
“At Skilllab, we believe that everyone has the right to contribute to society and that information technology can play a key role to addressing this market failure.”
– Ulrich scharf, founder of skilllab
Net Impact Amsterdam is celebrating World Day for Cultural Diversity by sharing the work of our members who enable inclusion and dialogue
Ulrich Scharf, Founder of Skilllab
Using AI to integrate refugees into local job markets
Only one in four refugees participate in the European labour market – while, at the same time, companies suffer from a significant shortage of skilled labour. Through Skilllab’s AI enabled assessment tools, refugees can identify and document their professional skills fast and in their native languages. This enables them with the right tools and agency to find a meaningful, appropriately challenging job in their new country. It also frees-up time of social workers to offer more personalised career counselling for refugees.
Google AI Impact Challenge
Google announced earlier this month that Skilllab is one of 20 organizations that will share $25 million in grants from Google.org, credit and consulting from Google Cloud and coaching by Google’s AI experts as a grantee of the Google AI Impact Challenge. The Google AI Impact Challenge was an open call to nonprofits, social enterprises, and research institutions from around the world to submit their ideas to use AI to help address societal challenges. Over 2600 organizations applied.

Skilllab will receive a grant to further develop its AI based technology that allows to assess refugees’ skills and competences more rapidly and linking the skillset to occupation profiles. Therewith Skilllab’s technology enables public employment services to effectively place refugees in the labor- and training market.
“Being elected as a grantee by Google and enjoying access to resources and mentorship is a fantastic opportunity for Skilllab. We are looking forward to the experience and to be part of such a dedicated cohort of organizations, which are driven to promote social change through technology”
– Ulrich Scharf, Founder of Skilllab