The Walloon Minister of the Economy, Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR), confirmed this Thursday, on the sidelines of the presentation of the “shock of administrative simplification”: a basic management diploma will no longer be necessary to launch an activity in Wallonia. Enough to boost the entrepreneurial spirit, according to the minister, and encourage retraining. Young people are the target audience.
When you start an activity in Wallonia, as a self-employed person, you must have basic management knowledge, in terms of law, accounting, taxation or even commercial management. For people without a higher education diploma, they must hold a basic management certificate. Certain skills are also necessary for access to certain professions.
In addition to academics, two groups are exempt: those who hold a Higher Secondary Education Certificate (CESS) obtained before September 30, 2000, and those who can prove sufficient professional practice carried out during the last 15 years. In other words, this basic management diploma mainly concerns young people.
According to the Minister of the Economy, Pierre-Yves Jeholet, this is an obstacle to the creation of activity. He therefore confirmed yesterday “the removal of management skills previously required for access to the profession”. However, the entry into force of the measure remains to be determined. At the minister’s office, we are told that this removal will require a decree and that we will therefore have to wait several months. Entry into force on January 1, 2025 seems compromised.
But for the liberal, this measure will stimulate “entrepreneurship and will ensure that more people will create activity and therefore employment“. The minister adds that management training will remain available, but that this will be done “on a voluntary basis”.
Entrepreneurial spirit
Pierre-Yves Jeholet is not wrong when he targets young people. A survey published this Friday morning by SDWorx shows that “half of young Belgians (under 25) are considering starting their own business”. Among 25 to 34 year olds, this strong will drops to 25%.
A trend that Xerius, the largest business window for the self-employed, confirms based on actual figures from INASTI: it is among those under 25 that the launch of activities has increased the most over the last four years (+8%). “In other age groups, there is no increase,” explains Stéphanie Gowenko of Xerius.
Why this appetite for business creation? : “They are generally not yet tied down by significant financial commitments and are therefore more willing to take risks and pursue their business dreams“, explains Damien Dumortier, Team Leader of the management service at SD Worx.
Risqué ?
By removing the basic management diploma, Wallonia is only aligning itself with Flanders, which abolished it a long time ago, and Brusselswhere it has no longer been necessary since last year.
In our file dedicated to the self-employed, last July, Sébastien Hamende, director for Wallonia and Brussels of Revival, a non-profit organization which focuses on the end of life of companies and the rebound of the self-employed, noted that many independent workers did not know their obligations. “In this regard, the management diploma was of no use and lacked effectiveness”, he lamented. In the same vein, obtaining your management certificate on the basis of any university diploma, whether from chemistry, physical education or psychology, does not make much more sense.
Sébastien Hamende, however, warns against the lack of an effective alternative to the basic management degree. On the contrary, the director pleads for more in-depth support for people who would like to get started. The question of whether this knowledge should not be taught and compulsory in secondary education remains unresolved. Some even advocate stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit from primary school.
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