HUNDREDS of thousands of paper CVs of unemployed people lie dumped in boxes in organisations around the country. Despite a youth unemployment rate over 38%, there is little hope of these CVs ever being seen or used by employers.
That’s according to youth-focussed recruitment company, Lulaway, which is working to change that by digitising CVs and uploading them to widely available and easily searchable cloud platforms.
Company chairman, Andile Mkhosana said the majority of South Africa’s job seekers still rely on paper CVs as the primary method for seeking employment, despite many technological advances in the online jobs field. Unfortunately, most of these paper CVs will go unread, due to a lack of practical ways to store and access job seeker databases.
Even those that are read face an additional hurdle most will fail to clear. “When dealing with high volumes of applications with similarly qualified candidates, the ability to communicate en-masse with the right candidates is critical to solving youth unemployment.” Paper-based systems battle to handle this, Mkhosana said.
Lulaway, by contrast, is able to quickly process high volumes of CVs into a cloud-based database which it says makes it easy for employers to find the staff they need.
It has already digitised CV databases for the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) which have placed thousands of young people in positions.
“With over 590 000 job seeker profiles currently on the Lulaway database, employers across South Africa can now source entry-level staff with greater efficiency by instantly accessing job seekers with a diverse range of skills, experience and qualifications.”
Lulaway’s latest project involved digitising of over 50 000 CVs in just two months for the Limpopo provincial government which is preparing for a $10 billion (over R140 billion) investment from China into the Musina-Makhado special economic zone.
In preparation for the thousands of employees required to work in the zone, the province called on residents to submit their CVs. But provincial leaders realised that to give real chances to residents, especially those in the Vhembe district, they could not rely on collecting thousands of paper CVs. The province reached out to Lulaway to implement an advanced system to create a digitised cloud-based database of job seekers in the region.
The company will immediately start drawing on these profiles to place candidates while building a diverse talent pool for the special economic zone.
Mkhosana said this project demonstrated what is possible by using technology to promote employment. “We have employers nationwide who struggle to source candidates, particularly outside the major metros. This database will stimulate growth and expansion in the region. We can now offer placement services to our current employers, as well as source new employers. Youth will benefit as well as the private sector.
“Technology has a critical role to play in solving social issues. Lulaway’s goal is to create social impact harnessing the best of technology to solve one of the biggest problems facing our country, unemployment. It’s promising to see Limpopo and other organisations embracing technological solutions as they understand the benefits it will have.” – GeekWire.co.za
