requires the pupils’ consent, preferably in writing. From the age of 15, parental consent is not required to provide this authorisation. 

Here is a sample document which you can use as a basis and adapt with your own details.  

The pupil is covered by the school’s insurance policy because the school registers the YOUCA Action Day as an extra-curricular activity. On that day, YOUCA vzw takes out additional insurance to cover damage to equipment entrusted to the pupils. Naturally, you must ensure that the pupil follows the necessary safety measures and works under adult supervision. As a general rule, you should not allow the pupil to carry out any work that you would not allow an inexperienced employee to carry out either.
Insurer: IC Verzekeringen
 

Download the insurance certificate here. 

The government defines an extra-muros activity as an activity that meets the following criteria: 

• It takes place at a location other than the school’s premises
• It is not a work placement for pupils
• It is covered by the school’s insurance policy. 

The following also applies specifically to school trips or related activities:

• It is organised for at least one class or group of pupils
• It is tailored to the profile of the pupils concerned
• It offers educational and formative added value and must not be exclusively of a tourist or recreational nature.
• There must be a direct or indirect link to the educational programme or the curriculum
• There is no minimum or maximum duration. 

The choice and organisation of an extra-muros activity fall within the remit of the education provider. If such activities are a meaningful alternative to lessons, the time spent on them is, in principle, time well spent. 
 

Source: Circular on extra-muros activities in secondary education (SO/2004/06)

No, the YOUCA Action Day is recognised by the school as an extra-mural activity, which means you do not need to submit a Dimona declaration. You also do not need to draw up an employment contract for students.

Yes! You’ll find our details below:
Name: YOUCA
Legal form: non-profit organisation
Company registration number: 0882.057.622
Street: Bloemenhofplein
Number: 12
Postcode/town: 1000 Brussels
Country: Belgium
Mobile number: 0471 80 61 81

No. Participation in the YOUCA Action Day is exempt from VAT (in accordance with Article 44, §2, 11° of the VAT Act).

You pay 70 euros per working apprentice. This amount is not given to the apprentice; instead, you should preferably pay it in advance via your shopping basket on the job bank. You can do this by bank transfer, Bancontact or credit card. You can also choose to pay after the YOUCA Action Day. Payment is processed via the online payment system Stichting Mollie Payments.

1. Once you’ve created a job, you’ll be taken to the overview page for the job you’ve just created. To complete the payment, click on ‘Pay jobs’ in the top right-hand corner. A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Pay’ option again to go to the payment screen.
2. Select a payment method. If you choose Bancontact, credit card, the KBC/CBC payment button or the Belfius Pay Button, you will be redirected to the secure payment environment. Once the payment has been received, you will receive an email containing the invoice. 

3. If you choose Bank Transfer, you will receive an invoice by email or via Peppol containing the payment details for the transfer. 

   ! You can also choose to pay after you have taken part. In that case, you will be sent an invoice one week after the YOUCA Action Day. 

Yes, indeed! You’ll receive an invoice for taking part in the YOUCA Action Day. The invoice will cover all the jobs listed in your profile. 
If you pay via the shopping basket before the YOUCA Action Day, you’ll receive the invoice by email once payment has been made. If you haven’t paid before the YOUCA Action Day, you’ll receive the invoice by email after the YOUCA Action Day.If an invoice sent by email is not sufficient for your government department, company or organisation, you can receive an electronic invoice via the Peppol network. You can find more information on this in the manual.

You can always find your invoice in your account on the job bank. Payment can be made by bank transfer, Bancontact or credit card.

That’s possible! You can update this yourself in your account on the job bank, via ‘Edit profile’. If that doesn’t work, you can also send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required. Please clearly state your account name and the order number that needs to be entered. 

Your contribution is not tax-deductible. It cannot be regarded as a donation because the pupil provides something in return on that day.

The Mollie Payments Foundation is a secure online payment platform. It is linked to the job bank, enabling YOUCA to track payments efficiently. So please make sure you use the correct payment reference, so that Mollie knows which jobs you are paying for. Mollie’s account number is BE49 8260 0254 6871.

That’s quite right! The account number you need to use for the YOUCA Action Day belongs to the Mollie Payments Foundation. Other organisations (gymnastics clubs, online shops, etc.) also use Mollie. This certainly does not mean that the money isn’t going to YOUCA. Everyone who receives an invoice for the YOUCA Action Day will also receive a specific reference number that must be used when making a payment. Mollie knows better than anyone which reference number belongs to which organisation. This ensures that the money always reaches the correct organisation.

The job bank is the online platform that connects students and employers. There are two ways to use it:
An employer registers, posts a job or jobs, and receives applications for them. The employer then decides which student gets the job (no later than the Friday before the YOUCA Action Day).A student looks for a job within their own network, using the job flyer. The student enters the job into the job bank, after which the employer receives an email asking them to confirm the job. Once confirmed, everything is sorted for the YOUCA Action Day.
And how does it all work for you as an employer? Have a look at the guide! 

It’s a piece of cake! Register as an employer on the job bank and click on ‘add a job’. The rest of the steps will follow automatically! Have a look at the job bank guide, where you’ll find tips for each step.
Want to post lots of jobs all at once? Then use the bulk import feature. Send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required and we’ll be happy to help.

Yes! You can post jobs up until the Thursday before YOUCA Action Day – that is, until 23:59 on Thursday 9 October. Don’t wait too long, though, as pupils start applying right from the start of the school year...
 

That’s certainly possible! Students are also insured to work abroad. However, our job bank cannot process foreign addresses (other than Dutch addresses), so when registering the job or entering the billing address, you will need to enter an address in Belgium. This could be the student’s school address, for example. To ensure the correct address appears on the invoice afterwards, please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required. 

Yes! Students start applying for jobs on the job bank right from the start of the school year. They’re looking forward to hearing back from you soon, so they know whether they can start working for you – or whether they need to look for another job after all...
The Friday before YOUCA Action Day is the last day on which you can reject or accept applications for the job(s) you’ve posted online yourself. 

In both cases, you can choose to have the payment refunded or to go ahead with the donation to the youth projects after all. Please let us know at email hidden; JavaScript is required if you’d like to cancel or be refunded, and we’ll issue a credit note. So don’t let this stop you from paying straight away. ;-) If a pupil doesn’t turn up, you can also indicate this in the job bank. This will notify the teacher of the absent pupil.

There are plenty of large organisations taking part in YOUCA Action Day: city councils and county councils, large companies with various departments, and so on. What can you do to make this a success?
Organise the jobs under one central account in the job bank. That way, you’ll keep track of everything and receive just one invoice afterwards – it’s that simple! Want to give several colleagues access to the job bank? Then use a single shared email address, e.g. email hidden; JavaScript is required. That way, each colleague can choose their own apprentice – and all your company’s jobs are listed together. Want to post lots of jobs at once? Use the bulk import feature. That way, you don’t have to enter each job separately. Send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required and we’ll be happy to help.

If you have selected ‘public sector organisation’ but are unable to enter either a VAT number or a company registration number, you may enter this code: BE0123.456.789.

Yes, you can find the guide for employers here.

You cannot permanently delete your profile yourself. Would you like to have your profile deleted? Please send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required with your request. Our team will be happy to help.  

Well, being a school ambassador means organising fun activities to encourage your classmates to start looking for a job. You can also lend a hand to your supervising teacher with the practical organisation of the YOUCA Action Day. Or even organise your own activities at school linked to this year’s theme! You can find more information about the ambassador programme and the school action day on 18 September here. 

In 2026, YOUCA is campaigning for a just economy. We are doing this in partnership with the youth organisations SomosTerra (Spain), Cordilleran Youth Centre (the Philippines) and YOUCA Brasil (Brazil). In Belgium, too, we’re rolling up our sleeves with local campaigns, as we have done in the past with Forest Front.
You can find more information about this year’s theme here! 

There are two options.
 

1. Either you look for a job yourself, by approaching people and asking if they’d be willing to take you on. Perhaps you know someone with a job you’d like to try out? Think of your family, your parents’ friends, neighbours, … or even companies! You can, of course, also approach companies where you don’t know anyone.
2. Or you can have a look at the job bank and apply for a few vacancies there.

YOUCA, your teachers and your school’s student ambassadors will be happy to give you lots more job application tips! Here are a few to get you started. 

Woohooow, well done!
You’ve found the job, so it’s up to you to register it. Please also bear in mind that once you’ve registered a job yourself, you won’t be able to apply for anything else. Ah, yes, that makes sense, because you’ve already got a job – one you found yourself!
 

1. First, fill in the job flyer together with your employer. Go to the job bank and enter your job details into your account.
2. An email will now be sent to your employer. This email contains a link which your employer can use to confirm their participation in the YOUCA Action Day. Via this link, your employer must complete a few steps on the job bank, such as selecting a payment preference.
3. Once that’s sorted, you’re both all set for the YOUCA Action Day. You’ll receive a text message and an email to confirm this. You’ll also see on your profile that you’ve got the job.

You can register from the start of the school year – in fact, right from the very first day of term! You can then apply for the jobs listed on the job bank and add any jobs you’ve found yourself using the job flyer.

You can submit up to five different job applications at the same time on the job bank. So be selective: only apply for jobs you’re really keen to do. If an application expires because someone else has been offered the job, you can submit a new application. If you change your mind, you can also cancel one of your applications. Please note that an application cannot be cancelled once you have been accepted by the employer.

That depends on the employer. Some employers offer jobs quickly, whilst others prefer to wait a little while.
In any case, we send emails to encourage the employer to offer the job as soon as possible. If you don’t get the job, you’ll still have time to look for something else. The best way to find a job for the YOUCA Action Day is to look for one yourself, using the job flyer.
The very last day an employer can offer a job is the Friday before the YOUCA Action Day. However, don’t wait too long to start looking yourself!

Yes, it’ll be out at the start of the new school year! 

That could be right… Your employer still needs to do the following: 

1. Confirm that they’re taking part in the YOUCA Action Day by clicking on the link in the email
2. Confirm that this is the correct job
3. Confirm that you’re allowed to do the job!

How can your employer do this? By logging into their account and clicking ‘Yes, please’ in the ‘open vacancies’ section. This is located to the right of the job listing.

That’s certainly possible! As a student, you’re also insured through your school to work abroad. However, our job bank cannot process foreign addresses (other than a Dutch address), so when registering your job, you will need to enter an address in Belgium. This could be your school’s address, for example. To ensure that the employer subsequently receives an invoice with the correct address, please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Have you posted a job yourself, but the email containing the link hasn’t reached the employer?
Check that the email address is completely correct: is it .be instead of .com, for example? If there’s a typo, you can cancel the job and repost it with the correct email address. Can’t find a typo? No problem! You or your employer can contact email hidden; JavaScript is required or call 0471 80 61 81.

You are not allowed to do that. All financial transactions take place between YOUCA vzw and the employer.
Whether you have found a job yourself or are applying via the job bank: in both cases, the financial arrangements are handled between YOUCA vzw and the employer.

If your employer wishes to give you extra money for the work you’ve done, on top of the 70 euros for the YOUCA Action Day, that’s certainly allowed. 

No, taking part in the YOUCA Action Day will not result in you losing any student work hours. This is because the YOUCA Action Day is a school activity, which means you are not working as a student employee. Consequently, your employer does not need to submit a Dimona declaration.
 

Of course, we hope that everything goes smoothly. If something does go wrong, however, you’re covered by the school’s insurance. What’s more, YOUCA provides additional insurance to cover any damage to the equipment entrusted to you.