Pivot

Engagement is key to undoing disadvantage, a global problem best tackled by young people, for young people. Disrupting two traditional service platforms, education and HR, we PIVOT disengaged communities into networks of sustainable possibility. We deliver skills-on-rotation to disadvantaged youths and return-on-invest to local business.

We believe engagement is key to undoing disadvantage. And anyone can be re-engaged.

Our solution is to disrupt two hostile service industries and pivot these to greater and sustainable potential for disadvantaged youths and partnering businesses.

1. We bring employment to young people for whom the work floor is a better bet than traditional education. These young talents receive a two-year training in three different skills. We monitor their progress, gather testimonials, and help build their track record. Young people fully employed will regain that sense of self-worth that pivots them to an bright, self-made future.
2. We bring return-on-investment to employers who reach out by opening their work floor. For at least two quarters, they benefit from casual labor. We simplify their HR services, monitor the dollar value of their young employees, and create a sustainable talent pool. Businesses tap into a pool of newly motivated young people and pivot this in a trusting relationship.

Our platform sidesteps failing education for young people and opportunity costs in HR for businesses.So we access skills where it matters.

Skills of the future are both in demand and in supply. Our platform matches the demand in skills with the supply in facilities, to the economic gain of both disadvantaged youths and businesses in need. Our platform measures the engagement of both these groups, from dollar value to life satisfaction, and coachesaccordingly.

We believe that disadvantage of young talent is a global problem that we can tackle locally. We begin in established and emerging economies -- Sydney's western suburbs -- where the disparity between high-level education and disadvantaged youths is strongest, and where there is a concentration of skilled labor supply. Our model is scaled from suburb to city, and from city to city, all across the world.

We summarize the problem for young people as one of a need for a diversity of skills, which traditional education institutions are failing to provide, and an increasingly hard time entering the job market.

1. Traditional education institutions are difficult to access (and re-access) for disadvantaged youths.
2. Skills are not what traditional education institutions offer them.
3. An increasingly unstable skills and job market wants not one but several skills in the long run.
4. Government support is not engaging -- or worse, encourages drop offs (e.g., in Australia the school age is now just 16).
5. Young talent needs a basic salary to thrive.

We believe the problem of disadvantaged youth is systemic and that the system is too big to change overnight -- but that change follows from positive engagement. We also believe we can encourage engagement.

Our solution is hands-on and immediate. We offer training in the form of employment to young people. And we offer a return-on-investment to businesses. We see both as being in 'need' of one another, and we believe positive change follows from equalizing this demand and supply. So we try to understand what motivates sustainable outcome for both parties.

We offer economic value, to pivot even greater and sustainable potential to follow.

1) Disadvantages youth enrol in a program that provides them employment for two year, on a semi-annual rotation basis, while they train in at least three different skills. Outcomes include:

• economic independence
• skills portfolio
• regular coaching
• engagement monitoring

2) Businesses in need of labor supply are relieved of their acquisition and some of their HR services, in exchange of a durable talent pool. Outcomes include:

• retun-on-investment
• economic tracking
• administrative relief
• sustainable talent

10,000s of high-quality participants, 1,000s of business partnerships - Selection of cohorts and partners

Fitness index (BMI),

Mental well-being,

Direct manager's feedback - Engagement level

Cost to employ an employees,

Employee's output - Recruiting, training and coaching cost saving for businesses

1. We serve two interested parties, disadvantaged youths and local businesses, who remain otherwise inaccessable to one another.
2. We disrupt traditional education institutions, in ethical waysm with great promise for disadvantaged youths.
3. We disrupt traditional HR services, in ethical ways, with greater ease for business.
4. We deliver training on rotation, not just of one but many different skills, in the form of full-time employment.
5. We monitor youths' level of engagement, not just productivity at work but also lifestyle and healthcare.

We go straight to the human value of engagement, and encourage this with outcomes from the start. We are here to give people a chance.

Our solution is concrete, and therefore realistic: employment and a dollar value, both for disadvantaged youths and for local businesses.

Our solution is the beginning of so much more: lifting youth out of the cycle of economic disadvantages, we pivot an untapped talent pool into an engaged workforce, avoiding a host of negative social influences and encouraging networks of sustainable possibilities.

We partner with NGOs who have contacts with disadvantaged youths. Among others, Pathfinder Australia has expressed keen interest in our solution and wants to move forward. We are looking for similar partners to gain visibility with the disadvantaged youth community. And we are also looking for long term business partners who are happy to open doors to their work floor.

We are two young professionals working on this project out of passion and pro bono. We are both highly educated and MBA candidates.

This is our project, no matter what. From here we pitch our idea to future partners. We have a very realistic and viable solution, which will convince many once MIT gets behind it too.

We anticipate that the prize will support the conceptualisation, design and development process of our platform. 

As two efficient professionals, we believe our joint effort equate to an full-time-equivalent working on the project. 

We rely on Pathfinders at this stage to fund our coaching program and the potential employers to fund the wages for our candidate.

1. Financial investment in the early phase is considerable, but should pay itself of once the project is running. The project runs on cash flows of the partnering businesses.
2. The recruitment of coaches can mainly be done in consultation with the partnering NGOs. But we need a steady and committed team.
3. Young talent may want to quit and / or stay in the business they are working for before the program ends. That is only a partially successful outcome for us.
4. Businesses may set stringent conditions on risky behaviour of disadvantaged youth -- our mentors are there to help.

http://www.pathfinders.ngo/

We love the fact that Solve is human-centered. Too many services are simply that in name. That is why we want to disrupt two 'human' services, education and HR, for a brighter and more ethical future for each of their interests groups, young people and local businesses.

We need the IT support to make this work -- but the goal is one for humans.

Pathfinders Australia (NGO)

The University of Sydney, Business School

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