Jobs are an important vehicle for social inclusion. They help us to feel valued and have a sense of purpose. They improve our quality of life and are a way of participating in society. They provide us with the resources we need to support and spend time with our family and friends. In the current linear — take-make-waste — economy, financial drives often come before social protection and participation. Too often this means that people find it hard to access work or find a job that meets their needs. An inclusive labour market should provide decent work opportunities for all people no matter their age, ethnicity, gender, educational level or geographic location.

The transition to the circular economy will be labour intensive, especially in the coming 10 to 20 years, requiring more people to drive its principles of reuse, repair, refurbish, recover and recycle, and requiring people to work together across companies and sectors, using skills such as empathy, craftsmanship and ingenuity. In Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Robedrijf is working towards this goal. Robedrijf connects people with a distance from the labour market to employers through the outsourced services they offer in the assembly, packaging and repair of products. Once commissioned by a local company, these services are then delivered by people working in Robedrijf's sheltered workshop who have physical, mental or psychological difficulties.

Robedrijf splits up workstreams into packages of tasks, so that there are tasks suited to people with different levels of abilities. By breaking up tasks, Robedrijf can ensure that the services they deliver to their customers are high quality as well as ensuring there are good quality, tailored jobs available for people that otherwise face barriers to work. This means people who might find traditional job roles challenging are given the opportunity to learn circular skills like disassembly and repair, while working in a supportive environment.