How ACA Group transformed VDAB's district work voucher system (wijk-werkcheques)

VDAB helps individuals facing barriers to the job market through the district work voucher system, facilitating local community tasks. When their external issuer announced its discontinuation, VDAB urgently sought a solution. So they teamed up with ACA Group to create a robust platform for managing and distributing electronic district work vouchers. This case shares our collaborative efforts and innovative solutions that ensured the continuity of this vital program.

Challenge

VDAB needed to quickly develop the new wijk-werkcheque platform to manage district work vouchers after their external provider discontinued the service.

Solution

ACA Group developed a portal for employers and a support platform for VDAB staff, using innovative technology and integrating with existing systems.

Result

VDAB successfully transitioned to managing digital district work vouchers internally, ensuring efficiency and sustainability while strengthening their partnership with ACA.

The district work voucher system (‘wijk-werkcheques’ in Dutch) was introduced by VDAB in Flanders in 2004 to help individuals facing challenges in accessing the conventional job market engage in community-based tasks. This system allows local community organizations, governments, and individuals to hire district workers for various tasks, from garden maintenance to administrative support. Workers receive compensation through district work vouchers, partially funded by the Public Employment Service of Flanders (VDAB).

However, in 2022, Edenred, the external issuer of these vouchers, announced they would discontinue the service. VDAB urgently needed a solution to manage and distribute the district work vouchers internally, as the search for a new external partner yielded no immediate results. With their internal software teams occupied with roadmap projects until 2025, VDAB sought the expertise of ACA Group to develop a new application for voucher management.

ACA Group collaborated closely with the VDAB specialists to create a comprehensive platform consisting of two key components:

District Voucher Portal: This portal allows employers to purchase and manage electronic district work vouchers and facilitate payments to district workers. The decision to exclusively use electronic vouchers enhances efficiency and supports environmental sustainability.
Support Platform: This platform equips VDAB staff with comprehensive data and analytics on employers and district workers. It includes a service desk section for user assistance, ensuring smooth operations for all stakeholders.

The project kicked off in November 2022, with initial months focused on establishing a solid backlog through collaboration between analysts and architects. From January to June 2023, a dedicated development team created a sleek application that integrated seamlessly into VDAB's existing technological framework. By leveraging an established technical API, the team laid a sturdy foundation for the new application.

The technology stack used included Spring Boot, Hibernate, and Jackson for the backend, and Angular for the frontend, ensuring a modern, service-based architecture that adheres to best practices in domain-driven design.

The final delivery of the district work voucher application was scheduled for the end of 2023, marking the start of the new voucher issuance process. Until then, Edenred continued to support the old vouchers.

The collaboration between VDAB and ACA Group has been a resounding success, extending beyond this singular project into a long-term partnership built on mutual trust and professional synergy. As a result of this collaboration, several ACA consultants remain part of the permanent software team at VDAB to tackle ongoing software challenges.

Future joint projects promise to enhance VDAB’s service delivery and internal operations, contributing significantly to the success of VDAB in supporting job seekers across Flanders.

With the help of the ACA team, VDAB managed to take over the issuing of district work vouchers and the processing of the necessary payments and disbursements from an external issuing company and to internalize them against a strict deadline.

Tom Van Heddegem

Manager Software Factory - Application Make at VDAB

Tom Van HeddegemManager Software Factory - Application Make at VDAB

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