INCLUDE

dIgitalisatioN as a Chance for incLUsion and DivErsity in new working worlds

Digitalisation is a topical and controversial issue. The digital revolution of work has often been regarded as a threat characterised by automation and the consequential loss of jobs. In the context of diversity, this problem is compounded and results in the exclusion of certain target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, people with a migrant background, older employees and single parents) from the labour market. In contrast to this view, the INCLUDE perspective on digitalisation is that it, in fact, represents an opportunity.

The project aims to determine a set of actions based on digital technologies that helps integrate people with special inclusion needs into the labour market. The main research focus is to investigate what opportunities digitalisation offers to shape the working world in a way that enables the participation of people with special inclusion needs. This question is explored by analysing what companies demand of their employees in the context of digitalisation and what skills and needs members of different target groups have. The sides are contrasted to provide a basis for finding digital solutions that can support these target groups in their professional fields of activity. Finally, a set of specific actions is determined to help successfully implement the suggested solutions.

The project is realised in four steps:

1. Determining what companies expect of their employees by developing work profiles for production, administration and service whilst taking into account digital developments, and assessing inclusion needs to facilitate work processes;
2. Developing generalised work-related skills and needs profiles for each target group to define the discrepancy between company expectations and target group skills and needs;
3. Identifying digital solutions and describing possible strategies to implement these solutions in work processes; and
4. The evaluation of the developed approaches by the target groups and recommending strategies to successfully introduce the actions to the target groups in a company.

Project leader: FH JOANNEUM – Institute of Social Work
Financial support: Zukunftsfonds Land Steiermark
Project leader website (German): https://www.fh-joanneum.at/projekt/include/

Here you can find the public project report (German Language). If you are interested in the results of the individual work packages, we will be happy to send them to you upon request.