Vodafone Foundation partnership to boost European paid internships

The Vodafone Foundation today announced a partnership with UK-based paid internships website Intern Avenue to expand the service across Europe and help connect thousands of students and graduates with suitable employers. The partnership will be announced at the Vodafone Foundation and Vodafone Institute’s Digitising Europe event in Berlin today, which will include a keynote speech from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

The Vodafone Foundation-Intern Avenue partnership follows an independent report commissioned by the Vodafone Institute which recommended that digital services that match young people with employment opportunities should be expanded across Europe. The report by the independent think-tank, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, recommended that public and private sector organisations should expand their investment in digital recruitment services to enhance access to careers information and potential employers for a new generation of Europeans seeking to enter the workplace for the first time. The Vodafone Foundation’s funding will be used to help Intern Avenue develop a mobile service to complement the organisation's existing web-based tools.

Intern Avenue matches candidates (typically at undergraduate and graduate level) with employers using a data-based scoring system. To date, around 2,000 employers and 40,000 intern applicants have registered with the service.

Vodafone Group Foundation Director Andrew Dunnett said: “The next generation in the European workplace was born digital and thinks mobile, with smartphones and apps at the centre of daily life. Finding the right work opportunity is tough. Intern Avenue can really make a difference, and we're delighted to help them expand across Europe and into mobile.”

Intern Avenue Founder and CEO Dupsy Abiola said: “We believe that the support from the Vodafone Foundation will allow us to make significant strides towards creating a unique and scalable mobile solution to help young people find work. Our organisations share a passion for technology, innovation and tackling the problem of youth unemployment. We are truly delighted to be working closely with such a major player in this space.”

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About the Vodafone Foundation

The Vodafone Foundation's Mobile for Good programme combines Vodafone's charitable giving and technology to make a difference in the world. Globally, the Vodafone Foundation supports projects that are focused on delivering public benefit through the use of mobile technology across the areas of health, education and disaster relief. The Vodafone Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (registered charity number 1089625).

About Intern Avenue

Intern Avenue www.internavenue.com is a hire-matching recruitment platform designed to connect the thousands of employers who collectively expend huge annual budgets sourcing and selecting from the large pool of potential student and graduate candidates. It allows students to market themselves in a secure and private environment to the employers most likely to hire them. Intern Avenue was founded by Dupsy Abiola, a former City lawyer and Oxford graduate, in consultation with industry experts across the human resources, technology, and education sectors. Intern Avenue was recently awarded a £250,000 UK government grant by the Technology Strategy Board to help solve youth talent problem and disrupt recruitment.

About the Vodafone Institute

The Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications in Germany explores the potential of mobile and digital technologies to improve political, social and economic participation and to give better access to education. The Institute fosters dialogue between academia, business and politics. It develops dedicated projects, initiates research partnerships, and publishes studies and practical recommendations for action. Through events and social media communications the Institute provides a platform for public debate.

About Vodafone

Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 55 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 30 September 2014, Vodafone had 438 million mobile customers and 11 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.