Souktel system lets users create mini-CVs in attempt to tackle unemployment in occupied West Bank

Rory McCarthy

Ramallah, September 26, 2009 – A non-profit group in the occupied West Bank has started a scheme that uses mobile phone text messaging to help young Palestinians find work.

The group, based in Ramallah, has already registered 8,000 Palestinians on its Souktel system, most of them recent graduates. The system connects them to about 150 leading employers who are looking for staff.

Internet access in the West Bank remains low, reaching about one-third of the population. Most computer use is at internet cafes, which are largely male-dominated domains in what is still a conservative society.

Souktel enables young people looking for work to register by answering a series of simple questions in Arabic through text messages, which are used to create a mini-CV. They then receive regular information about relevant jobs on offer.

It costs little to use apart from a slight premium charged on each text sent. In the same way, employers can post notices about job vacancies and filter applications.

The project comes at a time when despite forecasts of improved economic growth in the West Bank, unemployment still stands at around 20%, with that figure even higher among young people.

The Palestinians are a highly educated population but the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, with checkpoints, roadblocks and frequent restrictions, makes it costly and difficult to travel and do business. Universities rarely offer careers advice.

"There are jobs out there but it's difficult for a young person graduating from university to find them," said Jacob Korenblum, a 30-year-old Canadian who is one of the founders of Souktel.

Anas Ashqar graduated in English language and translation from the Arab-American University in Jenin last year and started using Souktel.

Within a few weeks the 25-year-old was sent a job notice that matched what he wanted. He applied, was interviewed and got the job writing captions in a photography archive.

He now works for the Palestinian mobile phone operator Jawal but still uses Souktel. "You save time and money and connect to more people," he said. "And everybody dreams of finding a good job with a good salary."

Young graduates often rely on family connections for work. "Here, finding your first job is about luck," said Lana Hijazi, a 27-year-old Souktel co-founder. She had spent a year looking for work after graduating in management from Bir Zeit University.

"If you have someone in your family with a factory or a company, they will employ you," Hijazi said. "If you don't, you need to look hard for that job."

Souktel has been a rare success in social innovation. This year, Hijazi won a prestigious youth innovation award from the Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, and was the only Palestinian chosen in a list of leading young Arab entrepreneurs in a regional business magazine.

Souktel is now using the same model of information sharing employed by aid agencies in the West Bank and Gaza to send information between staff and people receiving aid.

During the war in Gaza last January, the service was used to alert people quickly about collecting deliveries of food and medical aid.

"We've created this profile-creating and networking mechanism that we haven't seen other people doing by mobile," Korenblum said.

"You don't need an iPhone or to download software. It's just messaging and it works on a phone from 1995.

"People don't have to go out and buy something new. This is what makes it applicable everywhere in the developing world."

Souktel is preparing similar projects for the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq and for Somaliland.

Source: The Guardian, September 21, 2009

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