Integral Digital
Increased digital literacy supports an inclusive labor market
The project ‘Integral Digital’ aims to contribute to the sustainable maintenance and increase of the employment rate in the province of Limburg. To this end, the project partners Hogeschool PXL, ACV Innovatief vzw, and POM Limburg are focusing on improving and strengthening the digital skills of vulnerable employees and job seekers.
They are developing a methodology that first maps out the (digital) barriers and then creates a tailored support offer. This offer includes training for digital ambassadors who act as a bridge between, on the one hand, employees and job seekers, and on the other hand, employers and the workplace. Additionally, the partners will develop and provide audiovisual material to job seekers and vulnerable employees to make them more self-reliant, enabling them to take control of their careers.
Objectives
With ‘Integral Digital,’ the project partners aim to develop a method that is easily transferable and starts from an active, direct approach to lowering barriers. This is elaborated through experiences and insights from the target group, the network (advisory and support groups), and through interim user research. This time-intensive process focuses especially on the qualitative involvement of the specific target group.
This translates into four concrete objectives:
- Sustainably maintaining and increasing the employment rate in Limburg by strengthening the digital skills of job seekers and vulnerable employees.
- Developing a methodology that increases the resilience and flexibility of vulnerable employees and job seekers by improving their digital skills.
- Mapping out the needs and requirements of vulnerable employees and job seekers in Limburg in terms of digital literacy.
- Developing a support offer to strengthen digital skills among vulnerable employees and job seekers in Limburg, thereby increasing their retention in the labor market.
Work Packages
The project is structured around six work packages, each highlighting a specific phase in the development process of the methodology.
Mapping (digital) barriers that hinder access to and retention in employment through a survey of the target group and potential users of the method. On the one hand, the barriers experienced by job seekers and vulnerable employees are examined. On the other hand, input from Digi-Helpers is included based on the barriers they observe in practice. For employers, this work package focuses on identifying digital and other obstacles that hinder the inflow of digitally skilled workers.
Based on the results from the exploration phase, the partners develop an initial set of tools that will be further tested and refined in the learning phase. This development includes:
- Training of digital ambassadors
- Development of measurement instruments (baseline and follow-up measurements)
- Creation of audiovisual applications and an external platform
- An accessibility check to ensure inclusion
Three learning networks are organized and repeated annually, ensuring continuous quality improvement. Employees, digital ambassadors, and employers are involved in the network.
Based on experiences and insights from the learning networks, the partners adjust the tools and further refine the methodology. The acquired knowledge is carried into the next cycle. Additionally, the partners expand the target group: in addition to employees, they also focus on job seekers. The content is adapted to the composition of each network. Based on the lessons learned from the various phases, the partners adjust the project step by step.
The partners evaluate the developed method, feasibility, and usability within a broader network of labor market partners, stakeholders, etc., and make adjustments where necessary.
The project partners aim for a broadly applicable method, enabling organizations to tackle digital barriers independently. Several steps are planned for this: the partners communicate about the project and interim results during implementation, present the method and developed tools in a user study, and consult network partners and other stakeholders. The project concludes with a final event in which the insights and results are brought together.
Project Partners
- Hogeschool PXL
- POM Limburg
- ACV Innovatief vzw
The project started on Sunday, June 1, 2025, and runs through Monday, December 31, 2029.
