Mobility as a key to employment: NaarJobs.be featured in the VDAB Annual Report 2025

17 july 2026

The VDAB Annual Report 2025 has been published, and NaarJobs.be is prominently featured in it. Developed by Nazka, this digital platform helps job seekers, employment counsellors and employers gain better insight into job accessibility.

The inclusion of NaarJobs.be in the VDAB Annual Report 2025 is more than a recognition of the platform. It reflects a broader shift: mobility is increasingly being recognised as an essential factor in the search for employment. Accessibility is no longer just a practical detail, but an important condition for successfully connecting job seekers and employers.

From distance to real accessibility

When searching for a job, vacancies are still often presented based on distance in kilometres. In practice, however, distance alone says little about how easily a workplace can actually be reached.

For many job seekers, it is not only travel time that matters, but also which transport options are available. This is particularly relevant for people without access to a private car, people experiencing transport poverty, or job seekers who are returning to the labour market with support from employment counsellors. For these groups, accessibility can determine whether a job is realistically achievable.

Based on this insight, Nazka developed NaarJobs.be, together with mobility experts from Mobiel 21 and partners from the employment ecosystem. The digital platform shows job opportunities based on actual travel time and accessibility. Starting from the job seeker’s exact home address, the platform maps which jobs can be reached by bicycle, public transport, walking or – where available – by car. This provides a more realistic picture of which vacancies are truly within reach.

This approach reflects a broader evolution in the labour market, where a successful match is determined not only by skills and experience, but also by the practical feasibility of a job. Mobility becomes a fully integrated part of employment support, rather than an issue considered afterwards.

Supporting job seekers and employment counsellors

Mobility remains an important barrier to employment for many people. This is especially true for those without a private vehicle or those who depend on cycling or public transport.

For job coaches, social welfare organisations and other employment counsellors, assessing accessibility can require significant additional research. NaarJobs.be provides a direct overview of the labour market from the job seeker’s home address and shows which jobs can be reached within a realistic travel time using the available transport options.

This gives counsellors an objective and realistic view of opportunities, allowing them to provide more targeted guidance. It saves valuable time during support processes and helps create more sustainable matches between people and jobs.

Accessibility as an asset for employers

Employers can also benefit from better insights into mobility. Companies that are easily accessible by bicycle or public transport, or that invest in mobility benefits such as cycling allowances, can make these advantages visible to potential candidates.

NaarJobs.be makes accessibility tangible and helps employers include their mobility approach as part of their employer branding. Job seekers gain insight not only into the content of a role, but also into the practical feasibility of reaching the workplace.

Complementary to VDAB

NaarJobs.be was developed as a specialised addition to existing VDAB services, not as a replacement. While VDAB focuses on skills, sectors and vacancies, NaarJobs.be focuses on an often underestimated aspect of the labour market: accessibility.

The VDAB Annual Report 2025 highlights how insights from the project have contributed to the further development of VDAB’s digital services. The Find a job environment now also includes travel time filters and improved address validation, making mobility an increasingly natural part of the job search process.

The inclusion of NaarJobs.be in the annual report underlines that accessibility is increasingly recognised as an important factor in successful labour market matching. Innovation, collaboration and knowledge sharing can help create a labour market where talent and opportunities connect more effectively.

The screenshots below show the section about NaarJobs.be in the VDAB Annual Report 2025.

Note: The screenshots in this article are in Dutch