Urgency and goal
Within the Construction & Infrastructure sector, there is a significant shortage of labor. This is partly due to aging demographics and insufficient influx from vocational education. Additionally, it is desirable for education and the labor market to align as closely as possible. In response, many construction companies nowadays train their own personnel. The result of this is that employees possess the necessary knowledge but do not receive recognized diplomas. Consequently, it is unclear what skills employees have.
Volandis has introduced an essential innovation to address this issue: the Digital Skills Passport for professionals (DSP). The DSP is an advanced online tool that allows employees, both with and without diplomas, to document their skills throughout their entire careers, supported by evidence. The DSP not only clarifies areas in which employees can further develop but also provides a constant stimulus (dialogue between employer and employee) for employees to continue their development (regardless of age, work experience, or expertise). On the other hand, the DSP also offers benefits for the employer. It provides insight into the skills currently possessed by the organization and identifies the knowledge that will be lost when an employee resigns or retires.
The objective of this project is to further develop and implement the DSP. With this change, Volandis aims to ensure that every employee in the Construction & Infrastructure sector (with or without a diploma) is capable of continuing to develop and, if necessary, taking the next step in their career.
Approach and our role
Bliss*er Daan van Dieperbeek, as a project assistant in the DSP project team, guides this innovation. He supports the DSP project team with the development and implementation of the DSP for the Construction & Infrastructure sector. The primary focus here is on securing subsidy funds from the LLO Catalyst, optimizing the three-day training, reviewing manuals and presentations, conducting preliminary research for the roadmap, and providing materials for the development pipeline.
“Daan has effortlessly launched himself into the fast train of the Digital Skills Passport and is now a valuable asset to our team. Always quick, focused, and he comes up with great ideas for the project.”
CLAUDIA KLARENBEEK | PROJECT LEADER AND SPECIALIST IN THE DSP at Volandis
Main Deliverables
- ‘Get Started with DSP’ user guide.
- Description of open badges. These are digital badges used to validate skills.
- Three-day training for DSP advisors.
- Training for DSP facilitators.
- LLO Catalyst. For each building block, a vision document, activity plan, activity schedule, budget, collaboration agreement (with involved parties), and a user-friendly summary will be delivered before the deadline of the respective application round.
Result
The ambition of Volandis is for the entire construction sector to use the DPS platform within ten years. Before this is achieved, some intermediate steps need to be taken. By the end of 2025, the goal is to have a minimum of 10,000 users, and by early 2026, the DSP platform should be available for every construction worker.
Want to read more? Communication in the Agile transformation at the Belastingdienst