It is often a challenge for college graduates to land that first job right out of school. Dr. Rachel Angel created an app to connect young people between the ages of 14 to 24 to employment opportunities and job training.
She is the founder and CEO of Peerro, a career pathway management system she launched in 2015. The name comes from the combination of the words “peer” and “hero.” The app aims to simplify that job search process, according to Angel.
Angel worked as a pharmacist until she decided to make a career pivot and help unemployed young people.
“We provide users with actionable steps to implement immediately at the click of a button but we also help map out as well as guide them through their long-term plans. I had a 10-year plan as a teenager and it proved to be invaluable because I was able to measure my progress and readjust as needed. I placed myself back into the role of an 18-year-old student and incorporated all of those beneficial elements into Peerro,” Angel told Bossip.
Peerro Offers Career Pathway Guidance for Young Black Job Seekers
Angel created Peerro after she transitioned from being a pharmacist to tech founder. She decided she wanted to use technology to encourage young people to find jobs, and launched the app to help young people find jobs in a more efficient way.
Others thought the app was a good idea as well. Angel says she then raised $1.3 million from investors in her native Ohio and further developed the Peerro app, which launched in January 2018.
In her own career, Angel admits that since she didn’t have the clearest career path. Now she wants to make career development easier for young Black job seekers.
“I wasn’t blessed with the best guidance or the strongest career path. Peerro was birthed out of an urge to ensure other students have solid pathways to promising careers – especially those young people of color,” Angel said.
How Does Peerro Work?
Once job seekers download the Peerro app from Google Play or Apple’s App Store, they create a profile on the site. Then they can look for entry-level jobs in their desired location that matches their criteria. A job seeker can sometimes schedule an interview without waiting for an employer to contact them first.
Peerro also allows users to tap into schools and job training programs to make sure they have job-ready skills.
If an employer wants to offer a job on the app, they can register as part of the Peerro Career Pathway Management System.
Pandemic Increased Need for Peerro Black Youth Employment App
The app is available at a vital time. Black teenager unemployment rate was at 13.3 percent in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nearly 30 percent of Black young adults 18-24 from April 2020 to March 2021 were not working because of they either contracted COVID-19 or lost jobs due to the pandemic, found a recent survey by Child Trends. Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that conducts research on children, children’s families, child well-being.
“Before the pandemic, this dire need existed. During this pandemic, far too many companies have had to cut back on production, which impacts revenue because they cannot find qualified individuals that want to stay long term and have the skills necessary. If we take more time to invest in building employment pipelines and take a tactical approach to career pathways, we can resolve this problem for the long-term,” Angel told Forbes.
