Example · fictional company · Metal workshop · Flanders, Belgium · 38 staff
Vos Metaalbewerking
Installing a robot welding cell and starting to sell in Germany, with one maintenance technician who knows the machines and two sales people.
The company and its numbers are made up, to show what goes in and what comes out. Dates are set as if it were filled in this quarter.
What they entered
Everything the form asked, step by step. About ten minutes of answers, with no names of staff.
Step 1: Your company
Belgium (Flanders) · 38 staff · Metal fabrication
Step 2: Your plan
- Automate part of our work: Robot welding cell · working by Q2 2027
- Enter a new country or market: Germany · working by Q3 2027
Step 3: Your teams
Team Closest occupation People 55 or older Know-how held by one person Hard to find Needed in 1 / 3 years Welders Welders and flamecutters (7212) 14 4 No Yes 15 / 15 CNC operators Metal working machine tool setters and operators (7223) 8 1 No Don't know same / same Maintenance Agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers (7233) 3 not asked Yes Don't know same / same Sales Commercial sales representatives (3322) 2 not asked Yes Don't know same / same Office General office clerks (4110) 5 0 No Don't know same / same Step 4: What the plan needs from each team
Team Robot welding cell Germany Welders Needed Can't happen without CNC operators — Helps Maintenance Needed — Sales — Can't happen without Office — — Step 5–6: New skills, and who can already do them
Skill For Team People Needed by Can already Partly Robot programming Robot welding cell Welders 3 Q2 2027 0 2 German-speaking sales Germany Sales 1 Q1 2027 0 — Step 7: Stress test and assumptions
No stress test. All assumptions left at their defaults.
What they got
Example · Vos Metaalbewerking · Belgium · 38 staff · calculated Q4 2026
Your plan needs 6 actions to start this quarter, 2 of them already late.
- Automate part of our work: Robot welding cell · Q2 2027
- Enter a new country or market: Germany · Q3 2027
How sure: 0 sure, 3 fairly sure, 5 unsure. Each action says which of its numbers are assumptions you can change.
What must start when
Everything that has to start within the next twelve months.
Show the roadmap as a table
| Action | Needed | Takes | Start by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| German-speaking sales: train 1 new to it | Q1 2027 | 3 quarters | Q2 2026 | late by 2 quarters; borrow help Q1 2027 to Q3 2027 |
| Robot programming: train 1 new to it | Q2 2027 | 3 quarters | Q3 2026 | late by 1 quarter; borrow help Q2 2027 to Q3 2027 |
| Hire 2 for Welders | Q4 2027 | 4 quarters | Q4 2026 | start this quarter |
| Pass on the know-how only one person in Maintenance has | now | 2 quarters | Q4 2026 | start this quarter |
| Pass on the know-how only one person in Sales has | now | 2 quarters | Q4 2026 | start this quarter |
| Robot programming: train 2 who can partly do it | Q2 2027 | 2 quarters | Q4 2026 | start this quarter |
Each action, and how we worked it out
- late by 2 quarters; borrow help Q1 2027 to Q3 2027
German-speaking sales: train 1 new to it
Sales · Train · unsure
Needed Q1 2027 − 3 quarters to train = start Q2 2026: late by 2, borrow help until Q3 2027
How we worked this out
- People who need it
- 1
- Your answer
- Can already do it
- 0
- Your answer
- Needed by
- Q1 2027
- Your answer
- Time to train someone new to it
- 3 quarters
- Assumption
How sure: unsure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: KMO-portefeuille (Flanders), 30% (small) or 20% (medium) of training on one of the approved themes, up to €7,500 a year; 45% or 35% for cyber security training. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
- late by 1 quarter; borrow help Q2 2027 to Q3 2027
Robot programming: train 1 new to it
Welders · Train · unsure
Needed Q2 2027 − 3 quarters to train = start Q3 2026: late by 1, borrow help until Q3 2027
How we worked this out
- People who need it
- 3
- Your answer
- Can already do it
- 0
- Your answer
- Can partly do it
- 2
- Your answer
- Needed by
- Q2 2027
- Your answer
- Time to train someone new to it
- 3 quarters
- Assumption
How sure: unsure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: KMO-portefeuille (Flanders), 30% (small) or 20% (medium) of training on one of the approved themes, up to €7,500 a year; 45% or 35% for cyber security training. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
- start this quarter
Hire 2 for Welders
Welders · Hire · unsure
Needed Q4 2027 − 4 quarters to hire and get up to speed = start Q4 2026
How we worked this out
- People in the team today
- 14
- Your answer
- Needed in a year
- 15
- Your answer
- Leaving each year
- 1.1 (8% a year)
- Assumption
- Retiring each year
- 0.4 (4 aged 55+ over 11 years)
- Assumption
- Expected in a year
- 12.5 people
- Assumption
- Time to hire
- 2 quarters
- Assumption
- Time for a new hire to become productive
- 1 quarters
- Assumption
- Extra hiring time where people are hard to find
- 1 quarters
- Assumption
- Hard to hire for
- yes
- Your answer
How sure: unsure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: VDAB employer services and EURES, public employment service help with recruiting, including from other EU countries. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
- start this quarter
Pass on the know-how only one person in Maintenance has
Maintenance · Pass on know-how · fairly sure
Needed as soon as possible: start now, 2 quarters of overlap
How we worked this out
- Know-how held by one person
- yes
- Your answer
- Overlap needed to pass on know-how
- 2 quarters
- Assumption
How sure: fairly sure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: KMO-portefeuille (Flanders), 30% (small) or 20% (medium) of training on one of the approved themes, up to €7,500 a year; 45% or 35% for cyber security training. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
- start this quarter
Pass on the know-how only one person in Sales has
Sales · Pass on know-how · fairly sure
Needed as soon as possible: start now, 2 quarters of overlap
How we worked this out
- Know-how held by one person
- yes
- Your answer
- Overlap needed to pass on know-how
- 2 quarters
- Assumption
How sure: fairly sure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: KMO-portefeuille (Flanders), 30% (small) or 20% (medium) of training on one of the approved themes, up to €7,500 a year; 45% or 35% for cyber security training. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
- start this quarter
Robot programming: train 2 who can partly do it
Welders · Train · fairly sure
Needed Q2 2027 − 2 quarters to train = start Q4 2026
How we worked this out
- People who need it
- 3
- Your answer
- Can already do it
- 0
- Your answer
- Can partly do it
- 2
- Your answer
- Needed by
- Q2 2027
- Your answer
- Time to train someone who can partly do it
- 2 quarters
- Assumption
How sure: fairly sure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: KMO-portefeuille (Flanders), 30% (small) or 20% (medium) of training on one of the approved themes, up to €7,500 a year; 45% or 35% for cyber security training. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
Later: 2 actions starting in a year or more
- start by Q4 2028
Hire 3 more for Welders by year three
Welders · Hire · unsure
Needed Q4 2029 − 4 quarters to hire and get up to speed = start Q4 2028
How we worked this out
- People in the team today
- 14
- Your answer
- Needed in three years
- 15
- Your answer
- Leaving each year
- 1.1 (8% a year)
- Assumption
- Retiring each year
- 0.4 (4 aged 55+ over 11 years)
- Assumption
- Expected in three years
- 9.5 people
- Assumption
- Time to hire
- 2 quarters
- Assumption
- Time for a new hire to become productive
- 1 quarters
- Assumption
- Extra hiring time where people are hard to find
- 1 quarters
- Assumption
- Hard to hire for
- yes
- Your answer
How sure: unsure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: VDAB employer services and EURES, public employment service help with recruiting, including from other EU countries. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
- start by Q1 2029
Hire 1 more for Maintenance by year three
Maintenance · Hire · unsure
Needed Q4 2029 − 3 quarters to hire and get up to speed = start Q1 2029
How we worked this out
- People in the team today
- 3
- Your answer
- Needed in three years
- 3 (about the same as today)
- Assumption
- Leaving each year
- 0.2 (8% a year)
- Assumption
- Expected in three years
- 2.3 people
- Assumption
- Time to hire
- 2 quarters
- Assumption
- Time for a new hire to become productive
- 1 quarters
- Assumption
How sure: unsure. Sure means no assumptions were used; fairly sure, one or two; unsure, three or more, or a late date that rests on one.
Who could pay or help: VDAB employer services and EURES, public employment service help with recruiting, including from other EU countries. (checked September 2026; confirm with the scheme)
Your teams
Welders
CriticalISCO-08 7212 · Welders and flamecutters
- Your plan can't happen without this team (Germany).
- 4 of 14 are 55 or older.
- You said people for this team are hard to find.
Where new equipment or AI frees up time in this team, use it first to hire fewer people later, then to retrain. This roadmap never suggests cutting jobs.
Maintenance
CriticalISCO-08 7233 · Agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers
- Your plan needed this team (Robot welding cell).
- Only one person knows how to do something critical here.
Where new equipment or AI frees up time in this team, use it first to hire fewer people later, then to retrain. This roadmap never suggests cutting jobs.
Sales
CriticalISCO-08 3322 · Commercial sales representatives
- Your plan can't happen without this team (Germany).
- Only one person knows how to do something critical here.
Considered, no actions: CNC operators (supporting), Office (not needed for this plan).
Assumptions used
| Assumption | Value | Where from |
|---|---|---|
| People leaving each year, other than retirementAssumption, not data. Use your own figure if you know it. | 8 | Assumption |
| Usual retirement ageStatutory age 66 from 2025, 67 from 2030. | 66 | Assumption |
| Time to train someone who can partly do itAssumption. Time until they can do the work to the standard needed, not course length. | 2 | Assumption |
| Time to train someone new to itAssumption. Time until they can do the work to the standard needed. | 3 | Assumption |
| Time to hireAssumption. From deciding to hire to the person starting. | 2 | Assumption |
| Time for a new hire to become productiveAssumption. | 1 | Assumption |
| Extra hiring time where people are hard to findAssumption, applied where you said a team is hard to hire for. | 1 | Assumption |
| Overlap needed to pass on know-howAssumption. | 2 | Assumption |
Who could help you plan this
- No Flemish subsidy for HR advice. Since 1 February 2026 the KMO-portefeuille funds advice only on cyber security.
From our research, September 2026. Schemes change: confirm with the scheme before you rely on it.