Startups for Sustainable Development

“To make labor markets more inclusive they need to engage in a common language: that of competencies and skills.”

SkillLab helps people discover their skills, and use those skills to build a career. We sat down with Managing Director Ulrich Sharf to learn more about their mission, and why they believe they can change the way employment, and education, work for good. 

When we look at the job market, we see the traditional degrees and job titles that employers look for don’t align with the skilled people available in the job market. That market gap marginalizes people - harming the labor markets and society on the whole. Our mission is to close that gap by helping people discover their skills and by connecting them to opportunities that build their careers. We want to make sure everyone has a pathway to employment.

In 2016 there was an influx of migrants into Europe, and in over 80% of cases people didn’t have their education and employment history acknowledged by their hosting country. We were seeing people with 20-30 year careers being treated like teenagers by the labor market. I was appalled by the general unfairness of these paper barriers, and this failure of the labor market.

So, I decided to do something about it. This is my fourth social impact startup, so I know that creating products from data and leveraging AI can address such market failures.

Everyone is looking for good people, but there’s a huge problem connecting people to jobs. The biggest challenge is that education and employment are hugely interconnected, but education providers and employers speak different languages and have their own isolated methods. To make labor markets more inclusive they need to engage in a common language: that of competencies and skills.

SkillLab’s mobile app-based digital career assistant interviews people with AI, uniquely captures their competencies and skills, and matches them to in-demand job opportunities. It auto-generates customized application materials, and translates them to overcome language barriers. It can even offer people educational opportunities to overcome identified skill gaps. That unique, 360 career orientation makes it actionable, giving people a path forward. 

Our impact is always measured in lives affected. Since our founding in early 2018 we’ve launched pilots in 30+ countries, and have affected the lives of tens of thousands of people through job and education placement.

In terms of SDGs, we’re targeting SDG 4 (Quality education) and 8 (Decent work and economic growth), as well as SDG 10 (Reducing inequality). That means focusing on the people who have been unsuccessful in labor markets for systemic reasons - from refugees and migrants, to youth from disadvantaged backgrounds or women returning to the labor force.

An emerging focus area for us is workers displaced by tech or energy transitions, like those of a shut down coal mine. In this effort we’re proud to be partnering with the UN as a Climate Change High-level Champion, working toward a just transition.  

In 2019 we were one of 20 grantees of the Google AI Impact Challenge. As the impact accelerator was coming to an end, Startups for Sustainable Development tapped us to join, so obviously we said yes! We wanted to continue our relationship with Google in a way that wasn’t timebound, so it was a really natural transition.

My list of top 3 values of the program are: Advisors, advisors, and advisors! We have regular contact with dozens of them, and whenever we need the help of a true specialist, it’s amazing how there’s always someone at Google uniquely qualified on that topic, no matter how niche. A one hour conversation can lift up the team, saving so much time and frustration. From technical choices to how to grow an organization and cultivate great culture and processes, we’ve benefited so much from advisor know-how.  

We are scaling fast, with ambitious plans to reach a million people per year from 2023. By increasing government connections this coming year we’re scaling and allowing those regions to leapfrog the methods of the past. The goal is that in 10-15 years the language of skills and competencies will be the new normal.

As a company we’re also doubling in size and invite anyone interested to check out our career page which has a constant stream of new positions available. 

Thank you Ulrich and SkillLab for sharing with us their incredible vision and their experiences participating in the Startups for Sustainable Development program.

Learn more about SkillLab

Apply to participate in Startups for Sustainable Development

“Whenever we need the help of a true specialist, it’s amazing how there’s always someone at Google uniquely qualified on that topic, no matter how niche.”