Skillshop

The foodservice industry is plagued with high rates of staff turnover and fluctuating customer demand. SkillShop is a temporary hiring marketplace that exposes the inherent hiring network of referrals, sponsors and recommendations among employers, employees and other establishments. Unlike any other temporary staffing agency our web-based system creates an individualized marketplace for temporary laborers and hiring managers to meet for on-demand work engagements.

The goal of Skillshop is to create an online marketplace that connects service professionals with employers on a per job ad hoc basis. The problem setting is a services marketplace that facilitates one-time services engagements between individuals or between an individual and an organization. These one-time services engagements are characterized by time, or the lack thereof, and by the lack of familiarity and trust between the two parties. The proposed system will be built initially to address the restaurant and hospitality industry, specifically catering, where there are high turnover rates, skill homogeneity, and a need to better meet fluctuating customer demand. On the other side of this labor-market problem is a pool of people who may already be employed in full-time or part-time positions, but possess the skills from prior employment to fill these positions within restaurants. These people do not have the time to enter into an additional contractual employment position but do want to find opportunities from which they can earn extra money. Skillshop will also take into consideration the issues of trust, reputation and vulnerability in order to provide a forum for users looking to earn more and those looking to hire to meet.