This project originated as part of the BuildforSDG2020 Challenge with Andela and Facebook, which aims to give development experience to software developers in Africa.
Teams could select a problem statement to build a solution for from a list of approved problem statements listed under the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our project is called "Fumana Work" and aims to increase access to jobs for the poorest of the poor.
"Fumana" is a sesotho work meaning "find".
Our team selected the SDG 1, Problem Statement 1.
Goal 1 aims to end all forms of poverty, including extreme poverty (those living under $1.25 per day) and relative poverty (defined at a national level). Eradicating poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice and the key to unlocking an enormous human potential. Still, nearly half of the world’s population lives in poverty, and lack of food and clean water is killing thousands every single day of the year.
Build a tech solution that can be implemented to help reduce poverty in your community. (First of think about the major causes of poverty in your community)
If we can help implement policies to ensure resources are organized and create programmes that will end poverty in all its dimensions, we can help in bringing Poverty across developing and under-developing countries to a halt.
One of the biggest problems in our community is unemployment. Some churches and small ngo's have projects where they have one day a week where job seekers and potential employers come to a specific premises (hereafter referred to as a labourbureau). Job seekers must fill out a registration form and basic CV, and their picture is taken. Employers can come to the premises at a specified time to interview the job seekers. Employers pay a fee of R250 which gives them access to interview job seekers for a period of three months. The initial target market is individual household employers looking for domestic help as well as cleaning and garden service companies who would employ people with similar skills.
Our project aims to create a system which can be used by labour bureaus to manage the job seekers and employers on their system, and to create a platform where job seekers and potential employers can find each other at times that the labour bureau is not open. It would also allow a greater number of potential employers to have access to the network - at the moment the number of jobseekers far exceed the potential employers.
A platform would be created where labour bureaus can load the information of job seekers and potential employers. Registered employers will obtain access to the system to be able to load and administer available jobs. Job seekers will be able to register and send in job applications on an online basis. The labour bureau will also be able to add job seekers, potential employers and jobs manually.
The system will also contain an attendance module which can be used by the labour bureau to record which job seekers and employers attend the weekly open days and how many jobs are filled.
Job seeker skills can be uploaded onto the system , and thus an online CV will be created.
Labour bureaus can do reference checks on potential employers and job seekers.
In time we would also like the system to have additional functionality, for instance giving employers the capability to also keep track of employee attendance, payroll and UIF registration and submissions and also to send mobile money to job seekers so that they can afford to attend the interview.
Additional future functionality could also include an approximate distance calculator as well as a travel cost estimator, so that employers can be aware of the distances that the job seekers have to travel, and take this in consideration when calculating remuneration package. Information could also be used so that job seekers who live close together can pool resources to arrange transport to the weekly sessions, and thus save costs.
By improving chances of job seekers to find work , unemployment and poverty can be reduced.
The initial market will be small labour bureaus servicing private households and potential domestic workers.
The main customer base would be the labour bureaus.
Potential employers and job seekers would have to register a user profile under a specific labour bureau, and will only be able to do so by invitation - but this process can also be automated.
It will not be compulsory for employers and job seekers to register on the portal - the labour bureau should be able to also use the system to keep track of their current clients.
Labour bureau will load potential employers and job seekers on the platform, and record attendance.
An online CV will be created for job seekers.
Potential employers can advertise and manage jobs on the system.
Available jobs will be advertised so that job seekers can apply for specific jobs.
The employers can review the applicants online, and an SMS, whatsapp or e-mail can be sent from the system to the potential job seekers to attend the interview at the labour bureau premises in the arranged time, and thus the safety of both the employers and the job seekers will be protected, and the risk of human trafficking can be reduced. Personal details will only be shared once the employment relationship commences.
Employers must close filled jobs by indicating which job seeker were the successful applicant. This process can also be managed manually by the labour bureau if the job seekers and potential employers are not system users.
Yes, the system will help bring potential employers and job seekers together and thus reduce unemployment.
To be completed
To be completed
| Picture | Team Role | Name | Country | City | Github |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Andela Team Assistant | Jida | Country | City | Github |
 |
Team Mentor | Miami Larry | Kenya | Nairobi | miami78 |
 |
Team Member | Dibwe Kalangu | South Africa | Johannesburg | leanny01 |
 |
Team Member | Betsie Drost | South Africa | Pretoria | BetsieDrost |
We also wish to thank our team members who could for various reasons not participate in the final project:
Thank you very much to Sandile Magagula for the initial project setup!
Samukelo Jiyane, Kamohelo Mohlabula , Phumlani Llanga, Bruce Kotsi, Khumo Letlape. It was great meeting all of you and we appreciate the time you committed to the project!
Maybe we can still build the 2grow2 project together one day!
If this project sounds interesting to you and you'd like to contribute, thank you! First, you can send a mail to [email protected] to indicate your interest, why you'd like to support and what forms of support you can bring to the table, but here are areas we think we'd need the most help in this project :
- area one (e.g this app is about human trafficking and you need feedback on your roadmap and feature list from the private sector / NGOs)
- area two (e.g you want people to opt-in and try using your staging app at staging.project-name.com and report any bugs via a form)
- area three (e.g here is the zoom link to our end-of sprint webinar, join and provide feedback as a stakeholder if you can)
Thank you to Andela and Facebook for giving us the opportunity to work on this project.
Miami Larry , our team mentor - thank you for all your patience and advice!
Did you use someone else’s code?
Do you want to thank someone explicitly? Did someone’s blog post spark off a wonderful idea or give you a solution to nagging problem? The labour bureau at Lynnwoodrif Dutch Reformed Church in Pretoria Gauteng sparked the idea for the project.
One of our team members also apply for tutoring jobs through a tutoring agency that uses TutorCruncher, so this may have impacted the idea for a potential solution.
MIT