Strathclyde Business School launches company to revolutionise employment for jobseekers

Strathclyde’s Business School has made history by launching its first-ever spinout company, MyEmploy, a cloud-based software platform designed to support disadvantaged individuals in securing meaningful employment.

Developed by Dr. Joanna Butler, a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Work, Employment, and Organisation, the innovative platform utilises machine learning, psychological research, and detailed questionnaires to tailor insights for jobseekers and predict their employment outcomes.

Unlike traditional tools, MyEmploy breaks new ground by evaluating the often-overlooked relationship between jobseekers and their employment advisers, an element that has never been measured before in this field.

Dr. Butler, a chartered occupational psychologist and Strathclyde alumna, founded the platform based on her 15 years of experience in employability and skills provision, further validated through her PhD research.

Speaking about the limitations of current employability tools, Dr. Butler explained: “Many organisations rely on subjective, paper-based assessments to narrow jobseekers down to the jobs they want to do and the hours they want to work, rather than considering wider aspects of employability, such as confidence, self-efficacy, and broader psychological features.”

She noted that as a result, “too many people are not gaining meaningful and sustainable employment, and too many government employment programmes are not hitting their targets.”

By leveraging a data-driven approach, MyEmploy aims to address these persistent issues in job centres and welfare organisations. The platform not only evaluates jobseekers but also analyses the adviser’s role in the process. “Employment advisers can change a jobseeker’s life as a result of their relationship with individuals, yet organisations don’t fully measure the impact of advisers on jobseekers’ prospects,” she added.

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The platform’s ability to predict jobseekers’ employment likelihood from day one allows providers to allocate resources more effectively. This tailored, evidence-based approach, Dr. Butler believes, will result in higher success rates for jobseekers, cost savings for welfare providers, and, more broadly, greater social inclusion.

“The benefits of such a personalised approach will include improved jobseeker success, achievement of targets, and cost savings for providers, and, more broadly, greater social inclusion,” she said.

MyEmploy has already attracted significant backing, including £10,000 from the Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Awards in 2023. It has also secured funding through Strathclyde’s stage-gated process. With a multimillion-pound Saudi agency as its first client, the company is targeting markets like the Scottish Government, the Department for Work and Pensions, and other welfare organisations.

This milestone marks a new era for Strathclyde’s Business School, demonstrating the potential of tech-driven solutions to tackle social issues. It’s also a reminder to students that innovation can happen anywhere with the right support. Strathclyde’s entrepreneurial ecosystem might just be the launchpad for the next big breakthrough—whether it’s through academic research or student-led initiatives.

Featured image via University of Strathclyde