DIAMOND Grassroots Living Labs: University of Burgos

Grassroot Living Labs: Testing Real Routes into Employment

When public employment policies fail vulnerable jobseekers, the default explanation is almost always a “skills mismatch.” The standard remedy usually follows the same script: send people to another classroom seminar, rewrite their CV, and hope the market responds.

In reality, standard employment support often falls short because it is designed behind closed doors, completely removed from the daily obstacles people face.

That gap is why the DIAMOND Empower project takes a different route. In our latest short video, Beatriz Izquierdo Ramirez, Professor at the Universidad de Burgos (UBU), reflects on the main challenge the DIAMOND project intends to tackle: Changing labour market policies.

The Partner Behind the Groundwork: Universidad de Burgos

Within DIAMOND, the Universidad de Burgos leads the coordination of our Grassroot Living Labs.

Rather than treating research as an academic exercise, the UBU team works directly with the grassroot organisations across our partner countries. Their role is to make sure our digital tools and policy recommendations reflect actual day-to-day conditions on the ground.

What Makes This Work Innovative

Most employment initiatives are top-down. Experts write a curriculum, hand it down to training centres, and measure success by attendance sheets.

DIAMOND flips that model entirely through the Grassroot Living Lab concept. By bringing vulnerable candidates, social workers, educators, and employers into the same room, we test solutions together:

Jobseekers share where the existing system breaks down for them.
Employers explain the real operational requirements of open vacancies.
Social mentors highlight the non-work challenges, such as administrative friction or lack of accessible transport, that derail job placements.

Solutions are co-designed and tested in small, rapid iterations before being scaled up.

The Real Challenge

Improving labour market access for vulnerable potential workers is challenging and unpredictable.

The biggest challenge is that vulnerability is not a single category. A neurodivergent candidate might possess strong technical skills but struggle with standard interview formats or sensory overload in the workplace. A qualified migrant might face bureaucratic barriers and unrecognised qualifications. A long-term unemployed worker may need confidence-building and modern digital literacy.

When a public programme treats all of these individuals as an identical demographic, it fails almost all of them.

How DIAMOND Solves It

Instead of trying to force people into rigid templates, DIAMOND develops adaptable, modular support:

Personalised Capability Pathways: Tracking real skills and growth rather than judging candidates solely on formal employment gaps.
Flexible Micro-credentials: Breaking qualifications down into bite-sized, verified skills that employers can easily recognise.
The MOVEE Digital Platform: Providing an accessible digital environment that supports individual learning paths and connects candidates to practical opportunities.

When tools are designed alongside the people who will actually use them, the chances of long-term employment increase dramatically.

Watch the Video

Watch the short reel with Beatriz Izquierdo Ramirez from Universidad de Burgos reflect on this challenge

👉 Watch the YouTube Short:

https://youtube.com/shorts/AYVHR-FmINg

Explore the project:

👉 https://diamond-empower.eu/

Official Website of the EU-Horizon Project DIAMOND: https://diamond-empower.eu/

Consortium Partners:

Funding Agency: European Research Executive Agency (REA)

Grassroot Living Labs: Innovating for a More Inclusive Labour Market 🌱 | University of Burgos

DIAMOND Short Reel 2