I like watching what is going on in Silicon Valley in general. There are always good tech and trend insights. But there are also some very innovative ideas related to social innovation.
For instance there is the “JobNob” events being held in the valley. JobNob links unemployed people with start-ups looking for volunteers to give a win-win to both. The JobNob pitch is below:
Come “Jobnob” with cool new startups and other job seekers at this informal networking happy hour where unemployed people who want to keep their skills sharp are matched up with startups that could use their help.
- Bummed Out Job Seekers – are you willing to volunteer at least 5 hours a week for a startup? Help out a startup and you’ll get a leg up on the competition, keep your skills sharp and have some good experience to put on your resume. And when the giant gears of the economy start churning again, you could well be one of the first ones back on the payroll.
- Cash Strapped Startups – are you willing to buy a smart, talented, unemployed person a drink? Come with one or two specific projects that you need accomplished and we’ll help you find the perfect person to get the job done. And if you get funded you can always hire them!
They have run three JobNob events so far and have two more scheduled for August and September.
Related information and press coverage is available here.
This would be a great program to have running in Ottawa. Organizations such as Lead to Win, OCRI, The Ottawa Network, CATA or Ottawa Talent Initiative would be good sponsor organizations to make this happen locally.
