The legislation for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes states that everybody involved in the care and use of laboratory animals needs to have an adequate initial training BEFORE they perform any of the following functions:

• carrying out procedures on animals
• designing procedures and projects
• taking care of animals
• killing animals.

In addition to the initial training, people working with laboratory animals must be trained continuously to maintain state-of-the-art knowledge and skills (see Continuing education)

More details about the legislation on the training of people working with laboratory animals can be found at:

• EU directive (Art 23)
  
• Belgian Official Journal Royal Decree 29/5/2013

There is also extra information available on the Animal Welfare webpages of the 3 regional authorities:

Flanders (including detailed information about different courses and course providers):
Opleidingen werken met proefdieren | Vlaanderen.be
Opleidingscentra proefdierkunde | Vlaanderen.be

Brussels Capital Region:
Dierproeven, een strikt omlijnde praktijk | Leefmilieu Brussel voor professionals – Leefmilieu Brussel

Wallonia:
Bien-être animal – Animaux d’expérience (wallonie.be)

More info on courses (in French) in Brussels and Wallonia can be found in this file.

Recognition of foreign certificates or diplomas
Laboratory Animal Science (LAS) training programs are very different from one country to another, some very simplified while others are much more detailed, there is no European standardization. The LAS certificate of people coming from other Belgian regions or countries must be recognized by the Belgian regional Authority in order to obtain an equivalence letter.