ibuzA
Recruiting Apprentices Made Easy
“Companies Complain About a Shortage of Apprentices,” “The Resume Is Obsolete—Now Gen Z Is Dictating Terms to the Job Market,” “Too Few Up-and-Coming Skilled Workers”—these are just a few examples of recent headlines concerning the state of the job market.
With the ibuzA project’s solution, you’ll be able to easily find the right apprentices for your business in the future.
The idea.
The goal of this innovation project is to transform the apprenticeship market and create a platform where high school and college students can register—even if they aren’t yet focused on pursuing an apprenticeship. In the future, matching companies with trainees is intended to be simple and engaging, so that suitable pairings—which bring added value to both sides—can be identified. The opportunity to get a taste of a potential future employer (e.g., through an internship) is also a key component of the platform. Furthermore, the plan is for the platform to showcase regular creative workshops (Design Thinking, Lean Innovation, etc.) that take place between companies, students, and various educational institutions.
In the ibuzA innovation project, the project team is developing a prototype concept for a platform, including the technical infrastructure with core functionalities, that enables matching between future trainees and companies. The key differentiating feature is that the platform focuses on people and their soft skills, allowing them to navigate the platform in a playful and user-friendly way while providing insights into their interests and hobbies. Companies also have the opportunity to present themselves as attractive employers with key value-added benefits (company bike, soccer team, health management, etc.). Resumes take a back seat in this process. A key aspect of the development process is that the concept and the platform are designed primarily by high school students, apprentices, and college students under the guidance of IT, business, and marketing experts.
Challenge.
For companies offering apprenticeships across all industries, it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach young people, engage them, and inspire them to pursue an apprenticeship at their company. The appeal of vocational training has declined significantly in recent years—vocational training is particularly less attractive to high school students with advanced academic qualifications (Abitur). Yet this is precisely what is crucial for the future of our society and regional businesses: the next generation of skilled workers must be identified, recruited, and trained early on so that Saarland can remain a competitive economic and technological hub in the digital future.
Project partners.
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