The Wadhwani Foundation launched Wadhwani GenieAI, a mobile-first AI-powered skilling platform to bridge critical gaps between education and employment in the Philippines. The free platform is open 24/7 and comes with multiple AI Co-Pilots that offer career counseling tools and teacher training in order to arm students with in-demand skills and enhance workforce readiness.
Recently, the Foundation conducted a survey that showed some alarming trends in the country's education-to-employment pipeline. Only 10% of K-12 graduates enter the workforce immediately, while 83% pursue higher education. However, only 25% of these university students graduate, leaving the remaining 75% to enter the job market without degrees. Moreover, only 1.5% of graduates become entrepreneurs, and 5.5% fall into the 'Not in Education, Employment, or Training' category, which contributes to job instability and low wages.
Wadhwani GenieAI looks to overcome such challenges by providing students with skills that meet market demands. "Our free AI-powered platform offers access to in-demand job skills that bridge the gaps in the school-to-work journey of K-12 students in the Philippines", said Dr. Ajay Kela, president and CEO of the Wadhwani Foundation. The platform is already working with over 60 partners in the Philippines, impacting 22,000 students. It also provides training for teachers to administer AI-based career guidance.
The Foundation, through its grant-making arm, Wadhwani Charitable Foundation (WCF), provides annual grants of up to $1 million to high-impact organizations focused on job creation and workforce development. Angela Chen-Delantar, vice-president for Skilling at Wadhwani Foundation, highlighted the need to collaborate with nonprofit organizations, enterprises, and academic institutions to spur job creation. "Our funding will help these organizations expand their impact, enabling us to reach 1 million lives by 2030 and provide more Filipinos with job opportunities for a better future", she said.
WCF is aggressively looking for partners in the Philippines that have demonstrated scale impact. Ideal organizations have a budget between $1 million and $5 million and are sector leaders. The Foundation also provides holistic support, including access to the GenieAI platform for skilling, job creation, and placement, as well as collaboration opportunities with its global network of experts.
The initiative extends across the Philippines, to other emergent economies characterized by large youth populations, for example, in Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia. Founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dr. Romesh Wadhwani back in 2001, the Wadhwani Foundation is a nonprofit tech outfit dedicated to fostering job growth while improving lives across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
By leveraging technology and innovative partnerships, the Wadhwani Foundation aims to transform workforce development and create sustainable employment opportunities for the 21st-century workforce.
