A new app is being rolled out to help disadvantaged groups find and sustain jobs has been rolled out across the UK.
Beam has being designed to connect struggling job-seekers with a supportive online community who provide financial backing, mentorship and encouragement. It also matches them with live job opportunities with ethical employers.
The app is already being used by homeless people, the long-term unemployed, refugees, domestic abuse victims and prison leavers to ‘level the playing field’ when it comes to accessing job opportunities. Beam gives users smartphones to access the app, which is designed to digitise the job search for disadvantaged groups who have previously had to rely on in-person support.
More than 25,000 members of the public have signed up to provide moral and financial support through the app. It also lets users post written updates, photos and videos, as they embark on their journey into a new job. They can also interact with other job-seekers and spur each other on to reach their goals.
Beam’s app also allows users to view and apply for job opportunities from Beam’s employer partners, including Bupa, Pret and Arriva. The app is personalised to each job-seeker, showcasing jobs based on preferred career, hours and commute distance. Users also have access to targeted resources and a Beam employment coach, who provides job support directly through the app via a WhatsApp integration.
The government’s £2.9bn job search scheme has failed to find work for 93 percent of people.
Seb Barker, co-founder and COO of Beam, said: “Traditional services targeting disadvantaged job-seekers take a one-size-fits all approach, with limited flexibility. Beam’s innovative approach allows us to reach people directly through their smartphone, resulting in better, quicker outcomes. And because of our WhatsApp integration, we’re helping people to progress their journey into a job from one of the most popular apps in the world.”
Labour shortage
Since launching in 2017, Beam has supported more than 650 disadvantaged people into jobs. Beam also has a crowdfunding platform, which helps job-seekers fundraise the cost of items that could be a barrier to them starting work, such as training, work tools, a laptop, smartphone or childcare costs. With the launch of its new app, Beam hopes to equip job-seekers with the skills and professional networks needed to get back into the workforce.
Barker added: “The UK is currently experiencing one of the biggest labour shortages of our time. To meet this unprecedented challenge, we need to use technology to empower disadvantaged communities who have been left out of the job market, to gain the skills and confidence they need to participate in the economy.”
Beam partners with more than 30 local authorities, DWP and charities across the UK, who refer disadvantaged individuals to its service. In order for someone to access Beam’s app, they need to be referred by a partner organisation.
