Keywords: employment, networking

Techpool is an online (web-based) tool consisting of three (3) distinct and separate areas designed to give tenants in Abuja Technology Village (ATV) the opportunity to source and retain human talent across various job levels and positions. It is also designed to create a link between jobseekers and the technology companies that require human capital. It will also have a forum for various interactions, discussions and publications, as well as project announcement area.

The first purpose of Techpool is to have a repository of potential employees for the companies that will have Enterprises within the park. The system is specifically designed for tenants in the park. It is an interactive portal for companies to search through user profiles for qualified individuals that are interested in working within the park. The companies can also post available vacancies within their organisations so that registered interested users can apply for the positions. TechPool also has a portal where projects/challenges can be advertised and interested solutions providers can submit solutions/concepts that address the project challenge. ATV will then shortlist the most suitable solution and provide a platform within which the solution provider can liaise with the challenge owner on further terms and conditions to fully realise the concept. Furthermore, the platform allows registered users to participate in interactions/discussions on various areas of innovation and technology. The forum also allows for research papers to be published for reference, review and utilisation by registered members.

Currently, companies have to subscribe to various job sites to advertise and recruit skilled workforce. Given the nature of ATV, some of the companies do not have the resources to search for the suitable employees for various specialised positions. TechPool will hold a repository of candidates across various fields (skilled and unskilled) whos CVs would have been thoroughly screened to ensure that all certificates and workplaces stated have been verified. Having all the required potential employees in one database will save time and resources that can be dedicated to finding and verifying candidates. The solution at the end will be fully interactive, scalable, dynamic, secure and easily managed.

The idea behind TechPool is to establish an online solution that can be easily accessed and utilised by tenants of the Park. The Ideas forum will drive interactions on the portal thereby building an online community that will enhance the research and the nurturing of ideas as well as a wealth of potential workforce for the Park. It will also provide a web-based medium of job seeking within the park by jobseekers. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal of the system is to increase the chances of matching job seekers to employers in a way that the employer gets the best candidate for the position advertised. With the increase in open innovation, the Projects platform can leverage on the open innovation solution exchange network to provide companies with avenue to throw open challenges to a plethora of enthusiast and solution providers alike that can tender ideas and concepts.

TechPool will mainly be used by tenants of ATV and job seekers who wish to work within the ATV.

The concept was conceived and is to be run by ATV.