At a Glance
Location: Romania
Impact Areas: Employment Generation, Placement
People Supported:
People with Disabilities, Refugees and Migrants, Youth NEET
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2023
Overview
Romania has one of the highest rates of young people aged 15–29 neither in employment, nor education and training (NEET) in the EU. Factors that contribute to this include high school dropout rates, skill mismatch, and low wages. Playful Software is a Romania-based digital solutions agency with a mission to create a more inclusive and equitable recruitment journey to help youth, refugees and migrants to find quality jobs.
Founded in 2017, Playful Software brings a human-focused approach to talent acquisition and staff training. Its annual-subscription recruitment platform, Jobful, is designed to be integrated with corporate career sites and is currently used by B2B clients in diverse sectors, including Coca Cola HBC, ING Bank, Microsoft, and ERSTE Bank. Jobful currently has more than 40,000 registered users and 200 employer profiles. To enhance the employability of youth and refugees, Playful Software also develops games that actively improve communication and collaboration skills.
In March 2022, in partnership with the local foundation ‘Project Voyager’, Playful Software launched jobs4ukr.com – the region’s largest employment platform for people affected by the war in Ukraine. Since its inception, 10,000 refugees have registered with the database to access verified job opportunities in Europe and abroad, and in globally remote positions. The platform also features an online resource center with government support guides, details of free Romanian and English courses supported by the EBRD, and job matching and counseling services tailored specifically to the needs of displaced Ukrainians.
Results & Impact
139
refugees placed in employment through jobs4ukr.com
480
refugees/migrants placed in jobs by 2027
90
socially marginalized individuals placed in jobs by 2027
“As soon as we launched the platform for Ukrainian refugees, we realized the positive impact our technology can have for marginalized people, who often need it most. It was an important step on our journey to build accessible technology which facilitates equitable employment for everyone.”
NESsT Investment
With financing and business assistance from NESsT, Playful Software is developing HopeWorks – a digital recruitment platform that helps people with disabilities, refugees and migrants, women, youth, and NEETs access dignified job opportunities and training, which in turn will drive their social integration.
As part of the Refugee Employment Initiative, Playful Software plans to hire Ukrainian refugees to support the business and software development of the HopeWorks marketplace. Furthermore, as the enterprise expands its customer base and generates new revenue streams, it will create a comprehensive tool to track and measure the social impact across all three recruitment platforms.