Our society is increasingly confronted with burnout or related illnesses. This implies a huge social cost. Experience and research show that the faster people with burnout return to work, the greater the chance of a sustainable return to the labour market. Quality guidance is very important in this respect, both therapeutic guidance and job counselling.
The ESF project 'Povigo' starts from the point of view that people can return to work faster and more sustainably when they can take control of their development process in relation to the labour market themselves. This means, among other things, that they can choose the focus of this process themselves, that they can monitor themselves and that they can ask for help when they consider it necessary. The project therefore wants to introduce a digital self-service that strengthens people with a burnout in the process of taking new steps towards the labour market. This self-service is a digital extension of existing counselling programmes. The main focus of the development process will be on soft skills. The rationale behind this is that developing the necessary soft skills increases the users' sense of competence or self-confidence, so that going back to work or reorienting is less of a barrier. The methodology of service design is used in the development of this digital self-service.
In this ESF project, AP University College Antwerp works together with the software company Kunlabora and the guidance service Group INTRO. The educational research unit provides expertise on soft skills, motivation and feedback.