# VDAB.be Job Scraper (`unfenced-group/vdab-scraper`) Actor

Scrape job listings from VDAB.be — Belgium's public employment service and the largest Flemish job board. Filter by keyword, location, province, contract type and occupational field. Full descriptions in HTML, text and Markdown. No API key required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/unfenced-group/vdab-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Unfenced Group](https://apify.com/unfenced-group) (community)
- **Categories:** Jobs, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 16 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.80 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## VDAB.be Job Scraper

![VDAB.be Job Scraper](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/ClElVyZWvQgPQIuDL/records/vdab-scraper)

Extract job listings from vdab.be at scale, in a clean, consistent structure ready for analysis, job boards, recruiting tools and market research. No API key required.

***

### Why this scraper?

#### 🎯 Built for Flanders (Belgium)

A dedicated Flemish scraper, not a global tool with a country dropdown. Search, locations and currency (EUR) are tuned for vdab.be.

#### 📄 Complete job data

Full job title and description, direct listing URL and publish date for every record.

#### 💶 Salary data

Salary information parsed from the listing where the employer publishes it, in EUR. Missing salaries are returned as `null`, never guessed.

#### 🏢 Company details

Hiring company name plus the profile details the source publishes, such as logo and company page.

#### 📍 Location fields

Structured location data for every listing, ready for filtering and analysis.

#### 🔁 Repost & change detection

Every record carries `isRepost` and `changeStatus`, so daily feeds return genuinely new jobs instead of reposted duplicates.

***

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `searchQuery` | string | (empty) | Keywords to search for (e.g. 'verpleegkundige', 'software developer'). Leave empty to return all vacancies. |
| `location` | string | (empty) | Municipality or city to filter results (e.g. 'Antwerpen', 'Gent', 'Brussel'). Leave empty for all of Belgium. |
| `contractType` | string | (empty) | Filter by contract type. Leave empty for all types. |
| `workType` | string | (empty) | Filter by full-time or part-time. |
| `fetchDetails` | boolean | `false` | ON: fetches full job description, salary, company info, and all details. OFF: returns basic listing info only (faster, lower cost). |
| `daysOld` | integer | (empty) | Only return jobs posted within this many days. Leave empty or 0 for all jobs. |
| `skipReposts` | boolean | `false` | Skip jobs already seen in previous runs. Uses a 90-day cross-run deduplication cache. |
| `searchQuery2` | string | (empty) | Optional second keyword — scraped in the same run and merged with the first query results. |
| `searchQuery3` | string | (empty) | Optional third keyword — scraped in the same run and merged with the first query results. |
| `province` | string | (empty) | Filter by Belgian province. Leave empty for all provinces. |
| `startUrls` | array | (empty) | Optional list of direct URLs to scrape specific pages. When provided, the search filters above are ignored. |
| `maxItems` | integer | `200` | Maximum number of job listings to return. |

***

### Output schema

Every field below is present on every record. Fields the source does not publish for a given job are returned as `null` rather than omitted.

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `id` | string | Unique listing ID from the source. |
| `url` | string | Direct link to the listing |
| `title` | string | Job title |
| `company` | string | Hiring company or organisation |
| `city` | string | City of the role |
| `region` | string | Region or state of the position. |
| `contractType` | string | Contract type as displayed |
| `workRegime` | string | Work regime. |
| `workSchedule` | string | Work schedule. |
| `experience` | string | Required experience as published. |
| `educationLevel` | string | Education level. |
| `jobDomain` | string | Job domain. |
| `publishDate` | string | Date posted |
| `publishDateISO` | string | Publish date iso. |
| `descriptionHtml` | string | Full job description in HTML. |
| `descriptionText` | string | Full job description in plain text. |
| `descriptionMarkdown` | string | Description markdown. |
| `requirementsHtml` | string | Requirements html. |
| `requirementsText` | string | Requirements text. |
| `requirementsMarkdown` | string | Requirements markdown. |
| `offerHtml` | string | Offer html. |
| `offerText` | string | Offer text. |
| `offerMarkdown` | string | Offer markdown. |
| `salary` | string | Salary as displayed (null if not published by the employer). |
| `applyUrl` | string | Direct application link. |
| `companyWebsite` | string | Company website. |
| `contactEmail` | string | Contact email. |
| `contactPhone` | string | Contact phone. |
| `contactName` | string | Contact name. |
| `knelpuntberoep` | boolean | Knelpuntberoep. |
| `source` | string | Source. |
| `scrapedAt` | string | Timestamp when this record was scraped. |
| `contentHash` | string | Stable hash of the listing content, used for repost and change detection. |
| `summary` | string | Summary. |
| `isRepost` | boolean | `true` if seen in a previous run |
| `originalPublishDate` | string | Original publish date. |
| `originalUrl` | string | Original url. |
| `changeStatus` | string | `NEW`, `CHANGED` or `UNCHANGED` compared to the previous time this job was seen. |

#### Example record

```json
{
  "id": "73777155",
  "url": "https://www.vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacature/73777155",
  "title": "Verpleegkundige wzc",
  "company": "Randstad",
  "city": "MECHELEN",
  "region": "Regio Mechelen",
  "contractType": "onbepaalde duur",
  "workRegime": "voltijds",
  "workSchedule": "Dagwerk",
  "experience": "Beperkte ervaring ( < 2 jaar )",
  "educationLevel": "Professionele bachelor: Gezondheids- en zorgmanagement",
  "jobDomain": "Gezondheid",
  "publishDate": "2026-05-22",
  "publishDateISO": "2026-05-22T14:51:06Z",
  "descriptionHtml": "<p>Jouw expertise verdient een werkplek die naar je luistert. </p><p>In de regio zoeken we verpleegkundigen die hun vak door en door kennen en die het verschil willen maken op de werkvloer. Je krijgt …",
  "descriptionText": "Jouw expertise verdient een werkplek die naar je luistert. In de regio zoeken we verpleegkundigen die hun vak door en door kennen en die het verschil willen maken op de werkvloer. Je krijgt de vrijhei …",
  "descriptionMarkdown": "Jouw expertise verdient een werkplek die naar je luistert.\n\nIn de regio zoeken we verpleegkundigen die hun vak door en door kennen en die het verschil willen maken op de werkvloer. Je krijgt de vrijhe …",
  "requirementsHtml": "<p>Wie zoeken we?</p><ul><li>Je bent een gegradueerd of bachelor verpleegkundige (met visum).</li><li>Je spreekt vlot Nederlands.</li><li>Je werkt graag in een warm, collegiaal team.</li></ul><p><ul>< …",
  "requirementsText": "Wie zoeken we? Je bent een gegradueerd of bachelor verpleegkundige (met visum). Je spreekt vlot Nederlands. Je werkt graag in een warm, collegiaal team. Je voert verpleegtechnische handelingen uit en …",
  "requirementsMarkdown": "Wie zoeken we?\n\n-   Je bent een gegradueerd of bachelor verpleegkundige (met visum).\n-   Je spreekt vlot Nederlands.\n-   Je werkt graag in een warm, collegiaal team.\n\n-   Je voert verpleegtechnische h …",
  "offerHtml": "<ul><li>Loon: Correcte verloning volgens IFIC-barema + maaltijdcheques.</li><li>Balans: Een contract van onbepaalde duur met een uurrooster dat we samen bespreken (voltijds of deeltijds).</li><li>Dich …",
  "offerText": "Loon: Correcte verloning volgens IFIC-barema + maaltijdcheques. Balans: Een contract van onbepaalde duur met een uurrooster dat we samen bespreken (voltijds of deeltijds). Dichtbij huis: Snelle opstar …",
  "offerMarkdown": "-   Loon: Correcte verloning volgens IFIC-barema + maaltijdcheques.\n-   Balans: Een contract van onbepaalde duur met een uurrooster dat we samen bespreken (voltijds of deeltijds).\n-   Dichtbij huis: S …",
  "salary": null,
  "applyUrl": "https://easyapply.jobs/r/8HolTk826wFno82ZlDNs",
  "companyWebsite": "http://www.randstad.be/",
  "contactEmail": null,
  "contactPhone": null,
  "contactName": null,
  "knelpuntberoep": true,
  "source": "vdab.be",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-05T20:44:53.374Z",
  "contentHash": "9f68293f6c53c516",
  "summary": "Jouw expertise verdient een werkplek die naar je luistert. In de regio zoeken we verpleegkundigen die hun vak door en door kennen en die het verschil willen maken op de werkvloer. Je krijgt de vrijhei …",
  "isRepost": true,
  "originalPublishDate": "2026-05-22T14:51:06Z",
  "originalUrl": "https://www.vdab.be/vindeenjob/vacature/73777155",
  "changeStatus": "UNCHANGED"
}
```

***

### Examples

**Search for verkoper roles in Gent:**

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "verkoper",
  "location": "Gent",
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

**Filter by contract type:**

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "verkoper",
  "location": "Gent",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "contractType": ""
}
```

**Scrape a specific search URL:**

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.vdab.be/"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

**Daily feed (run on a schedule):**

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "verkoper",
  "daysOld": 1,
  "skipReposts": true,
  "maxItems": 500
}
```

Schedule this input to run once a day in the Apify Scheduler — each run returns only jobs posted in the last 24 hours.

***

### 💰 Pricing

**$1 per 1,000 results** — you only pay for successfully retrieved listings. Failed retries are never charged.

| Results | Cost |
|---|---|
| 100 | ~$0.1 |
| 1,000 | ~$1 |
| 10,000 | ~$10 |
| 100,000 | ~$100 |

> Flat-rate alternatives typically charge $29–$49/month regardless of usage.

Subscription tiers lower the rate further, down to $0.6 per 1,000 at the highest tier. Use the **Max results** cap in the input to control your spend exactly.

***

### Performance

| Run size | Typical time |
|---|---|
| 100 results | under 1 minute |
| 1,000 results | 2–4 minutes |
| 10,000 results | 20–35 minutes |

***

### Known limitations

- Salary is only returned when the employer publishes it — many listings carry `null` salary fields.
- Company details vary per listing; the scraper returns what the source publishes and never invents data.
- Very large result sets are bounded by the source's own paging limits.
- Listings can be removed by the source at any time, so a small share of URLs may expire shortly after scraping.

***

### Technical details

- **Source:** vdab.be — Flanders (Belgium) job listings
- **Coverage:** everything the public search exposes, filterable via the input parameters above
- **Retry:** automatic retry on network errors with exponential backoff

***

### Need a custom scraper?

**[Unfenced Group](https://www.unfencedgroup.nl)** builds Apify actors for any website — for free.

If the site you need isn't in our portfolio yet, just ask. We scope, build, and publish it at no cost to you. You only pay for results — we absorb the compute and proxy costs ourselves. Same pay-per-result pricing, same quality, same standards as every actor in this portfolio.

**Get in touch:** [www.unfencedgroup.nl](https://www.unfencedgroup.nl)

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Keywords to search for (e.g. 'verpleegkundige', 'software developer'). Leave empty to return all vacancies.

## `location` (type: `string`):

Municipality or city to filter results (e.g. 'Antwerpen', 'Gent', 'Brussel'). Leave empty for all of Belgium.

## `contractType` (type: `string`):

Filter by contract type. Leave empty for all types.

## `workType` (type: `string`):

Filter by full-time or part-time.

## `fetchDetails` (type: `boolean`):

ON: fetches full job description, salary, company info, and all details. OFF: returns basic listing info only (faster, lower cost).

## `daysOld` (type: `integer`):

Only return jobs posted within this many days. Leave empty or 0 for all jobs.

## `skipReposts` (type: `boolean`):

Skip jobs already seen in previous runs. Uses a 90-day cross-run deduplication cache.

## `searchQuery2` (type: `string`):

Optional second keyword — scraped in the same run and merged with the first query results.

## `searchQuery3` (type: `string`):

Optional third keyword — scraped in the same run and merged with the first query results.

## `province` (type: `string`):

Filter by Belgian province. Leave empty for all provinces.

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional list of direct URLs to scrape specific pages. When provided, the search filters above are ignored.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of job listings to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "",
  "location": "",
  "contractType": "vast",
  "workType": "",
  "fetchDetails": false,
  "skipReposts": false,
  "searchQuery2": "",
  "searchQuery3": "",
  "province": "",
  "startUrls": [],
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "contractType": "vast"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("unfenced-group/vdab-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "contractType": "vast" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("unfenced-group/vdab-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "contractType": "vast"
}' |
apify call unfenced-group/vdab-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,unfenced-group/vdab-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/8PWR3xfzIJ9lt9j6t/builds/8pArxAdFG2MDtZkcT/openapi.json