WILMINGTON — With more than 33,000 job openings at Delaware’s top employers around the state, according to the Delaware Workforce Development Board. Now, a new smartphone app hopes to serve as that bridge between skills and the jobs that are still hiring.
The Delaware Career Mobility app will help those looking for a job, training or skills development as they march along their established or new career path with the help of an easy-to-use platform that can put more than 260 training programs at users’ fingertips.
The app debuted Thursday morning at The Warehouse in Wilmington.
“It’s really a connector so that anyone can go out there and find a job or continue their education,” said Scott Malfitano, the chair of the Delaware Workforce Development Board.
Funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund and designed by Tech Impact, the app features programs from 40 partners, including higher education partners like Wilmington and Delaware State Universities, vo-tech programs and businesses. Users can simply type in their zip code and choose between sectors like financial services, construction, health care, logistics, technology and more.
The idea was born when the Delaware Workforce Development Board, an elected and appointed state entity that evaluates and supports job training efforts, started reaching out to companies who use state grants for training programs to see how those programs worked out. Malfitano was shocked to hear that those organizations that saw low program enrollment only relied on word-of-mouth marketing.
“It’s 2024. Everyone has a smartphone and not everyone has a desktop these days,” he told the Delaware Business Times. “What we also found was that watching the service centers at the Department of Labor, people can fill out a form on a desktop. But that’s not always available.”
The app was also tested by teenagers, mainly between ages 17 and 19, at The Warehouse to see how user-friendly the interface is and surveys were collected for feedback for improvement.
Malfitano credits Tech Impact for its quick roll out from the concept to the app itself in five months, but also in developing key features to highlight each training program’s cost and location. Clicking on each listing provides clear information on how to get enrolled.
“There’s literally hundreds of programs out there, and they range from culinary to getting a truck driver’s license to working in tech. Everyone has different aspirations on what they want to achieve in their careers,” Tech Impact CEO Patrick Callihan told DBT.
“To a point, it’s an access issue. This app asks users to provide as little information as possible and help get them aligned to the programs that are out there and the funding available to improve their lives,” he said. “That’s really what it’s about to me.”
Tech Impact’s programming on the back end of the app also ensures that all the submitted information is anonymized. But somewhere down the line, Callihan hopes there’s a way to use the anonymous data to better understand the struggles Delawareans face since the Delaware Career Mobility App has a statewide reach.
“There’s a lot of possibilities. It’s so accessible that it can be a connector for community resources, so that someone who might be homeless can find information on low-income housing,” he said.
The board has already got connections to integrate programs like Goodwill’s workforce resource centers or United Way of Delaware’s 2-1-1 program, a free informational helpline. But Callihan also sees a way to push the app even beyond that – he’s had discussions on how to create an extension that could address the benefits cliff.
“If someone’s thinking of changing jobs, the idea is they can go in and see what the difference of a new job can mean if a higher salary results in losing purchase of care for daycare,” he said. “Looking to the future, I think you’re going to see the data being used to help people understand what the issues we have in this state and how we can develop policy to change that.”
The Delaware Career Mobility app is available for Apple or Google app stores or visiting the website at decareermobility.org.
