NEW YORK — A new platform will soon be available to help people understand their traits and gain new skills for jobs they are well suited for.
The platform is based on artificial intelligence, or AI.
Pymetrics is launching the talent matching platform at no fee to the public. Called “Reskill and Restart,” it helps COVID-19 impacted job seekers learn what other careers they may be good at, based on their cognitive, social and emotional aptitudes.
Frida Polli is the founder of Pymetrics. The Harvard and M.I.T. educated working mom started the company in New York City several years ago.
Pymetrics has helped HR departments look beyond a prospective employee‘s resume and focus on other traits that make them well-suited for a position.
Then the coronavirus outbreak shook the core of nearly every economic sector. Businesses taking a blow from the ensuing shutdown. Countless Americans are now looking for jobs.
“What COVID made us do was realize this could really be done at scale without people needing to apply to a company,” said Polli.
The latest jobs report shows the national unemployment rate is over 10%. In New York City, that number is even higher. You might want to look beyond putting together a great resume.
For people working in industries that may never recover, is it time to start thinking of a new career?
“If you’re unemployed or you are in an industry where the long-term prognosis for job security is not good,” said Polli. “It’s taking people in shrinking industries like retail who may have the soft skill ability to do many other things they may never have considered and making sure they discover those opportunities and then give them personalized training to be skilled up in those areas.”
Pymetrics can help displaced workers find their next role and best-fit job based on a series of tests. It also “upskills” users by recommending training based on an individual’s skills gaps and the requirements for a new position.
“We created a platform where someone, anyone, can come who may be impacted by COVID and is looking for their next opportunity,” said Polli. “We try to understand what you are inherently good at even though you’ve never done it before.”
Here’s how it works.
Step one involves Pymetrics administering a series of tests to determine your “soft skill profile.” They’re gamified exercises which measure your cognitive, social, and emotional aptitude.
“We capture all these traits and aptitude in you, we can recommend based on your soft scale profile all sorts of different careers you may never have thought of,” said Polli
Step 2 is examining what skills you’re lacking, and what skills you need to launch that new career.
Step 3, Pymetrics helps to match people with training to be “skilled up” for that next job. Pymetrics has partnered with Infosys and other learning partners to do so.
“Right now, you’re lacking the skills so the next step is we’ll connect you with learning platforms that provide you with that training,” said Polli. “Once you’ve gone through that skills training, you upload your profile and you’ll be certified to that and then you’ll be matched to opportunities.”
Step 5 is to pair your with prospective employers.
“You get directly linked to job opportunities that are live and employers are looking for qualified candidates,” adds Polli.
The platform is based in artificial intelligence or A.I. Polli says it removes bias from hiring and increases fairness because you’re not solely judged on your resume.
“It can encourage people to pursue paths that they don’t see people who are of their gender or racial demographic pursuing,” said Polli. “Think of it as an enablement tool for job seekers to really help them discover all of the potential ways they can have a new career path in the future.”
The new platform launches in September and there is no fee for consumers.
