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Latest updates… You asked, we delivered!

Un-blocker (noun). An intervention to remove a barrier. (According to the Match My Project team at least).

We recently rolled out the first phase of ‘un-blocker’ features, small but crucial tweaks to the way Match My Project works, to help people save time and energy – and ultimately create more matches.

These changes were the ones we saw as levers to create the most value for the greatest number of users. They were largely identified by our user groups (our valued inner-circle authority, business and community organisations) and by analysing the most frequently reported queries received by our help desk.

Follow along for the roadblocks 🚧, solutions ✅ and the results ✨ we hope these changes will unlock for you. As always, let us know if you have any feedback.

Signing up

1. New guidance at signup, for success first time

🚧 New users were signing up for the wrong account type, or signing up twice on behalf of their organisation.

✅ Guidance links are available at signup to help people quickly solve any questions they have about signing up.

✅ At the end of the form, there’s a summary of the next steps, to help new users know what to expect.

✨ The easier signup is, the more organisations available to match and the greater impact can be delivered.

2. We binned Twitter to focus on LinkedIn

🚧 Being asked to add their X account details was (understandably) putting off new users.

✅ Now the only social media account information we collect is your LinkedIn account.

✨ Sometimes a step back is a step forward. Follow us on LinkedIn where we celebrate and share the amazing work being done through Match My Project.

3. Suppliers state their contracts, to speed up approval

🚧 Authorities reported difficulties approving businesses, because sometimes they’d have to talk to different teams to understand if they should be on the platform.

✅ To help the authority understand their current relationship with the business signing up, businesses are now asked if they have a current contract with the authority, and the contract title.

4. Tell us how you found us – to help spread the word!

🚧 Authorities didn’t know how organisations heard about Match My Project, or which channels for promoting it were effective.

✅ Both business and community users are asked how they heard about Match My Project.

✨ This should help authorities to promote Match My Project more effectively to their stakeholders and get more organisations on board.

Logging in

5. New guidance on login, for smoother account access

🚧 Users were getting confused by the login process and trying to login to the wrong authority’s site.

✅ It’s now clearer which site users are logging into, with the authority’s name displayed in the guidance text. There are instructions about what to do if you need to login to a different authority, or access more authorities.

✨ The aim: people login successfully first time.

Adding projects and offers

6. Autosave is here!

🚧 Previously when adding a project or offer, you had to click the ‘Save’ button in order to save it. But this wasn’t clear and sometimes people’s login sessions timed out, meaning their work was lost.

✅ Now once you’ve added your title and description, a draft project or offer is automatically saved in My Projects and can be accessed from the project card.

✨ Saved work = saved time.

7. Clearer project summaries – to speed up matching

🚧 Businesses were getting confused because of how projects were being described, taking them longer to find out if a project was relevant to them.

✅ The project title and description questions have been tweaked and good examples added, to help community organisations describe the projects in the best light!

✨ Suppliers save time & community organisations get more matches.

8. Businesses can make their offers clearer by adding add documents

🚧 It was sometimes difficult for community organisations to understand what was on offer because they weren’t able to see it.

✅ Useful documents such as images and product specs can now be added to offers of in kind support.

✨ Clearer information = time saved.

Profile updates

9. Community users can easily update team members

🚧 Previously community organisations couldn’t manage their team very easily. When team members left, you had to contact the help desk so that someone new could take over the account.

✅ Now, users can easily be added and deleted from the Profile page.

✨ Keep your account more secure.

⚙️ New users are invited by email.

⚙️ If you need to delete someone’s account, their projects can be transferred to an existing user.

Authority updates

10. More flexible sorting and less scrolling

🚧 Previously, authority users could only sort through their applications A-Z or Z-A. This made things difficult you needed to view a category that was in the middle of the list, e.g. ‘Edits requested’.

✅ Now clicking the sort buttons cycles through options where there are more than two categories visible.

✨ Find the information you need more quickly and easily.

11. Authorities can see who’s given feedback

🚧 Previously it wasn’t easy for authorities to know who to nudge, for projects that were taking a long time to complete.

✅ Now authorities can see on the project card which organisation has given feedback. They can also see the details of the feedback on the project page.

✨ More visibility, more impact.

⚙️ Feedback details appear immediately.

12. Authorities can reverse matches that can’t be completed

🚧 Previously this was only available on community-led projects and not in kind support offers, meaning some projects were getting ‘stuck’ where organisations had gone into administration, for example.

✅ Authorities have the ability to ‘reverse match’ all matches. The relevant organisations are alerted by email. If the end date hasn’t passed for the project or offer, it is returned to the directory. If the project or offer has expired, the organisation is alerted to update or remove it.

✨ Up to date projects that are easier to track and manage.

13. All matches included in impact data

🚧 Previously the impact section only included information on community-led projects, not matches initiated by suppliers.

✅ ‘Matches’ has replaced ‘Projects supported’

✨ Stakeholders have a full picture of what’s happening.

14. More data points added to your data download

Stay tuned for a guide on how to make the most of your data download.

👀 Un-blockers round 2 is coming this summer – stay tuned!

💡 Have suggestions for future updates? We’d love to hear them. Email us at support@matchmyproject.com.

We’re thrilled to shine a light on Ian Williams, one of our standout suppliers on Match My Project this June. Known for their innovative approach to property services, Ian Williams delivers directly to homes and buildings across housing, education, retirement living, and commercial sectors.

Their wide-ranging expertise includes property maintenance, planned investment, redecoration programmes, passive fire protection, decarbonisation, and compliance services. Introduced to our platform via Hyde Housing, Onward Homes, and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, the team has gone above and beyond in creating meaningful Social Value through their work.

Their impact so far speaks for itself:

  • 25 organisations supported
  • 26 projects completed
  • 16 projects underway
  • 75 hours contributed
  • £14,579 Value of materials & money donated

But it’s not just about the numbers—it’s about the lasting difference Ian Williams is making in people’s lives. Each project is a testament to their hands-on commitment to community wellbeing, transforming everyday spaces into places of pride, comfort, and connection. Take a look at just a few of the inspiring initiatives they’ve brought to life:

Here are just a few of the incredible initiatives they’ve supported:

Clearing and painting Moss Street alleyway in Salford East for Onward Homes. 

Redecorating rooms at Kennington Park Community Centre for the Hyde Group Junior Board

Donating a coffee machine to the Latvian Community Association’s charity office in Peterborough

Sponsorship of Boxing equipment for women in Nottingham for Second Chance Learning Academy.

Community feedback reflects the genuine care and professionalism of the Ian Williams team:

“Ian Williams Ltd was great at communicating throughout the project and made a real difference to the area with the work they did. Residents around the alleyway are so pleased with the work.” – Onward Homes. 

“We’d like to say a huge thanks to Ian Williams Ltd, who kindly donated the funds that have allowed these celebrations to happen. The funding they’ve provided means that 36 Hyde schemes have food and decorations to support the Jubilee celebrations. You have lifted the community spirit with your kind gesture on this special occasion. Thank you so much from the staff and residents at Hyde. – Hyde Housing – Sheltered & Supported.

“The Team at JRF are very grateful to Ian Williams Ltd for their expertise and the work they provided expanding our existing gym area, so that the space can be used by more people from the local community at one time. The work was undertaken professionally, efficiently, and completed promptly. We are very grateful for their generosity in carrying out this work.” – Jason Roberts Foundation.

“The residents of Hyde’s sheltered schemes, Hardwick Court, Miller Court, and Baltimore Place, would like to say a huge thank you to Ian Williams for funding our annual coach trip to Southend-on-Sea.” – Hyde Housing – Sheltered & Supported.

Every hour volunteered and every project completed helps build resilient and inclusive communities. Ian Williams Ltd goes beyond contractual obligations, delivering services with purpose and a deep understanding of local needs.

We’re proud to count them among the suppliers active on the Match My Project platform and look forward to the continued positive impact they will bring in partnership with public sector organisations across the UK.

If you’re not yet a member of our network, we invite you to join!

Simply visit our homepage, select one of the authorities you partner with, and complete the signup process. Or if you are a contracting authority, you can sign up here.

We look forward to welcoming you!

At the end of May Peabody launched their Match My Project platform.

The Match My Project team is so pleased to be working with Peabody, one of the oldest, and largest, housing associations in the UK.

It was founded in 1862 by the American banker and philanthropist George Peabody. The first Peabody dwellings were in Spitalfields, on the edge of the City and not too far from where the Match My Project is based.

By using Match My Project, Peabody is continuing its long history of working with communities to tackle social and economic inequality.

Indeed, Peabody continues to innovate – for example with its 189-home project at Deptford Landings, one of the biggest single-phase Passivhaus projects in the UK.

Peabody is also leading the regeneration of south east London, with its enormous programmes in Thamesmead, Abbey Wood and Plumstead, with significant investment from the Greater London Authority.

We had a great launch – thanks goes to Corin Menuge and team. And thanks to Stephen Burns, Peabody’s Executive Director for Care, Supported Housing and Inclusion.

And also a great turnout with lots of Peabody community partners and suppliers in the room.

The in-person launches are always great, as it gives the Match My Project team a chance to get out in front on local stakeholders. One of the things we’re most proud of is the approach-ability and responsiveness of our team. It was an opportunity for everyone to put Match My Project names to faces.

So, if you want to get speak to someone about getting involved with Peabody’s Match My Project platform, here’s how:

– Get in touch with the Match My Project team here

– Get in touch with the Peabody team here

– Stay up to date with Match My Project opportunities if you are a business or a community organisation or a local public sector organisation.

We had a great launch in Cambridge in the middle of May.

Many thanks to the council team for organising the event. It was a well attended online event with many council suppliers and community partners on the call.

There is so much going on across Cambridgeshire at the moment.

Consider the £1 million in funding for Greater Cambridge Impact, approved late last year by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

And there are a number of strategic partnerships in place to deliver locally-led growth, investment and regeneration. Perhaps the most important being with Homes England’s new Strategic Place Partnership.

It is vital that local communities – and particularly those in need – see the benefit of this inward investment. This is why we are so pleased to see Match My Project introduced to Cambridgeshire.

People do talk about Match My Project as being an innovative Social Value delivery platform.

Perhaps it’s because we work with the platform everyday – but we think it’s just plain common sense.

In many of the places we work we see a community sector plugged into the challenges facing local people. 

These organisations know what people are going through in a way that, often, the public and private sector cannot.

They know the history and they know the politics. They are often right at the heart of local networks. 

If then, as an authority, you are asking your supply chain to create local community benefits, it seems obvious to build on existing social, community or civic infrastructure that your local community sector has created over decades. 

Match My Project makes that match between private and community sector as easy and as effective – as efficient and as targeted – as possible. We make private and community sector collaboration easy and then let the public sector, as the contracting authority, scale that collaboration to maximise Social Value delivery and impact.

And as simple as that sounds, the Match My Project team has invested a lot of time and effort into making it easy.

And it is why the launch events are so important – to share good practice and top tips so we see as many projects delivered as possible.

So, if you want to get involved with Cambridgeshire County Council’s Match My Project, here’s how:

– Get in touch with the Match My Project team here

– Get in touch with the Cambridgeshire County Council team here

– Stay up to date with Match My Project opportunities if you are a business or a community organisation or a local public sector organisation.

We’re excited to highlight Purdy Contracts Ltd—our top-performing supplier on Match My Project for May. A member of the Kinovo Group, Purdy is a trusted provider of mechanical, electrical, building services, and renewable energy solutions. They joined the platform through Hyde Housing and have demonstrated exceptional commitment to delivering meaningful social value.

Their impact so far speaks volumes:

  • 27 organisations supported
  • 42 projects completed
  • 9 projects currently underway
  • 139 hours contributed

But it’s not just the numbers that stand out—it’s the real, tangible impact they’re making in local communities.

Here are just a few examples of the initiatives they’ve supported:

South London Recruitment Event, in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions – Forest Hill Jobcentre

Replacing damaged basketball backboards for Prospex

Event team support for the Greenwich Community Santa’s Grotto, in partnership with Good Neighbours

Community feedback reflects the genuine care and professionalism of the Purdy team:

“Good Neighbours can’t express our gratitude for the Purdy team attending our event… The Purdy team were amazing, really hands-on, got stuck in, worked well with the team and were a real asset to the day.”
– Good Neighbours

“Purdy (Peter and Pippa) are fantastic to work with. Helpful, flexible and professional… The support makes a big difference to Oasisplay and the children and young people we support.”
– Oasis Children’s Venture

“Purdy Contracts were superb… We cannot thank them enough for the difference their contribution will make to the local community.”
– Prospex

“It was a pleasure to work with Purdy Contracts Ltd. They will make a real difference to 6 families in need who want to make the few clothes they have look smart.”
– The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour

We’re very grateful for this kind support, helping us to help those in our local community who are facing financial crisis.

 – Medway Foodbank

Every hour given, every partnership formed, and every project completed helps create positive, lasting change where needed most.

Purdy Contracts Ltd has shown what it means to go beyond the brief, setting a high bar for purposeful, community-focused engagement.

We’re proud to have them as part of the Match My Project network and look forward to seeing even more impact as they and our wider community of businesses continue to grow.

62 organisations supported.

57 projects completed.

186 hours delivered.

Alphatrack Systems, a fire and security systems specialist, is #1 on two Match My Project leaderboards – Hyde Housing and Hackney Giving – and for good reason.

60 blood pressure devices delivered to Hackney Congolese Women Support Group

What resources is Alphatrack Systems providing to local communities?

To name a few:

  • 60 blood pressure devices to help members of Hackney Congolese Women Support Group better manage their blood pressure before conditions reach a critical stage.
  • A year of free, healthy school breakfasts for school children in South London.
  • 8 laptops to help the efficient running of mental health support services to young people in Chichester.
Making STEM education accessible & free for 8 young people in the borough of Lambeth, with Millennium Community Solutions

It’s not just the numbers saying they’re an outstanding supplier on Match My Project. It’s also the feedback from their community partners.

Here’s a sample:

Really great Company to work with. They worked so quickly to help children living in poverty to get lovely new school shoes . Big thank you on behalf of all those happy children.

– The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour

A big thank you to Alphatrack Systems. Your support to our charitable Youth Centre is highly appreciated and makes a big difference to the young people attending our Centre.

– The Sylvia Beaufoy Centre

Alpha Track Systems has been a fantastic partner in our community project. They were highly communicative and attentive, ensuring every detail was confirmed and met our needs perfectly. Their support has not only facilitated a smoother project execution but will also have a lasting positive impact on our community. We are deeply grateful for their commitment and exceptional service.

– Unity Support Network CIC

The impact is clearly far-reaching.

Every hour contributed, every project completed, and every relationship formed represents real change happening at the grassroots level where it matters most.

By consistently prioritising the needs of local organisations and completing their projects with genuine care, Alphatrack has set a gold standard for social value delivery.

We are proud to work in partnership with forward-thinking businesses like Alphatrack Systems that use our technology to deliver meaningful social value in local communities.

We look forward to celebrating many more success stories as our network of businesses continues to grow and thrive.

Sponsoring a theatre trip for disadvantaged young people, with Volunteer Centre Sutton

Do you want to be a part of the story?
Sign up via your local authority’s Match My Project homepage here: https://matchmyproject.org/ 

Are you a supplier or local company keen to support your local community?

The Match My Project platform is an online marketplace where community organisations and groups can ask for help for their projects from our supply chain. Local companies can also post their jobs and free resources on the platform.

Here are some things to think about when using Match My Project:

When signing up for an account, DO:

  • Sign up with accurate information about your organisation
  • Wait for an email to set up your password and access your account, once the contracting authority has accepted your registration.
  • Add colleagues to your account as additional users. 
  • Check the Directory for community projects that you can match to.
  • Post your own resources for Community Organisations to request – especially if there aren’t any community projects that meet your requirements.

When reviewing a project and matching, DO: 

  • Check information that is relevant to the project, for example, does it require a DBS check if working on site? If the building is leased, are the relevant permissions in place to undertake any work? etc.
  • Verify internally that your organisation can meet the specific requirements mentioned before matching
  • Contact the Community Organisation about their requirements before making an offer to support their project.
    • Ensure that you’re both aligned on the project scope and outcomes (e.g. do they need to see copies of insurance? Names of staff working on the project? Etc). Make sure that you’re happy to go ahead with them as a project partner. 
  • Once a match is made, communicate clearly with the community organisation about timelines and expectations 
  • Be prepared to make a site visit if necessary
  • Ensure that each party agrees and understands its responsibilities and all necessary steps for delivery of the project.
  • Maintain open and honest communication with the community organisation at all times. This will help build long-term relationships.

After completing the Project, DO:

  • Update the project status by leaving feedback. This will mark the project as ‘completed’ and your feedback for the community organisation will be visible to others on the platform. This helps maintain transparency and improves the platform experience for everyone.

The Benefits of Match My Project are: 

  • Place-based Social Value/Impact
  • Builds and strengthens cross-sector relationships
  • An additional tool to access opportunities to deliver Social Value / CSR 
  • Free and easy to use for businesses and organisations 
  • Enhances collaboration between the private and public sector
  • Case Studies and impact can be reported
  • Captures underutilised social value resources/ opportunities
  • Free advertising through social media. 
  • Aids effective contract management 
  • Targeted Social Value delivery to local communities with asks in real-time.
  • Produces qualitative tangible results 
  • Businesses can post offers – work opportunities/ venue hire/ old digital devices
  • Is Agnostic so can be used alongside other Social Value monitoring tools to evidence Social Value delivery.

Helpful videos:

Tips and tricks for businesses

Deliver the Best Social Value in Your Communities with Match My Project.

How can you make a bigger impact?

What if you could boost your business by transforming your social engagement?

Match My Project is here to help you take your Social Value delivery to the next level. 

We believe in the power of Social Value to transform lives and communities. That’s why we build technology that enables organisations to do just that. And we’re always thinking about ways to make that impact as meaningful and as far-reaching as possible. 

Over the past few months, Laura from the Match My Project team has spoken to Social Value experts across the UK about their remarkable work. She asked them how businesses can be more responsible and make a bigger impact in local communities.

This is what she found out.

Here are the top 5 things suppliers can do to deliver better Social Value:

  1. Offer longer, incentivised work placements 

I’d like to see more longer periods of work experience, but incentivised … we need to invest in these young people and show that we’re investing in them by incentivising them. 

– Phillipa Wilkinson, Post-16 Lead at the Stockport Virtual School

Show that you are invested in the future of young people and their development. Longer placements give participants more time to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to your organisation.

Incentives could include paid positions, performance bonuses, or opportunities for permanent employment upon successful completion. This shows a genuine investment in developing talent and can lead to a more diverse and skilled workforce.

  1. Take advantage of Pathways to Work 

This Match My Project feature is designed to streamline the process of connecting job opportunities with local communities. Utilise it to post apprenticeships, entry-level positions, and training programs. The platform can help target specific demographics or areas, ensuring your Social Value efforts reach those who need them most.

I would like to see more willingness from our contractors and suppliers to think creatively about ensuring employment and training opportunities that they committed to within their Social Value tenders or pledges. And ensure that these are followed through and delivered in areas where [the contracting authorities] have customers and communities … More could definitely be done to use the platform, especially the new features that Match My Project has launched, and link these opportunities to our customers.

Emma Needham, Social Investment Specialist at Onward Homes

Learn more about Pathways to Work here.

  1. Create early opportunities for work placement candidates to familiarise themselves with the work environment before starting. 

Starting a new job is scary. Especially when it’s your first time in a professional work setting. 

Laura Perry from Ridge and Partners, a built environment agency with eleven locations across the UK, offers a brilliant solution to this obstacle: allow placement candidates to come into the office before they start working there. This allows them to familiarise themselves with the space, the people who work there, and the journey they will take to work.

In Laura’s words:

I recommend meeting with the placement student beforehand. That helps to make them feel more relaxed and I think it can make the organisation feel a bit more relaxed as well. You both know each other, you both know what to expect. [I recommend] visits to the workplace before starting so that they can journey to and from because it can be quite overwhelming if they are not used to travelling to a city centre in rush hour. And it helps the other teams be aware as well of someone else who might be coming in if they want to speak to them, or perhaps they are interested in a certain discipline.

Ridge and Partners recently matched with the Stockport Care Leavers Team to facilitate a successful work placement for a care-experienced individual. Read the inspiring story here.

  1. Consider the whole supply chain. 

Try to think about the whole end-to-end process.

Amy Holbrook, Bid and Responsible Business Manager at PH Jones (British Gas). 

Transforming your supply chain for Social Value creation might involve:

  • Partnering with social enterprises or B-corps for supplies and services
  • Supporting local businesses in your procurement processes
  • Encouraging your suppliers to adopt their own Social Value initiatives

Amy Holbrook from PH Jones explained the broader social impact that transformations to the supply chain can have. She told me about a project PH Jones completed to illustrate this. 

PH Jones worked with building merchant chain Jewson to paint the L6 Centre, a charity they connected with through Match My Project. The paint used for the project was from Paint360, a social enterprise that re-engineers waste paint back into brand-new paint and employs ex-offenders. Not only was the L6 centre repainted, but, through this project, PH Jones was able to champion a socially and environmentally sustainable cause. 

This approach demonstrates how considering the entire supply chain can multiply the Social Value impact of a single project.

  1. Commit to the long run. Transform from within.

True Social Value isn’t about one-off gestures or short-term projects. 

It’s about embedding a commitment to social responsibility deep within the fabric of your organisation. This approach requires a fundamental shift in how businesses view their role in society, moving from occasional charitable acts to a consistent, integrated approach that aligns social impact with business objectives.

What does this look like practically? Here are some ideas:

  • Include Social Value objectives in your company’s strategic plan
  • Provide training on Social Value to all employees
  • Celebrate and reward Social Value achievements internally

Take it from two businesses that exemplify an authentic, embodied form of Social Value:

Don’t keep flashing money around for Social Value. That’s probably one of my biggest frustrations. It’s not about all the financial money. Yes, it’s nice to give a token gift of money. But it’s not – it’s the longevity, it’s the hours. Really buying into what you’re doing. You know, be emotionally invested in Social Value, because the impact it does have is massive.

Andrea Ratcliffe, Business Development & Bid Manager at Connolly Ltd

You can’t do Social Value if it’s not embodied in your business … You’ve got to start at the heart of it, which is your business and your people.

Laura Perry, Social Value Project Consultant at Ridge and Partners

By integrating Social Value into your core business practices, you can create a meaningful impact in your communities while also benefiting your organisation through improved reputation, employee engagement, and stakeholder relationships.

Social Value isn’t just about what you do—it’s about who you are as an organisation.

The experts we’ve heard from throughout this blog have demonstrated that true Social Value is embedded in every aspect of business operations. It requires a holistic approach that encompasses everything from work placements and supply chain considerations to long-term organisational transformation.

But don’t just take our word for it. Take a deeper dive into these insights and hear directly from the Social Value experts themselves.

Watch this exclusive video to gain valuable insights, practical tips, and inspiration to take your Social Value delivery to new heights. 

For far too long, the job market has been dominated by outdated hiring practices prioritising certain demographics and overlooking qualified individuals from underrepresented communities. 

Conventional hiring criteria tend to favour candidates with traditional educational and professional backgrounds, excluding those with non-linear career paths. Unconscious biases in the recruitment process have also limited the opportunities available to people of colour, women, and other marginalised groups. And the heavy reliance on narrow networks and referral-based hiring has created a lack of diversity within many organisations.

The result is a workforce that fails to reflect the rich diversity of our communities – a missed opportunity for businesses to access quality talent and fuel innovation.

This is where Match My Project’s new Pathways to Work feature comes in. By serving as a bridge between businesses and community-based organisations, Pathways to Work provides a gateway to connect companies with talented professionals from local talent pools.

Pathways to Work: Technology as a Bridge Between Communities

Through community-driven referrals, Pathways to Work aims to promote accessibility and economic resilience in previously overlooked communities. This represents a true win-win scenario – businesses gain access to a broader range of qualified candidates, while community members are empowered with new opportunities to become part of the workforce.

“Pathways to Work is about using technology as a bridge, not a barrier, to fostering human connections and uplifting communities,” explains Zahra, the Delivery Manager at Match My Project. “We know it’s those human connections that really make the difference and move us forward.”

By tapping into the rich diversity of local talent, businesses can gain a significant competitive edge. They’ll be able to build more innovative, well-rounded teams that reflect the customers and communities they serve. And in the process, they’ll be investing in the long-term resilience of those very communities.

It’s time to rethink traditional hiring practices and embrace the power of diverse talent. With Pathways to Work, Match My Project is making it easier than ever for businesses to access untapped pools of quality candidates – and boost their success in the process.

Pathways to Work is only the beginning.

We have lots of new features set to launch in the coming months. Watch this insightful conversation with our Product Lead, Ruth, on what you can expect from the Match My Project Team.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the workplace and raising concerns about the future of entry-level jobs.

As businesses adopt AI technologies like chatbots, robotic process automation, and machine learning, many routine and repetitive tasks traditionally performed by humans are being automated. This has significant implications for young people entering the job market and those in lower-skilled roles. 

For businesses committed to creating work and training opportunities for local people, understanding and addressing these implications is crucial.

The AI Disruption

AI technologies, including automation, machine learning, and robotics, have significantly transformed traditional job roles across industries. 

Routine tasks once performed by entry-level employees are now increasingly automated, leading to concerns about job displacement and unemployment. Entry-level positions in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, and administrative services have been particularly affected by AI-driven automation. AI-powered systems and algorithms are gradually replacing jobs involving repetitive tasks, data entry, and basic customer service.

Challenges and Opportunities

While the rise of AI poses challenges for entry-level job seekers, it also presents opportunities for businesses committed to creating Social Value in their communities. 

A study by PwC estimates that AI could boost GDP in local economies by up to 26% by 2030. 

Rather than replacing humans entirely, AI often augments and enhances human capabilities, allowing workers to focus on more value-adding activities. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, analytical thinking, creativity, and flexibility will be among the top skills sought by employers. By embracing AI responsibly and strategically, organisations can create new pathways for employment and skill development. 

Five guidelines for promoting sustainable and empowering employment practices in the context of AI:

  1. Reskilling and Upskilling Initiatives: Invest in reskilling and upskilling programs to equip entry-level workers with the necessary skills to adapt to the changing job market. Training initiatives focused on digital literacy, problem-solving, and critical thinking can help individuals thrive in AI-driven workplaces.
  1. Job Redesign: Instead of eliminating entry-level positions altogether, businesses can redesign roles to complement AI technologies. This involves restructuring job tasks to leverage human creativity, emotional intelligence, and decision-making capabilities, areas where AI currently struggles to match human expertise.
  1. Collaboration with Educational Institutions: Learning structures must diversify and evolve to keep pace with the changing needs of the workplace. Collaboration between businesses and educational institutions is essential for preparing future generations for AI-dominated workplaces. 
  1. Job Creation in Emerging AI Fields: While AI may disrupt certain entry-level roles, it also generates new job opportunities in emerging fields such as data science, cybersecurity, and AI development. Businesses can contribute to job creation by investing in these high-demand areas and providing training and employment opportunities for aspiring professionals.
  1. Be Transparent: Maintain open communication and dialogue with current and prospective employees about how AI could change their roles, and provide support during transition periods. 

Future Pathways

By taking a responsible and proactive approach, we can harness the potential of AI to create positive societal impact, new types of jobs, and expanded opportunities for workers of all skill levels. The future of work will require adaptability and lifelong learning, but an AI-powered economy could be more productive and inclusive if we plan ahead.

At Match My Project, we are determined to help businesses create employment and training opportunities that are responsible, empowering, and prosperous for themselves and the community. That is why we’ve developed a feature that allows businesses to find top talent while making a real difference for local jobseekers and organisations.

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