Staffing firms such as Randstad are making moves to protect personal data, such as job applicant information, using software that aims to decentralise the data.

According to The BBC, an open-source software project, called Solid is designed to allow individuals and groups to store their data securely in decentralised data stores called Pods (personal online data store).

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web and co-founder of Inrupt, a company that provides Solid-based technologies, said using the technology would mean that data storage would be "centred around people, instead of around apps".

In Belgium, Athumi, a data utility set up by the Flemish government, is working on several projects using Solid. The company acts as a neutral intermediary, connecting businesses in different sectors and enabling them to access sensitive company and citizen data.

Athumi's first Solid project launched last year in collaboration with Randstad, prior to a rollout with other recruitment firms. During 2024, Athumi plans to scale this application to 30,000 users. In a LinkedIn post by Athumi strategic partner Digita, which uses Solid, it stated that Randstad Group Belgium’s “use of data vaults allows their applicants to easily re-use diploma data in a secure and safe way”.

For recruitment firms, the application aims to make the handling of sensitive data such as diplomas, more secure.

On the process of job applicants submitting their diploma, Björn De Vidts, chief executive of Athumi, told The BBC, “The first step is to activate your pod. That is legally required because we cannot deliver services for a person who hasn't given us the authority to activate their pod. The second step is that you give permission to load your diploma into the pod. The third step is giving access to Randstad for a certain period of time to use the diploma in your pod for the specific job application." Citizens access and manage their pods through a web browser.”

For roles that that require recruitment firms to verify that candidate information is genuine, using the Solid application, a diploma would have a token that guarantees the data is authentic and has not been changed.

Digita said Solid is complementary to blockchain technology. Tom Haegemans said, “Solid is complementary to other identity related concepts. In addition, we saw that even though on first sight, many identity related concepts seem intertwined with blockchain technology, they can actually exist independently.”

In addition to using Solid, Randstad is also trialling the use of blockchain through its membership of the Velocity Network, a blockchain collaboration which includes Randstad, SAP, Korn Ferry, Aon, HireRight, Recruit, Oracle, Zip Recruit, Kelly, Talview, Safeguard Global and the World Employment Confederation.

On 19 March, Randstad is holding a live event at its Amsterdam headquarters alongside Rabobank demonstrating how the Dutch Banking industry is using verifiable credentials to accelerate the shift to a skills-based economy. The invite states that, in the Netherlands, Randstad and Rabobank are pioneering new ways of screening talent using verified credentials in partnership with the Velocity Network Foundation.