Anexsis Helps Millennials Without a Degree Find Jobs
Anexis filling the labor gap
At least 60 percent of the jobs in the country do not require a college degree, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And, while we hear a lot about the talent gaps in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills, there are also significant gaps across a wide range of jobs.
Rachel Angel, Doctor of Pharmacy and founder of Anexsis, sees a massive opportunity in the mismatch between employers with jobs to fill and non-degreed young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who want to work.
“I believe we can change things,” Dr. Angel said, “by providing students access to unfilled entry-level opportunities while creating pathways from those entry positions to better paying opportunities that need additional skills or are in demand.”
A Four-Year College Degree Isn’t for Everyone
Young people between the ages of 16 and 24 face a greater than 10 percent unemployment rate when overall unemployment is around 4 percent, but it isn’t because there is a lack of unfilled jobs.
There are not enough qualified candidates to work in specialized hourly wage positions in manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality industries. Employers have a huge challenge finding qualified people for entry positions and filling the pipeline for more advanced roles.
Anexsis tackles this opportunity with Peerro®, a mobile platform used by young people who are seeking hourly work to find both entry-level jobs and information that can give them a way to attain more highly compensated jobs. (The name Peerro®—from “peer” and “hero” is the product of the brainstorming of a group of girls that Dr. Angel mentors.)
“Peerro® exposes young people to opportunities they don’t know about,” she said. “They don’t realize that there are jobs in manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, and retail, that if they are willing to do eight weeks of training, they can make twice as much as an entry-level job.”
Through Peerro®, employers, gain access to a large pool of potential workers plus a pipeline of people who have expressed the willingness to go through training, additional certification, or community college courses to move up to better paying positions that require more than entry-level skills.
“If an employer can reduce the time to hire these young adults, and if they can keep them in the job for thirty to sixty days, they greatly improve the chance that the employee will stay,” Dr. Angel said.
Dr. Angel has built partnerships with school districts and employers. She already has letters of intent from employers who will guarantee interviews to students using the Anexsis app. National brands in retail, manufacturing, and the food industry have signed up for beta tests.
“Companies need to be closely tied to education starting at the high school level,” Dr. Angel said, “because this is the talent that is available for these types of jobs. Connecting directly with the secondary schools allows employers to validate the person from other people at the school, versus kids walking in off the street. When an employer knows that an entry-level hire is willing to learn, and you talk about pipelining, it clicks very quickly.”
Developing Connections between Schools and Employers
Rachel Angel’s secret sauce is Peerro®’s technology of course, but also in the community she building to anchor the Anexsis platform. From school districts to training organizations, community colleges, and employers with a striking need to fill entry and mid-level jobs, it’s an innovative approach to satisfying an unmet need with an under-utilized resource.
Peerro® is a tool that school districts and community colleges can use to get students on a path to entry-level positions and beyond.
“People think that when kids come to school, they should understand and appreciate their education because it’s school,” Dr. Angel said. “It doesn’t work that way. We have to help them see the path. Our secondary high schools and post-secondary educators understand that their responsibilities are not to just professional positions, but to middle jobs as well.”
