Core areas

The four core areas provide a common framework for collaboration across I-STEP. They help organisations approach inclusion from different perspectives while working towards shared goals.

Connected, not sequential

The four core areas are designed to be combined rather than followed in sequence. A collaboration may begin with skills, training, employability or participation, and evolve across the others as new opportunities and challenges emerge. The framework is flexible because organisations, communities and contexts are different.

What the I means

The I reminds every member that inclusion is not something to add at the end of a project. It shapes how collaborations are designed, who contributes, whose perspectives are considered and how success is understood.

Inclusion across every core area

Although each core area has its own focus, they all apply the same commitment to designing solutions that are accessible, relevant and meaningful for the people they are intended to serve.

What transversal inclusion means

Transversal inclusion means asking the same fundamental questions regardless of the topic: Who benefits? Who is missing? What barriers remain? How can different perspectives strengthen the outcome? These questions shape decisions from the beginning of every collaboration.

How it applies across the four areas

• Inclusive Skills recognises learning wherever it happens.
• Inclusive Training removes barriers from the learning process itself.
• Inclusive Employability creates fairer pathways into meaningful work.
• Inclusive Participation ensures that people help shape the decisions affecting their lives.

Together, the four areas provide complementary perspectives rather than separate disciplines.

Why it is not an area of its own

Treating inclusion as a separate area risks making it someone else’s responsibility. By embedding it across every collaboration, every member shares responsibility for creating more inclusive ways of learning, working and participating.