Preventing youth unemployment – one gig at a time A Finnish mobile application for offering and finding short-term, on-demand gigs is set to launch across Europe. Digital Economy Society © MikeDotta, Shutterstock In addition to the personal challenges and despair caused by unemployment, there is also a significant financial cost. For instance, it is estimated that young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) cost the EU over EUR 162 billion annually in terms of paid benefits and foregone earnings and taxes. According to a Finnish study, one socially excluded young person can cost society up to EUR 1.2 million. More often than not, the root of the problem is a lack of work experience – if an individual doesn’t have experience, they can’t get a job. But without a job, they can’t gain experience. It’s a vicious circle, and the only way out is to blaze a new path towards a working life. For many, that path is the so-called gig economy. “Once considered alternative work options, contract, freelance and gig employment has now gone mainstream,” says Eija Kiviranta, co-founder and Chief Enabling Officer at Work Pilots Oy. “As such, managing it strategically will become essential to business success and growth in the years ahead.” To help manage this transition, Work Pilots Oy developed a mobile on-demand job matching platform called WorkPilots. Launched in Finland in February 2016, the platform is being used in over 60 cities and has over 35 000 users in Finland and Sweden. Now, with the help of the EU-funded WorkPilots expansion project, the company is set to make its innovative platform available to job seekers across Europe. Low-threshold paths to work WorkPilots is a unique, mobile-first service that simplifies the process of offering and finding on-demand and short-term work. The multichannel app, which is available for iOS and Android phones, combines a range of matching criteria, public/private teams, and various contract and pricing models into an extremely easy-to-use experience. It features a mutual feedback function that increases trust and transparency between users. Covering the entire job process, the app also takes care of all necessary contracts and taxes. “WorkPilots has successfully helped integrate young Finnish job seekers and other disenfranchised people into society by opening up low-threshold paths to work,” says Kiviranta. “Our dream is to scale the platform’s impact by expanding the service to other EU countries.” Timing is right for EU expansion With the support of EU funding, Kiviranta and her team conducted an in-depth study on the feasibility of expanding the WorkPilots solution to other EU markets. Originally, the team planned to roll out their existing services one country at a time. However, when research revealed that this approach would be extremely expensive, Work Pilots Oy quickly switched gears. After much research and brainstorming, the company decided to adopt a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) with branded platforms approach to expansion. This allows organisational customers to have the platform tailored to their brand and needs. “We are entering the market at a time when organisations are realising they don’t have the tools needed to access and manage this diverse alternative workforce during this working life transformation,” adds Kiviranta. “With our new business approach, the WorkPilots platform is well positioned to meet this organisational need.” The company is now applying for funding to further develop the platform and implement the necessary go-to-market steps. Keywords WorkPilots expansion, Work Pilots Oy, youth unemployment, gig economy, freelance, short-term work
