JOPP takes jobs’ bull by the horns

DO you feel trapped in a hamster wheel? Doing the same thing over and over again? Then the time has probably come to make a move…

JOPP member Patrick Held says the name of their game is to create a go-to place for any career-seeker.

“As far as vacancies are concerned, there is no go-to place. There are some recruitment agencies, like Jobs Unlimited. But the problem is there is no unified platform.”

At the moment, companies which have vacancies place their advertisements on their own websites.

“So the problem is that from a job-seeker’s perspective, it is very hard to go to all these places. Therefore, we want to create a platform which centralises all the opportunities currently out there,” the enthusiastic entrepreneur says.

Held’s partner, Shimbi Rhode emphasised that they are not a recruitment agency – “we’re an advertising platform, only focusing on vacancies basically.”

According to Held, they have a two-fold vision: firstly, to establish a platform of and for centralised vacancies, and secondly to encourage job-hopping. “We want to make it more engaging by pitching job opportunities more creatively and more interestingly.”

He stressed that the Namibian recruitment market is very stagnant.

“We’re not very creative in selling business and vacancy opportunities. In other countries, it is nothing strange to change one’s job every two to three years “because you are growing”.

Despite an abundance of talent amongst Namibians, Held said many of the companies they engage say they struggle to locate these talented individuals.

“We’re not attracting the right talent.”

Another hurdle might be posed by the fact that newspaper advertisements describe salaries attached to a vacancy as ‘market-related’, instead of stipulating the price tag, Held stated.

“Don’t say market-related – say (e.g.) N$15 000 or N$20 000 – that’s a strong pull. There’s a shift that needs to happen amongst recruiters. They underestimate the population.”

JOPP’s revolutionary edge lies therein that they do not only place an advertisement on their site, but follow up consistently. “We want to create chances for people to give it a shot.”

Rhode says Namibians are very ‘with it’ when it comes to technology. “People are on their cellphones all the time. They are online. This raises the bar [of job matching].”

Moreover, the duo emphasised that information and communication technology research has proven that Namibians are a tech-savvy nation.

Rhode echoed Held’s earlier sentiments that “people are complacent, and are not willing to try something new.”

JOPP, currently in its second month, received more than 5 000 views during its first month alone. Moreover, it has a Facebook following in excess of 8 500 members.

So far, Nictus, NamPower, the Lady Pohamba Private Hospital, Joe’s Beerhouse and Woermann Brock have come on board and thrown their weight behind these revolutionary entrepreneurs.

You can visit their website at www.jopp.com.na.