Tackling unemployment: OpenLabs students develop App to aid job search 

Accra, Sept. 12, GNA – Some students at the OpenLabs Ghana, an Information Technology (IT) institution, have developed application software (App) to connect employers with job seekers. 

The OpenLabs Jobapp, which is free, offers users an opportunity to upload or create a Curriculum Vitae (CV) on the digital platform as well as directly apply for available jobs listed on the App. 

The platform is also embedded with general career building materials such as CV writing skills, and other soft skills such as communication, research, and planning. 

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Ms Pearl Nyadubea Addo, Head of Placement and Internships, OpenLabs Ghana, said the App was suggested by the students to assist in automating the internship and placement process and improve its efficiency. 

She said the App was currently being piloted at the OpenLabs and would be scaled up and made available to the public after a successful implementation. 

Ms Addo said the platform would contribute to reducing the country’s unemployment crisis and would make it easier for students and graduates to search for jobs. 

“For quite a long time, the Placement and Internships Department had been utilizing manual methods to find jobs and internships for students, including gathering CVs, sending them to companies, periodically conducting CV writing workshops for students, etc. 

“The App will improve decentralisation of the internship process which will make it easier to link interns and companies in different centres,” she said. 

Mr Augustine Effah Danso, Head of Training, OpenLabs Ghana, emphasised the need for the country to embrace digital solutions to address challenges confronting the citizenry. 

He said OpenLabs as part of its impact agenda, would continue to equip its students with the needed skills to identify and solve problems while creating jobs for the population. 

“We need to start small where institutions would actually start by having a system…When you have a placement system available, it is easier for you to allocate your students to the industry when it is required,” Mr Danso said. 

Meanwhile, the Management of OpenLabs Ghana has also announced the opening of its annual scholarship programme, with key focus on persons living with disability and women. 

The programme, which forms part of the institution’s cooperate social responsibility, will open on September 15, 2022 till the end of the year. 

GNA