Job search is a hot button of all times, especially during a crisis. The spread of COVID-19 and related quarantine measures have taken employers to a dead-lock and left hundreds of thousands, including migrants, jobless around the world. In Kyrgyzstan, the number of job cuts in 2020 increased exponentially. According to the Socioeconomic and Vulnerability Impact Assessment and Policy Response prepared jointly with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Institute for Economic Policy Research under the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic, the unemployment rate in Kyrgyzstan was projected to reach 21% by the end of 2020.

As part of support to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the UNDP has launched the comprehensive measures to strengthen the public-health systems and address the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. Some of these activities aim at economic empowerment of entrepreneurs, employable citizens, and at the labor market development.

One of the initiatives is about the development and launch of a mobile application to help citizens with quick and convenient job search, and help employers find skilled workforce in Kyrgyzstan. The mobile application will be a solid platform capable of connecting job seekers and those looking for talent. The main beneficiaries will be those lost their jobs, labor migrants forced to return home due to the border closure, as well as employers and businesses.

The mobile application has been initially developed within the framework of “Skills for Reintegration” pilot measure of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in 2018 and has been handed over to UNDP for further development.

The mobile application contains a solid database of vacancies and provides a fairly convenient toolkit. Furthermore, search options can be applied to different regions of Kyrgyzstan, which may expand the range of offers and increase the likelihood of finding the largest number of suitable vacancies. Users can also choose to be notified of new vacancies that match their search criteria. The mobile application also features the online trainings and upskilling on various topics, so, while looking for a situation or waiting for a employer’s response, users can improve their qualifications or attain new skills.

“We aim to develop the mobile app to collect data on the best available vacancies in real-time. It will function to find relevant employers in short time, or to enable them to find you. We tried to ensure that users are able to find vacancies in different fields and optimize the search process as much as possible for better experience. For example, the application will suggest spelling options for a vacancy to find a match in the database, and advanced search will help narrow down the search area.”- explained Mr. Mirbek Okenov, Director of ULUT Soft LLC, a company involved in the platform development.

An advantage of the platform is its possibility to contact employers directly through the mobile application. After registering to the application, a user can create a resume and apply for vacancies of interest. Employers will also be able to view the profiles of potential employees. For convenience, the mobile application will have a large set of filters and sorts.

This activity was initiated within the framework of the UNDP project titled "Supporting an Inclusive and Multi-sectoral Response to COVID-19 and Addressing its Socio-economic Impact in the Kyrgyz Republic", with the support from the Government of Japan aimed at the comprehensive and human-centered socio-economic response to COVID-19.