One Webwork

As per the office of the United Nation refugee Agency in 2019, 70.8 million of forcibly displaced, among them 25.9 million are refugees without basic rights to education, health care, employment and freedom of movement. One Webwork is seeking to solve unemployment among refugees by empowering  them through capacity building training of transferable skills  and connect qualified ones to potential employers. It will have a database containing necessary information such as contacts, education background, degrees and certificates achieved as well as skill sets of qualified refugees living in refugees camps and urban areas across the globe. This information will be referred to before connecting job seekers to employers. One Webwork will provide needed skills at job market and connect qualified refugees to employers. As result, this will enable refugees get jobs and sustain their lives towards self-reliance.

According to the International Labor Organisation (ILO), there are preexisting conditions including political and economic challenges in hosting countries which prevent refugees from accessing jobs. This result in frequent unfair competition, unprotected or informal jobs for refugees. According to UN Refugee Agency recognise the highest number of refugees ever, and  86% of refugees are hosted in developing countries, but no statistics, rare formal policies and regulations that protect refugees rights employment there. There around 1 billion of migrants in the world, among them 258 million are international migrants, and 25.9 million are refugees with restrictions and limit opportunities for employment. In Rwanda, One Webwork, will start serving around 172,000 refugees in camps and urban areas. Over 50% of the refugees in Rwanda are from DR Congo who have been in camps since 20 years ago. Like other refugees in the world, structural economy and pre-existing conditions lead to the lack of trust in refugee by employers. In addition, Inefficiency professional competencies deprive refugees to have access to employment. One Webwork platform will serve a training board and integrated network that connect refugees to employers or companies. 

Our solution is called One Webwork. Refugees are unemployed, but there companies which have willingness of hire refugees with guarantee of need skills and career guidance programs for refugees. This is online platform that will empower refugees through training on transferable professional skills. Our solution will have two components:

1. Design and create an online learning site of transferable professional skills  such as communication, computer literacy and professional competencies using Moodle learning management system (LMS).
2. Connecting qualified refugees with potential employers. One Webwork will partner with local and international organisations interested in employing qualified refugees. As such,One Webwork will have a database with necessary information of qualified refugees including personal contacts, their educational backgrounds, working experience and acquired skills.

The One Webwork suppose to have a component of automatic  recommendations of jobs using machine learning. The system will have automation based on qualifications of refugees and the need of companies registered with us to hire refugees. on the other hand, the project will facilitate with connecting refugees without wait for the automation and contact employers for specific details on their hiring process and in particular, the kind of recruit they want to hire.

One Webwork seek to work with thousands of refugees in Rwanda and it will expand to reach 25.9 million of refugees all of the world. More specifically, the project will work with refugee population in the working age 15 to 64 by providing necessary skills and connecting with different organisations. As per UNHCR, many countries refugees may have access to primary and secondary education, but there are prominent barriers which deprive refugees to have access to labor market in their hosting countries. In Rwanda, One Webwork will operates with different refugees in their camps. Above 50% of 172 thousands of refugees in Rwanda fled two decades and they have been assisted by UNHCR with food. However, funds from donors has reduce significantly according to the UN Refugee Agent report in 2017. The UN Refugee Agency and Government of Rwanda to encourage innovative to facilitate refugees to be self-reliant. One way to engage refugees is to training them with professional competencies and communication so that they can feel confident to work in the country. Training refugees via technology with essential skills and connect with employees will help them to earn money and sustain their families by themselves.

According to Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Refugees are among the key vulnerable population among them we are likely to find more categories prone several vulnerabilities such people with HIV. As per the challenge, "how low-skilled, informal, and migrant workers are more at risk of being displaced through this looming recession and the technological transformations of work". Unemployment among refugees can be solved by increase their ways to access to jobs by either training on transferable skills such as technology of century and create networks that works as league of refugee and companies that can hire refugees.

They are many initiations that have been inaugurated to help refugees camps or non-camps settings. Among the organisations that are currently working to increase refugees livelihood are namely, the UN Refugee Agency and its partners. NGOs are currently in Rwanda to assist refugees by providing food, water, and basic house materials as well as the rehabilitation of refugees tents. The government of Rwanda comes in to ensure security and partner with UNCHR in the integration where is possible. Training refugees on transferable skills and build job network to solve unemployment among refugees in camp setting is new and innovative solution for inclusive growth and sustainable development. Currently, there is no formal policies that provides assistance for refugees to secure jobs. The UN Refugees Agency mandate is more specific to support refugees with basic needs. One Webwork will be different compare to other ways of assisting refugees in social, economic integration. All states which host refugees has to believe that there is a positive contribution of the migrants and refugees to the economy of their country if they are given opportunities and guaranteed rights that their deserve as humans. This solution will use an online platform to solve the problem of unemployment by providing essential skills to the refugees in accordance of the need of the employers and technology pressure that is shaping the world's economy. The platform will serve as a league of refugees professionals and job opportunities around the world to ease access and hiring process. 

One Webwork will use and existing technology, it is an online platform that use machine learning and automation to recommend job opportunities to professional refugees. One of the barriers that prevent refugees to have fair competition with their host communities, is the inefficiency of transferable skills which are aligned with nature of the job market. Another way to explain unsuccessfulness to penetrate into job market is the lack of trust of the employers in refugees. One Webwork as project of Future Giving Initiative (FGI) is relying on technology to function. We will make a partnership with companies in thousands miles and connect millions of refugees at distance. This will involve huge preferences of employers and refugees which can only assigned and connect with an automation program that compiled in One Webwork. Use machine learning to analyse big data and display essential results to inform our programs and our partners is the core of the project. Online platforms are being used in many projects. For instance online platforms can be used as an intermediate information and communication flows among organisations, people at distance. This an innovative way to provides better opportunities to refugees in different regions to have access to job opportunities. Building a network that connect refugees who are job seekers and companies which has the intentions of hiring refugees will shape positively the life of refugees. 

Online platforms are common used technology that have shaped the ways business is done nowadays. These are enables of digital trades that made global market ease to access. Businesses are using online platforms to reach out to more customers across the planet. Let us take an examples of the big companies that operates over internet, this include amazon one of the most successful companies that operates online using recommending products to its customers.

One of the components of the One Webwork including training refugees online using developed learning management system (LMS), this technology is now being use with many university while they have pushed their curriculum online because of the COVID-19. This also shows how this technology is possible to be applied almost in the same way. We will use Moodle to develop quick guide and instructional technologies which easy to be understood by refugees. In addition, with a strong partnership, it is possible to use other online courses paid by UN Refugee Agency and incorporates some in the programs to help refugees acquired possible skills to work different companies. All of the links will compiled within One Webwork platform which will process with the analysis. The Quick guide develop with Moodle online site will used more specifically for instructions and assessments with automatic grading option. The decision to recommend will be depend on results of grading which is will done automatically by the system.

The main problem that One Webwork need to solve is the unemployment among refugees which is undermining social and economic life of refugees and prevent the inclusive sustainable development.  There are many barriers that deprive refugees to participate or to find themselves in unfair competition on job market and one of them is that the changing skill sets based on technology that is shaping the nature of employment. The lack of the formal or informal policies to improve access to job in low and middle income countries. The solution comes to take advantage on changing technology to provide opportunities of access the job market to millions of vulnerable people. One Webwork will work and integrated platform to apply, to get connect and to get trained on necessary skills based on the employers preferences on board.

Inputs 

Activities that involves in the project include:

• Develop a web-based platform 
• Develop training materials 
• Training
• Hiring personnel ( Web developer, teacher of communication and human ressources manager)
• Office in Kigali, Rwanda( this will serve as administrative component to  manager online, and in person training)
• NGOs, companies or employers

Outputs

• Developed materials on learning management system (LMS), using Moodle 
• Developed online site ( One Webwork) that integrates all qualifications and employers needs 
• Trained refugees ( providing training to the refugees in five camps and urban areas 
• Registered professional and job seeker who are refugees on the platform( this will include contacts, work experience and education backgrounds
• Network of employers and refugees on the platforms and redirected links for the applications where possible.
• partnering with NGOS, companies or employers for their recruitment process 
• Connect trained refugees with different employments

Outcomes ( Long term output)

• Ease access to the job opportunities through platform
• Trained refugees will get employed 
• Aligned qualifications with employers preferences

Impact

• Improve life conditions, self-reliant refugees.
• Inclusive growth and sustainable development

This solution will start with operates in Rwanda with thousands of refugees. Currently around 172 thousands of Congolese and Burundian nationality are hosted in the country. The project is expected to start with refugees of working age which is almost the half of the total. Around 70 thousands of the refugees are working age group. The UN Refugee Agency, has been supporting the refugees to get access to primary and secondary education where it is possible. But with the pressure of changing skills set, training and career guidance is the only to guarantee that refugees are able to get employed. In one year we can still operate in Rwanda and expand after that. We will be serving 70 thousands of refugees who are working age group. As per statistics of UN Refugee Agency, it is estimated that 86% of refugees are in developing countries and most of them they do not have and formal employment integration program. They encounters with fragile, out of date policies for employment. One Webwork expect to serve 25.9 million meaningfully around the world in next five years to empower them to compete at the job market. 

The Future Giving Initiative (FGI) need to ensure a continuing progress to bring impact to refugees communities through One Webwork. In order to help refugees to secure jobs and improve their living conditions the following goals will be met:

• By the end of one year, One Webwork will be well equipped with information of 80 thousands of working age refugees who are looking for job, and the all developed process to connect refugees with employer or informing employers 
• By the next five years, One Webwork will be able to reach all professional refugees who want to join the league of employment through our platform, using every year evaluation plan of the project. we will be able to monitor the increase of our participants.
• By the end of 5 fiver years, We will have at leat 90% of qualified refugees hired with designated companies.  We will use the same indicators to evaluate the impact of the One Webwork on refugees' lives

• As other start up companies, financial constraints are the major problem but the expected expansion of the project will involve registration fees to ensure the sustainability of the project.
• Legal framework of the country, has a formal registration. Always legal issues can become a barrier as it has been there since 2015, which can lead to inefficiency applicabilities in the country
• Culturally, we will need to reach out to many other refugees communities and it will require cultural awareness . This means that approaching many people will be barriers and can take time.
• One Webwork will require a continuing updates to match the need with the available jobs. This need technical expertise which can a be challenge whenever it lacks deep details.

The Future Giving Initiative (FGI) will work to provide administrative guidance to the One Webwork. This encompasses the financial management and seeking donors for the future operation. Financial constraints for non-profit organisation is common but we are planning to have suitability plan such as charging the registration into the program if the project reaches more people.

Our organisation will use assistance program from the UN Refugee Agency to solve legal barriers that might appears. But the project have a team with people responsible for legal affairs. In case, we may hire someone to deal with legal issues beyond our capacities 

We are a team with huge experience and different background who can handle cultural barriers and we expected to be affiliate with existing programs to reach more people as soon as possible 

Technical barriers which include technologies such as teaching illiterate, difficulties to follow instruction for distance registration can be handle with team and where possible the training can be done in-person.

One Webwork is part of the non profit organisation name the Future Giving Initiative (FGI). The FGI is an initiation of recent graduate at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and it focuses more on improving the livelihood of refugees and vulnerable communities through providing entrepreneurship skills and practical skills to sustain themselves. 

Two member of the FGI thought about One Webwork as an online platform that complete and focus more on connecting refugees with job opportunities. One Webwork will operate separately but with an affiliation with FGI as a big organisation.

One Webwork has only two full-time staff currently and this include:

1. Funder and CEO

2. Co-funder

3. Director of partnership

Our team comprise with competent personnel in relation with their backgrounds, experience and education.

Education background of the funder include, computer and data science which will be a key in the developing and understand the operation of the One Webwork. The CEO understands the situation of the problem as she has worked in humanitarian situation for two decades in the health projects which makes the unique candidate to operate and run this solution. 

The co-funder has worked in education in one of the refugee camps in Rwanda and he is the right person who knows more than everyone the barriers of the refugees to access the job opportunities. He has a lot of skills related to education and he understands socio-economic determinants and the way to improve refugees living conditions.

We recognise missing skills which need to employ other personnel with specific needed skills.

The partnership of One Webwork can be classified include the following categories:

• The government of Rwanda, Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA), the migration of office in Rwanda.
• The NGOs, The UN Refugee Agency (Rwanda office), 

The key beneficiaries of the One Webwork are refugees of working age group. This include refugees who finished their primary studies and stuck because they do not have expose to the job opportunities. In addition, above half of the refugees in Rwanda can have access to primary and secondary education, but they couldn't be integrated in labor market. 

The solution, One Webwork will be delivering services which can be classified into two categories

• Training: in person and online training on transferable skills which will help refugees to be competent. After evaluating the registered and trained beneficiaries will be ensure on how to connect refugees with companies and employers around.
• Integrated system to connect refugees will work with machine learning to recommend and connect professional refugees with their related vacancies.

In order to earn money and improve their living condition, refugees need to be employed in their host countries. According to the 1951 convention for refugees, member of the states signed for wage earning for refugees in their host countries. However, there still barriers that refugees encounters in the labor market such as complying with changing skill sets, new technologies. The One Webwork will partner many organisations, companies, employers to facilitate employer to have their specific employment program.

The One Webwork will use sustained donations and grant to raise funds to start the project.  Funds will comes from donors and NGOs that support refugees to sustain themselves. The support may come form the host governments as mutual benefits to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development.

In general our services will be delivered for free to support the most vulnerable people to sustain their families. 

• Training will be delivered for free and the selection will be fair in the process of the cohorts intake to ensure credibility.
• Process of connecting refugees with companies will involves only the team and automatic recommendations of the One Webwork. No refugee will need to pay some amount of money for being connect to any organisation, companies or employers

As an non-profit organisation which is working with key vulnerable population, it won't to sell our services, However, in order to follow the path of financial sustainability, later after getting more beneficiaries, the project can change fees for registrations based on the characteristics of an applicant. 

The following are reasons which are pushing us to apply to Solve:

• Financial constraints: Most of time starting or scale up a project involve funds ability, the fact that we want to start an impactful project that will involve assisting key vulnerable population, the One Webwork need money to invest into assets. Approaching more funding opportunities and peers who are involves in the solve programs is the benefits that can solve financial constraints of the project 

• Seek partnership with solve community to increase networks with the same interest of impact the communities. Learning from peers will help us to understand our cultural constraints as among the expected barriers. It will be easy to understand cultural differences and the way to handle the situation related to cultural in our project 

• Benefits from mentorship and MIT solve advices that will sustain the One Webwork to achieve its goals. This will solve cultural and legal concerns that we have as a new project. We hope to get more advices on any concern and how to approach different institutions when targeting to build a program.

MIT solve has a strong network and future potential to accelerate solvers's solution and scale up. The One Webwork will benefits will many opportunities and prizes presented by MIT solve.

Partnering with solution technology will help to sustain our technological based solution. The One Webwork will need more innovative components to include in the project. Partnering with other technology solution will help us to understand others related requirement such sustainability in technology based solution.

As per International Labor Organisation, among the barriers that deprive refugees to have access to the job market include pre-existing conditions which include fragile legal framework related employment policies for refugees. With strong partnership with both government and UN Refugee Agency, legal and any kind of discrimination will alleviated. 

Financial and funding opportunities is essential to our project. For us to work and to be able to provide free services to the refugees, the One Webwork will need funding partnerships. However, later the sustainability can be articulate and increased through registrations fees.

MIT programs which are currently working with refugees such MIT ReACT, or solver that are working with this community will be our right partners in the program. 

The Open Learning at MIT, Can assist in many ways, providing access on some professional competencies materials and courses which are need for refugees in our programs. Hence, we will be training refugees where we can easy our work by redirecting beneficiaries to access some resources at MIT Open Leaning platform.

Several non profit organisations such Norwegian Refugee council, Danish Refugees council have programs that assist refugees in many ways. The organisation can help the organisation and the project (One Webwork) more specifically to alleviate more expected challenges.

Hiring companies, organisations, employers with the willingness and ability to recruit refugees. This may include local and international companies, private and public institutions. Big companies, institutions who are committed to  alleviate poverty and ensure decent life without not lacking behind as per SDGs Agenda.   

The UN Refugee Agency, as its mandate to help refugees, it has access to more legal, social and economic opportunities that can be easily achieved through our programs. 

The One Webwork is a web based platform that seek to solve unemployment issues among refugees. In Rwanda, where the solution need to start, the Future Giving Initiative (FGI) is instigate to empower refugees through providing transferable skills in refugees six refugees camps. Through One Webwork, the online platform that will serve a league to connect refugees and employers and provide career guidance both online and in-person. There are numerous barriers such legal, fragmented policies and lack of formal programs that promote refugees employment in the host countries. One of the challenge that One Webwork will solve include the mistrust of employers in refugees as labor force. In addition, the project will equip refugees with essential professional skills such communication, professional competencies and career guidance. This will result in improving refugees ability to have competencies on on available jobs opportunities. Establishing an online platform (One Webwork) which work as a network, will accelerate the employment availability and number of refugees who can secure job in host countries. AS an innovative project that will help refugees to achieve an inclusive growth and sustainable development, One Webwork will increase refugees ability to earn money and improving their living conditions 

One Webwork will increase access of refugees to the millions of opportunities through an an online platform. One Webwork will have a database that include employers and qualified refugees that are looking for jobs. With a good career guidance team, the organisation will pursue hiring requirement and recommend number of refugees to the job positions according to their preferences and qualifications. With a strong partnership with other organisation in charge, the One Webwork will follow the hiring process including legal requirements so that none can be denied his or her rights. 

Working with refugees will require too much attentions and deep understanding of humanitarian situation, so that we can provide needed and transferable skills to meet the need of the employers. The training will encompasses both professional competencies, changing skills sets that involves working with technology. This will help refugees to fit job market more than ever.

Based on that One Webwork is a web based platform, it will use the new technology such machine learning and deep learning to automate the preferences and match will skills set of registered professional refugees to create recommendations. This is not a new technology, but applying this technology to help refugees have access jobs and career services will be crucial to satisfy their needs.

The One Webwork to be able to operate, will need data scientist to monitor and updates the automation programs for more recommendation and direct the users (beneficiaries) to the right persons.