SXSW Pitch Finalist: Skilllab
The Forrest Four-Cast: February 17, 2020
Skilllab has a clear mission: to develop technology-based solutions to empower employment services to better integrate refugees into local labor markets.
The Amsterdam-based company wants to address the fact that only about 25 percent of refugees participate in the European labor market, while companies suffer from a significant shortage of skilled labor.
With Skilllab’s mobile app, job seekers can identify and document their professional skills in 27 languages to explore possible career pathways. Job seekers, case managers, and career coaches use the resulting Skill Profiles to improve career planning, job searching, and training.
The app is designed to help anyone identify their skills and pathways to employment, but has a specific focus on migrants and refugees.
One of 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020, Skilllab recognizes that placing refugees and asylum seekers into jobs is a key priority for municipal employment agencies. But, case managers and career coaches often struggle to provide effective career counseling to jobseekers with refugee status.
See the Skilllab pitch in the catergory of Social & Culture Technology (11 am to noon Saturday, March 14), before a live audience and a panel of expert judges.
Winners in each of the 10 categories will be announced at the Pitch Awards Ceremony, at 6:30 pm Sunday, March 15. SXSW attendees are also invited to Meet the Finalists from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Monday, March 16. All SXSW Pitch events take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Ulrich Scharf, Co-Founder and Managing Director, explains what he’s excited about in the tech world, what he’s learned from the startup experience, and why he doesn’t want to go to the moon.
What is your top goal for Skilllab for 2020?
Providing the most innovative solution to connect people, jobs and education.
Tell us your favorite thing about being based in Amsterdam.
Biking everywhere. Never sitting in a car.
With the exception of Skilllab, what tech trend is your team most excited about?
The accessibility and evolution of great online education.
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
Always focus on the problem you are solving, never the idea you fell in love with.
Which talent would you most like to have?
To never lose the excitement of doing something for the first time.
What’s your actual super power?
After thinking long and hard, I concluded that I definitely do no possess a super power.
Tell us about something you love.
A curious conversation over a great meal and drink.
If you were offered the opportunity to colonize Mars (but with no guarantee that you would ever return to Earth), would you go?
Absolutely not. Why exchange this beautiful place with a barren rock lacking any atmosphere?
Look for more interviews with other finalists in this space between now and the start of SXSW Pitch on Saturday, March 14. Visit this page to see all previous interviews in this series as well as a list of all finalists.
If you are an entrepreneur, check out the SXSW 2020 Startups Track, which runs March 13–17. This track brings together founders and funders and showcases exciting new companies, products, services, and business models across different verticals and industries.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
