Maintenance technician, a job rooted in Belgium’s cultural heritage

For 15 years, Link2Europe has been a trusted partner in international recruitment and that calls for a celebration. To honor the many talents we’ve had the pleasure to link to a Belgian placement, let’s take a look at the 15 highest requested profiles over the years.

Looking for foreign talent for those hard-to-fill Belgian vacancies wasn’t always easy. But over the last 15 years, we have come through time and time again by matchmaking the right candidate to the perfect job. We do this in placements ranging from 3-4 months to even full-time job offers. And one of those hard-to-fill Belgian vacancies is that of the maintenance technician. Ready for a deep dive into this very important profile?

The glue that keeps the facility up and running

Nearly in every industry and in almost every manufacturing company, there is a need for experienced, technically skilled maintenance technicians to keep an eye out for the machines.
The maintenance technician is the glue that keeps the company up and running. His swift intervention will make sure there is no downtime on the machines, resulting in a smooth workday for his colleagues. But the shortage in technical skills has also significantly changed this job position. A few years back, the maintenance technician was a 2-in-1 job where he did both the mechanical maintenance as well as the electrical maintenance of a machine. But since allround technical skills are harder to come by, the job has been divided into two separate domains.

Silhouette: maintenance technician

Depending on the industry and the company, a workweek could consist of 38, 39, or 40 hours.
Additionally, maintenance technicians often work shifts and provide on-call support to deal with emergency problems, resulting in a nice surplus of overtime payout throughout the year.

A day in the life of a maintenance technician

As a maintenance technician, you are responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the facility and all its assets. Your work ranges from simple handyman activities to sophisticated repairs on valuable machines. One day you could be performing routine maintenance checks whilst the next you might be working with a team of other specialized technicians to fix a critical problem.
You need to love working with your hands but you can’t shy away from the occasional paperwork because it is essential that you keep up-to-date documentation of the repairs and checks you did on this or that machine.

As a good maintenance technician, you also recognize when a task is above your skill level and therefore should be handed over to an electrician, plumber, or another specialized technician.

Your income and the most common benefits

  • The hourly rate is hard to put into numbers since it depends on many indicators (the industry, the size of the company, the scarcity of the profile,…).
  • Meal vouchers (again the value of the vouchers can differ greatly depending on what industry you’re working in.)
  • Shift bonus if applicable.
  • Holiday money.
  • End of year bonus.
  • When you are required to do maintenance on different sites, sometimes a car is included in the salary package.

Successful maintenance technicians possess these skills:

  • Few years of experience.
  • A Bachelor in electrotechnics or mechanical engineering.
  • Knowledge of English and good communication skills.
  • Well organized.
  • Able to think and work independently.

Ready, set….work!

Are you a mechanical or an electrical maintenance technician who’s ready to put his talented hands to good use? Are you ready to troubleshoot and repair any mechanical and/or electrical problems when (or even before) they arise? Can you keep the manufacturing process 100% operational to minimize the amount of downtime? Then trust on Link2Europe to match you to a Belgian local corporation, family-run business or SME. Send us your CV today!

Maintenance technician, a job rooted in Belgium’s cultural heritage