Job seekers and employers in Rwanda will before the end of December have seamless interaction through an innovative digital platform whose launch is underway.
The new Innovative Digital Platform (INNODIP) has been developed to link the academia and labour market including a host of stakeholders.
Professor Prince Wasajja Kiwanuka, the INNODIP project coordinator has revealed that the platform is almost complete, and currently its construction has reached a level of 85%.
“We have come to the end of the project implementation and all we can look forward to is success. The next time we will be talking about it, will be launching the product,” Prof. Kiwanuka noted during a stakeholder’s validation meeting this week.
He explained that the project construction requires to go through 12 steps but so far only one step is remaining and that the full launch will be before the end of December 2023.
“We are now testing the software to see if it works and if it can benefit the minority groups including women and the uneducated citizens,” the Proffessor said in an exclusive interview with press.
According to functionality details, job seekers with various skills will be able to post their CV’s on the INNODIP platform making them accessible to employers from various sectors in the labour market.
The INNODIP platform has interfaces for academia, industries, curricula, publications, consultancy, research call, internship and jobs offerings (with detail in salary and requirements).
Prof. Kiwanuka explains that the platform is the first of its kind in Rwanda and East African region bringing onboard stakeholders, government, universities in Rwanda, and academia.
The platform, according to Prof. Kiwanuka not only focuses on urban needs but has been broadened to also address unemployment concerns in rural areas (especially non-graduates); gender and persons with disabilities.
“We are trying to balance these concerns in the platform system, ” explained the INNODIP project coordinator.
“We can also benefit if the opportunities posted on the platform are considerate of common disabilities of vision and hearing; it will enable us to easily participate,” said Josiane Uwiduhaye, a member of the National Union of Disability Organizations of Rwanda (NUDOR).
How INNODIP platform works
Platform users are in three types: The applicant, academia and industry.
To interact with the system, you have to create an account using a personal email (applicant) or organization’s email (academia or industry).
For new user, first step is to log in to the website www.innodip.rw, then register as an applicant (on the applicant interface) for the system to store one’s data and information.
All users have to create an account and details include personal information, Identity card, Tin number (to ensure authenticity).
Meanwhile, industry and academia- must enter an account with the organization’s email, not personal.
Institutions enter as industry – and must have opportunities (jobs) to present, and be able to see applicant’s response.
Stakeholders also asked that the platform is built with strong user information and data protection especially on login passwords and user consent, terms and conditions.
According to the 2023 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) new statistics show that unemployment has reached 17.2%.
By 2024, Rwanda seeks to create about 1.5 million off-farm jobs, reduce youth unemployment and at least 214,000 jobs to be created annually since 2017.
The platform development, funded by the ‘Research and Innovation Systems for Africa’ and spearheaded by the University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies (UTB) and supported by the government was announced in February as a solution to tackle unemployment through research evidence.
