Nokia partners with London based tech incubator for launch of augmented reality job-seekers app

Vince Cable – “I hope this will inspire even more young people to start their own business”

This week MEF member Nokia launched a new app, JobLens, in the UK for its Lumia Windows phones and announced a collaborative partnership with London based tech start-up incubator, Entrepreneur First.

The JobLens app allows jobseekers to peruse job vacancies according to standard criteria; company, keyword, salary and so forth, but adds some innovative features into the mix, such as local demographic information based on the job location, integration with social networks and HERE maps, and can even use the phone’s camera to “see” nearby job opportunities in an augmented reality heads-up display.

The app took centre-stage at an innovation day at Entrepreneur First‘s offices that MEF went along to,  where a graduate audience were also invited to brainstorm tweaks and improvements for the platform  to adapt it to specifically meet the challenge of UK youth unemployment, and come up with their own new business ideas.

Nokia’s Bryan Biniak was on hand to introduce JobLens to the 30 strong Cohort of graduates

With an opening address from Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, the event marked the start of an ongoing partnership between Nokia and Entrepreneur First, with the launch of a competition for UK universities where prize money will be awarded to the best ideas around adapting the job seeking app.

Matt Clifford, co-founder and CEO of Entrepreneur First commented: “We’re thrilled to be announcing our partnership with Nokia… We’re particularly excited that this announcement coincides with the launch of JobLens, which we believe can revolutionise the way young people find jobs. With youth unemployment and skill shortages such a critically important issue, it’s great to see Nokia tackle this head on by providing job seekers with an incredible new way to view and find jobs.”

Nokia’s Bryan Biniak, VP & GM Global Partner & App Development added: “Through the Entrepreneur First Cohort, Nokia is honoured and excited to engage some of the most innovative and agile minds in the UK. We want to challenge these young minds to imagine how JobLens can be enhanced and refined to address UK unemployment.”

Take a look at the app in action ↓