Message from the founder & CEO

Transcription

1 Career Planet Annual Report: 2011

2 Message from the founder & CEO 2011 was a year of reflection, taking stock and preparing the foundations for a new phase in Career Planet s corporate development. Although our existing operational model was hugely popular and in-demand on a provincial level we knew we had the potential to have a far greater impact on a national level. Career Planet s travelling units took the internet and access to career and training information to schools, universities, libraries, shopping centres, community halls, and anywhere else that we were invited. Over a period of 3 years our team of facilitators provided workshops and information services to thousands of young unemployed people in rural and urban areas who lacked access to career and training information. Our activities were funded by a combination of donor funding and advertising revenue on our website, which was receiving visitors per month. Sadly, cuts in funding grants and advertising over the World Cup period had a devastating effect on our operations and we were forced to scale down and also abandon our plans to build a career centre in the old Philippi Cement Factory in the Western Cape. Career Planet s partnership with DGMT in 2011 has signalled a new phase in our corporate development. It enables us to develop the tools and resources we need to scale our services by using the power of technology to create a greater impact in the lives of youth and the unemployed. The transition has taken us from being, primarily, an information service to one that connects people with opportunities via mobile phones and the internet. Karin Fuchsloch Founder & CEO Message from the Chairman Looking back on 2011, and the funding crisis that preceded it in 2010, we see the benefit of having built an online portal rich with relevant information and services. It meant that even when sources of revenue dried up, Career Planet could still maintain its web presence. This turned out to be our saving grace, since DGMT, who were looking for an organization who could help them with their goal of connecting people to opportunities, found Career Planet. The rest, as they say, is history. Karin resumed her position as CEO, and worked extremely hard to develop the proposal and business plan, which were accepted by the board of DG Murray Trust. It s really testament to the power of belief and never giving up. During 2011, we moved into new premises, and appointed a new team with the right skill set, and development of a new website and mobi site commenced. I would like to thank all the Directors for their belief in this undertaking. It needs to be said however, that without Karin s continual vision and sheer hard work, Career Planet would not be in the fit state it found itself in at the end of Moira de Roche Chairperson: Career Planet

3 INTRODUCTION Our Mission To use technology as an enabler to provide top quality training, career, and job creation information that is accessible to all who have access to a cell phone or internet connection Our Credentials Section 21 Registration no: 2007/007480/08 PBO number: Career Planet: Career Discovery Centre is a registered trademark Career Planet is a registered not-for-profit, Public Benefit Organisation that has been providing schools and communities with free career, training and related information since 2008, via our website and workshops. We are financed by a combination of donor funding and advertising revenue. Sector-specific advertising on the website offers employers, recruiters and training providers the opportunity to brand their services directly to people who are searching for specific information. The main aim of Career Planet is to contribute meaningfully towards the alleviation of poverty and the promotion of job creation through providing access to information on training, entrepreneurship, jobs and other opportunities. Our initial business model was based on mobile technology units, consisting of 20 online computers and a team of facilitators that travelled to schools, universities, community centres and libraries in rural and urban areas of the Cape Province. The Career Planet website contains a wealth of content designed to help young people to access information about careers, training and job opportunities. The model was popular and successful in informing and motivating learners, teachers and unemployed youth, but had limitations in terms of rollout to other areas of the country. Career Planet was placed under extreme financial pressure in 2010 due, in part, to advertisers and sponsors redirecting their advertising spend to the World Cup events. Our activities had to be severely curtailed for nearly 6 months until we were approached by the DG Murray Trust in January 2011 and invited to apply for funding. A new operational strategy was developed to ensure sustained growth and penetration to all parts of the country. Given the high penetration of mobile phones in South Africa, we decided to look at this technology as a way to find solutions to the obstacles facing our youth. This involved expanding our job opportunity notification service to offer a unique solution to rural youth who are most marginalised in terms of connecting to opportunity because of their poverty and lack of mobility. The provision of relevant and specific content and opportunity information became crucial to the success of our service. The bulk of 2011 was spent researching various technologies and mobile user behaviour. Our first task was to add functionality to our existing database of information. The original website created in 2007 required more functionality including a stand-alone CV builder, better Content Management System (CMS) reporting and comprehensive opportunity capturing and listings for career opportunities in South Africa including jobs, training, bursaries, scholarships, apprenticeships and internships. Since the code was already considered old it was decided that a new build would be the best course of action. We began by expanding our existing database of information and developing a national hub of information, connecting young people to timely and relevant information about opportunities for further education, access to financial and other resources, and the world of work. A core component of our planning was also

4 the provision of access to mobile learning. A fundamental element of mobile learning is its ability to deliver learning resources to those who may otherwise be unable to attend traditional learning environments such as classrooms, and provide a practical and personal way to learn. Our aim is to be as inclusive as possible when communicating information and opportunities, so we developed a technical strategy that includes a variety of technologies for users to access our services and for us to access registered users. Any person with access to a cell phone or the internet will be able to acquire information and participate in applying for opportunities through Career Planet. Career Planet s long term sustainability will depend on the support of mobile service providers and our ability to grow our current advertising from business and government departments. Our current advertising platform will be developed and enhanced to ensure that we are able to grow this form of revenue to contribute towards our sustainability and growth. Career Planet has the platform and means to bring about positive social change in South Africa. Our impact and sustainability will depend largely on the quality of our partnerships for further education, access to financial and other resources, and the world of work. IMPACT We expected the visitor numbers to drop significantly in 2011 due to the restructuring of our operational model. We were consequently pleasantly surprised to note that the fall-out was not as severe as expected visitors visited the site times between January 2011 and Feb Very interesting to note, was the number of people already accessing Career Planets website before the release of the mobi site.

5 ACTIVITIES: 2011 For the most part, 2011 was a year of re-strategizing; research and laying foundations for our new operational model and sustainability plan. Our growth included the appointment of new staff members and with that, came the need for new premises. In March 2011 we moved into temporary premises in Observatory while we waited for renovations to be completed on the new Cape Town Science Centre (CTSC) nearby. We chose the CTSC for its accessibility and access to a constant stream of visiting high schools and relocated there in January The early part of the year was spent, primarily, revising our business plan and budget to accommodate the significant changes to our technical and operational model. Changes and improvements included the development of new operational and technical strategies as well as an administrative support system that could handle our new activities. Staff with the necessary skills also had to be sourced and appointed Timeline: January Feb - June July - August August September October December January February April 2012 Talks initiated with DGMT Development of business plan and presentation to DG Murray board Research and development of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy Research and development of a technical strategy Search for suitable premises and setting up of offices Financial audit Agreement signed with DG Murray Trust and an audit of Career Planet s technical capabilities commissioned by them before we started to develop the new technical specifications. Business requirement specifications finalised. Appointment of staff Briefing development companies Formative research conducted with potential opportunity providers in Knysna, Ugu, Phillippi, Khayelitsha to formulate an assessment to inform the development of our opportunity sourcing strategy and needs assessment for opportunity providers and opportunity seekers. Research conducted with opportunity seekers to establish current mobile opportunity-seeking behaviours, knowledge and desired functionality. Interview & appointment of developers. Technical specifications finalised Finalising of mobi and website specifications, Content development Beta testing of mobi and USSD Usability Report Planned Go Live for Mobi site

6 ADMINISTRATION STAFFING Our main administrative tasks during 2011 were the appointment of staff and developing new business proccesses and procedures for financial management, staff management, reporting, and governance compliance. New staff appointed during the 2011 financial year: Esther Etkin, Zanele Gwilize, Nomthandazo Tyhaliti, Elizabeth Barnett, Ross Edwards. Interns: Janine Abrahams, Sive Stofile PREMISES Finding new business premises became crucial with the appointment of new staff members. We signed a short term lease for premises in the Premier Building in Mowbray from March 2011 January By September 2011 our staff continued had grown to 7 full time employees and space again became an issue. We took the decision to move to larger premises in the new Cape Town Science Centre, 370 B Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town from 1 February This is a 3 year lease. The Cape Town Science Centre building is leased from the Provincial Government of the Western Cape on a 10 year lease commencing on 1 st December 2011.

7 OPERATIONS Karin Chisholm (Fuchsloch) is responsible for overall programme and staff management, funding, administration, relationship building and technical development. She is also responsible for certain content development and conceptualization, including ASK US, entrepreneurship and new programmes/features. Karin was assisted by Lynn Crossland in developing and re-classifiyng the career database according to the new national jobs organising structure (NOPF). Esther Etkin headed up the content team in 2011 and was assisted by Thandy and Zanele as well as various 3 rd party contributors. Their main responsibilities during the 2011 pre-launch period has been user research, database building and brand awareness. Brand building has mainly taken place by publishing Career Planet material online (MSN) and in other publications (UNCUT Magazine). ShiftOne Digital is contracted monthly to develop and implement our marketing plan. This includes membership recruitment and retention. Esther is also responsible for membership and branding and works closely with ShiftOne Digital in planning and implementation of marketing strategies. Team members: Mina Thandy Tyhaliti (front) and Zanele Ncapha (behind) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT The development of Career Planets new USSD, mobi and website was outsourced to Elemental and Shiftonedigital. Shiftonedigital was responsible for project management, user experience and SEO optimisation while Elemental developed the code. Grapevine kindly assisted with the development and integration of the USDD site MARKETING & SALES While active marketing and sales took a back seat during 2011 a significant amount of time was spent developing a new marketing strategy and implementation plan to take the new platform forward.

8 RESEARCH To gain a firmer grasp of the various opportunity providers and the types of opportunities they provide as well as how they currently connect young people to their opportunities - we conducted surveys with a range of opportunity providers in 4 areas marked by high unemployment rates and home to large youth populations: Khayelitsha, Philippi, Knysna and Ugu. This research simultaneously allowed us to gain insight into whether or not opportunity providers would use a mobile platform such as Career Planet s to share or promote their opportunities to the relevant target audience. Additionally, it was an opportunity to ask what features and functionality they would like added to the proposed platform in its early stage of development so as best to adapt it to the needs of the opportunity seeker as well as the provider. Formative research To gain a firmer grasp of the various opportunity providers and the types of opportunities they provide as well as how they currently connect young people to their opportunities in the Western Cape, we conducted surveys with a range of opportunity providers in two areas of the province marked by high unemployment rates and home to large youth populations, namely Khayelitsha and Philippi. This research simultaneously allowed us to gain insight into whether or not opportunity providers would use a mobile platform such as Career Planet s to share or promote their opportunities to the relevant target audience. Additionally, it was an opportunity to ask what features and functionality they would like added to the proposed platform in its early stage of development so as best to adapt it to the needs of the opportunity seeker as well as the provider. While the majority of interviews were conducted in English (61.7%), just over 30% were carried out in Zulu and a further 5.9% were carried out in Zulu and English. Going forward, this reveals an important service to offer in the establishment of a diverse database of Opportunity Providers. o Formative research part 1: Khayelitsha & Philippi We were able to successfully complete 60 surveys: 32 with opportunity providers in Khayelitsha, 18 with opportunity providers in Philippi, and 10 with providers based in Cape Town or Metro region, but who cater to youth in Khayelitsha and Philippi and/or are within an hour commute of these areas if they do not provide opportunity within these areas themselves. Based in Cape Town, it was tempting for our interviewers to conduct face-to-face interviews with the opportunity providers identified especially given the preference for this form of exchange on the part of many OPs themselves. However, because this process had to be able to be replicated on a national scale, our preferred option was electronic (via ) as it is the most cost-effective, followed by telephonic and face-to-face only as a last resort. Telephonic interviews were based on a pre-determined set of questions that allowed us to collate both quantitative and qualitative data. o Formative research part 2: Knysna (and surrounds), Western Cape To expand our formative research with opportunity providers (OPs) within the Western Cape to get a more representative view of how OPs currently engage with youth on the ground and if and how they would use a mobile platform such as Career Planet s to connect young people to their opportunities we conducted surveys with a diverse range of opportunity providers in Knysna, Western Cape.

9 The Greater Knysna Municipal Area, which forms part of the Eden District Municipality, is made up racially diverse communities and has a rapidly growing but predominantly poor population. A total of 44 opportunity providers were located in and around Knysna primarily through desktop research. Our final sample for Knysna comprised 39 diverse Ops. The data collected was extremely valuable for refining our development and here, we saw the need to connect young people to opportunities that speak to the realities of their lives. In the absence of magic bullets to fix those realities, e.g. part-time jobs or other income-generating projects to help youth who are supporting families bring in an income without having to drop out of school; access to and information about schools for teen mothers or youth who have failed repeatedly; and/or connection to providers that offer extra lessons for those failing exams i.e. to offer a range of opportunities that extend far beyond bursaries to university. o Formative research part 3: Ugu, KwaZulu-Natal In the final part of our formative research to connect with Opportunity Providers (OPs) in the development phase of Career Planet s mobile platform, we contacted OPs in and around Ugu in KZN to get a better feel for the types of opportunities available here and how these opportunities are currently being communicated to young people in a more rural location. Furthermore, as Career Planet aims to serve young people nationwide, it was important to investigate opportunity sourcing in a province beyond the Western Cape, where the organisation is based. Our final sample was made up of 34 opportunity providers. According to the 2001 Census carried out by Statistics South Africa, the Ugu District Municipality (DM) has a predominantly rural population (84%), making it a useful comparison to the largely peri-urban sample areas investigated in Part 1 (Khayelitsha and Philippi) and Part 2 (Knysna) of the research. LOCATING OPPORTUNITY PROVIDERS (OP S) Given that Career Planet aims to connect users with employment, education, skills training, and (personal) development resources and opportunities on their handsets, we looked for opportunity providers (hereafter referred to as OP/OPs) who already provide such opportunities within the areas in which young opportunity-seekers live, and that would potentially be interested in promoting these opportunities on our mobile platform. USER TESTING Objectives: To test whether the mobi site and USSD sites were functional and intuitive for users in all target markets Identify any errors or omissions, and ensure that these are fixed by the developers of the sites. Suggest new features or functionality Designers and engineers are often too close to the project, so they already know how to accomplish the tasks and miss ambiguities and false paths. Our user testing of the Career Planet web and USSD sites was facilitated by Shift ONE digital who were contracted to test usability in January and February Two test groups representing our target market were used. Testing was conducted in the following areas: 1. Philippi 2. Paarl 3. Hout Bay The participants were selected based on whether they represented one of the targeted user groups. They were asked to use their own phones, and they were reimbursed for their time.

10 The user testing project resulted in some interesting observations and valuable insight into how our new technology was being accessed by users. The data collected was presented to the developers who then made the necessary fixes. Mobi Website testing The Mobi website, at the time of testing, had all of the site functionality fully operational. Opportunity Seekers could sign up, upload their personal details and experience, and search and apply for opportunities. Opportunity Providers were also able to upload their personal information, upload opportunities and search for candidates. USSD testing The USSD site, at the time of testing, allowed Opportunity Seekers to sign up, select industry and region, search and apply for opportunities. The site does not allow for any opportunities to be added via this medium, as the sessions are limited to 3 minutes per session. Opportunities need to be added via the web or mobi sites. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & AUDITS 2011 saw Career Planets financial model change quite significantly due the DGMT partnership. Grove & Associates were appointed as Career Planet s accountants and are responsible for tax returns, salaries, PAYE, monthly management reports and all SARS related requirements. Monthly meetings ensure that we are legally compliant and all all areas of financial reporting are up-to-date and available monthly to the Career Planet board. Appointed auditors: NHS Consultants Income for financial year: 4 802, Expenditure: 1 181, Net income after taxation: 3 621, 188, 86 Accumulated income at beginning of the year: 186, Accumulated income/ (loss) at end of year: 3 434, GOVERNANCE Board activities: Our board numbers decreased due to members not having time to attend meetings. This caused delays in decision making and members were given the option to resign. It is our intention to recruit one additional board member who can actively add value to our organisational growth and funding. Current board members: Moira de Roche (chair) Bastiaan Koster Wesley Diphoko Karin Chisholm

11 IN CONCLUSION The transition from mobile kiosks to mobile technology in 2011 has been an exciting and inspiring journey. Career Planet has begun to move from being a purely informational website supported by face-to-face workshops into the space of cutting-edge mobile technology. Our new theme Connection to Opportunity encompasses our values as a company and takes our services to a new level that is in the reach of all work seekers who have access to mobile technology or the internet. The past year has been a journey of innovation and testing which has provided us with a strong development platform and knowledge of our user base. We plan to use this valuable data to keep developing cutting edge technology and content for our users. I d like to say a special thank you to our team and external consultants who really went the extra mile to ensure the accuracy and relevance of our research, and who will take us into the next phase of our development the development of our mobile application and new interactive website. While the Career Planet mobile platform and website will be offered free of charge to users, a business model will be implemented from It is our intention to work towards self-sustainability within 3-4 years. We will do this by establishing partnerships with large-scale employers to use Career Planet as their platform of choice to promote opportunities including permanent and casual jobs, bursaries, learnerships, internships, job shadowing, volunteering and training. Finally, on behalf of our staff and board, I d like to thank the DG Murray Trust for its support and confidence in Career Planet. We are also extremely grateful to the companies and organisations who assisted us with the initial research and who continue to support us in many other ways. Karin Chisholm Executive Director, Career Planet