Putting data to work: the origin story of VDAB’s API Center of Excellence

The challenge: repositioning an institution

The modern job market is a wild place. While the War for Talent rages on, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and numerous other digital job platforms and start-ups try to grab their piece of the pie in connecting employers and applicants. But where does that leave VDAB? How can they position themselves in the fast-paced digital landscape, with its sky-high expectations? 

“When Google For Jobs was launched and began publishing job openings, we knew we had to take action and step up our digital game,” says Annabel De Craene, product manager at VDAB. “Since we have a shared goal, the idea was to find ways to collaborate. But with one important caveat: VDAB had to remain in control of the employment data shared with its partners. We had to position ourselves as an ‘employment data orchestrator.’ For this, we would have to bring together a special platform team.”

The process: vision and execution

Over the course of two years, delaware transformed the Open Services team into the API Center of Excellence. Its core mission: develop relevant data integration capabilities with external partners and internal stakeholders, while balancing VDAB’s own complexity and the dynamic nature of the modern job market. 

“This was about much more than the technicalities of data exchange,” explains delaware’s project lead Geert Van Den Bossche. “It was about developing a vision: which data do we want to share, exactly, and why? VDAB has a very strong inside-out culture. They decide what a job opening looks like, which steps a job applicant has to take, etc. But the job market no longer works that way.” 

To move the dial in the right direction, Geert’s team had to: 

“Taking on the operational side of the project enabled us to form coalitions with other teams within VDAB and build a unique network. The advantage was that we could talk directly to the people impacted by the change, such as IT architects. Instead of seeing us as a threat, they were able to give us valuable input about architecture and software development.”

Apart from the operational aspect, there’s digital partner management to consider as well. Unlike its digital employment partners, VDAB has no commercial goal. As an independent agency designed under public law, its whole reason for existence is to serve the public interest.  “VDAB doesn’t have to be in the lead at all times, but it needs to retain a certain level of control via clear agreements and guidelines,” Geert explains. “For example, when a partner pushes a job opening to VDAB, it has to be presented in a certain way that conforms with our mission.”

The result: integration powerhouse

Meanwhile, the API Center of Excellence has become a cornerstone of VDAB’s integration capabilities. “It elevates our services, empowers our partners, and ensures our continued success in Flanders’ fast-paced and increasingly digitized labor market,” says Annabel. “Every time there’s a new partnership, the API Center of Excellence is involved or in the lead since data exchange is almost always at the heart of it. Furthermore, despite the remarkable annual increase in new partners (+10%), the center was able to maintain a high level of service quality.”

The center also empowers other VDAB teams in shaping the digital layer and platforms to adequately support the dynamic Flemish labor market. “The center’s close ties with the IT department have been elemental in the development of a digital self-service layer. This has resulted in enhanced services for employers and citizens, and improved the overall efficiency of the organization.” 

“The data from API usage also provides insights that help identify opportunities for creating new and refined services concerning labor-related information. This ensures that VDAB remains relevant in its role as ‘data director’ of the Flemish employment ecosystem. It shows that sharing data with others can give you more value in return, if you go about it strategically.”