By Espie Angelica A. de Leon
Blue collar workers and employers now have an app that caters exclusively to their job hunting and manpower needs, thanks to tech company FindWork which officially launched the app in the Philippines on August 30 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
The FindWork job search app has an easy to use interface where signing up and creating a profile are easy. Job seekers including skilled workers and those from the service sector may also register via Facebook.
It has geolocation features and algorithm to regularly recommend jobs relative to the jobseeker?s location and work history. Auto-created notifications also update the jobseeker on his application status.
In addition, FindWork has a chat tool for real-time messaging between employer and job hunter. ?This feature helps to ensure that jobseekers are no longer spammed,? said FindWork?s chief executive officer Kevin William. ?We want to kill spamming here in the Philippines.?
Registering is easy for the headhunters as well via en.findwork.io. Among the companies which have come onboard at FindWork are Vivo, SM, Starbucks, Office Warehouse, and Hotel Sogo.
In line with its Philippine launch, FindWork partnered with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), telco firm Smart Communications, and fintech company TrueMoney to allow greater inclusivity among the country?s blue collar segment including skilled and service sector workers.
Under the partnership, TESDA?s 2.1 million graduates and 2 million soon-to-graduate students will automatically become part of FindWork?s system to facilitate their job search activities.
With the involvement of Smart, the job hunter can use the app free of data charges. ?They?re not required to have data load on their phone at all,? said Williams, adding that this allows inclusivity by seamlessly connecting jobseekers with employers.
TrueMoney, which provides innovative yet affordable access to financial services, further extends this inclusivity.
?The job hunting process actually starts the income earning cycle,? said TrueMoney?s managing director Xavier Marzan. ?But in order to better the lives of Filipinos, we are actually going to offer tools for these Filipinos to better manage their finances once they start earning in the future.?
Among these tools are solutions for saving money, sending remittances to the provinces, and others. ?It?s not just about the technology,? said Williams. ?It?s about the people that we are reaching out to.?
Williams revealed that the blue collar market in the Philippines comprises 56% of the country?s entire workforce and this figure will continue to grow as the national economy advances. ?The Philippine market is now on the upswing,? he observed, citing the boom in franchising and construction activities owing to the country?s tourism industry.
According to Williams and co-founder Allen Tan Chee Hoe, they developed the app specifically for blue collar workers in the Philippines, whom they call ?trabahunters,? because it is a huge yet underserved market. The two also admire the talent of Filipinos.
The job search app is downloadable on Google Play in Android devices and will soon be available in iOS.
