Leveraging Mobile to Connect Youth with Jobs and Training. Lessons Learned from Partnership-Building in East Africa

Transcription

1 Leveraging Mobile to Connect Youth with Jobs and Training Lessons Learned from Partnership-Building in East Africa May 2015

2 About Us Key Details Founded in 2006 Service delivery in 20+ countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Key sectors: economic growth, governance, education, youth, emergency response Team: Former NGO/implementer staff, mobile network staff, large-brand software developers Key Expertise Design/delivery of customized mobile solutions for USAID/UN implementers. Creation of cross-platform services -- accessible via mobile audio, text, and/or web. Direct connectivity to mobile network gateways; direct network partnerships. Partnership-building between mobile networks, USAID/UN implementers, and funders. Leading the ICT4D sector: 10 years experience in service delivery, to 500,000+ community members.

3 Core Products and Services Content Libraries: On-demand audio and text learning resources JobMatch: Mobile job-find/employability training platform PeerNet: Small-group mentoring, advising, and knowledge sharing platform Polling & Data Collection: Interactive surveys, quizzes, and feedback hotlines Mobile Strategy Advising: Solution design, campaign management, and training

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9 Main Menu: Module Selection Manage MyJob Settings STEP 1: After downloading the app, youth access MyJob modules from a main menu. Options range from a location-based job & training finder to job readiness quizzes. Locate Jobs/Training Near Me Take a Job Readiness Quiz Get Advice From Peers & Mentors STEP 2: Youth select a module by touching the relevant icon bar, and then access the related content.

10 Location-Based Job & Training Search STEP 1: Youth authorizes app to use his/her location data. App then lists all job/training postings within a 5 km radius of the young job seeker s current location. Hotel des Mille Collines Available: Jobs (2) Training Courses (0) Job 5724: Entry level waiters & waitresses. Evening work F Su. Prior hospitality training needed. CV to info@millecollines.net or fax to Job 5701: Housekeeping staff. Full time work. Prior hospitality training needed. CV to info@millecollines.net or fax to STEP 2: By selecting a specific posting, youth get details about the opportunity.

11 Job Readiness Quizzes Part 1 STEP 1: Youth choose a job sector quiz topic from the main menu. Consumers receive mobile invitations to join a contest. Consumers answer contest questions; winners claim their prizes/in-store discounts by phone or at a point of sale. Hospitality Retail STEP 2: Youth answer quiz questions and earn points. Timer dots count down the time allocated for each question, and a score icon shows points earned per question (and total points).

12 Job Readiness Quizzes Part 2 Consumers receive mobile invitations to join a contest. Consumers answer contest questions; winners claim their prizes/in-store discounts by phone or at a point of sale. STEP 3: At any time, youth can check their quiz scores in each job sector category, and view the ratio of correct vs. incorrect responses. Youth can also compare their own quiz performance with peers scores and top scores. Quiz content is updated regularly, ensuring that youth are actively engaged on an ongoing basis.

13 Peer/Mentor Advice Forums STEP 1: Youth choose the Get Advice option from the main menu, and access the advice forums. Advice Forum New Graduates IT Sector Jobs Mentor-Led! Female Job-Seekers in Kigali General suggestions for peer chat groups appear on the Advice main menu; group names indicate whether groups are peer- or mentorled. If youth create user profiles, the app recommends specific groups based on profile criteria. New Graduates Where Can I Look For Jobs? Started by: M. Masozera Last post 10/12/13 KIST Grads Job Tips Started by: E. Rutagonya Last post 12/12/13 STEP 2: Youth select a specific chat group and view all discussion threads in that group.

14 Peer/Mentor Advice Forums New Graduates KIST Grads Job Tips E. Rutagonya says Can anyone tell me when the next MOYS training course will be? And do you need ur finished CV in order to attend? 07/06/2013 P. Kilu says Next course is on 7 Jul and you should have a CV ready. Course is great, its really worthwhile & they link u with internships after that. STEP 3: Youth can add their own advice comments, or ask questions, by selecting a thread and entering the discussion. Messages are sorted by date, with the first message in a thread appearing at the top. Expert mentors are identified by badge icons indicating that they re app-approved advice contributors. 07/06/2013

15 Rwanda: Akazi Kanoze Job Info Platform Key Players: MTN Rwanda, USAID, Rwandan Ministry of Youth, EDC Inc. Service Components: Job search: Youth search nation-wide job listings using SMS keywords to filter results (search by location, search by sector, etc). Training alerts: Youth receive personalized alerts about local skills training courses Tips and advice: Youth receive personalized advice about job applications, interviews, small business start-up. Commercial Model: Blended VAS & CSR offering VAS: Premium MO per-message charges for job search; free for initial period CSR: Free MT training alerts, tips & advice (cost coverage by corporate/donor sponsors) Revenue sharing per MTN standard split Service promotion through schools, universities, training institutions Key Performance Indicators: 12,000+ new subscribers during initial rollout period. 30%+ match rate for active subscribers. 15

16 Building Partnerships: Challenges Tension between new solutions and traditional approaches Pervasive institutional bureaucracy Sensitivity re. data collection, gender and tech use Sustainability planning: - Funding - Staffing/knowledge transfer - Relationship management 16

17 Building Partnerships: Opportunities Sector still taking shape: open to new ideas Rapidly-improving network infrastructure Strong IT private sector, willing to engage on the ground Growing youth populations = increasing rate of mobile penetration & use 17

18 Building Partnerships: Best Practices Involve end users in all phases of development Demonstrate clear value to all partners Pilot early, pilot often The simpler, the better Build strong partnerships: key to short-term success & long-term sustainability 18

19 Souktel Mobile Solutions Yazeed Sheqem Director of Business Development Africa / Middle East yazeed@souktel.com