Nxus receives investment from Rabobank to eliminate internship discrimination
Press release: 7 June 2023 - Amsterdam
EdTech startup Nxus has received the Rabobank Innovation Loan (RIL) of €150k to eliminate discrimination in the hiring process of students and graduates.
Using the skills passport as a basis for bias-free matching
Nxus is a unique career and community platform that optimizes the hiring process of students and graduates from the talent-pool of partnered education institutions. By translating learning outcomes of study programs into concrete skills, the platform allows students to build a skills portfolio, or skills passport, containing an overview of the knowledge and skills learnt during their studies. Nxus then matches students skills-based and bias-free to internships and graduate jobs.
Niels Baay, Nxus Founder and CEO on the investment:
“We are very excited to have the Rabobank invest in our mission to provide equal opportunities in the hiring of young professionals and to change the way we prepare today’s students for the skill-focused job market of tomorrow. This investment allows us to scale our solutions across the Dutch education sector, especially at MBO and HBO level, where internship discrimination is a much-addressed issue demanding a solution.”
Ruben van Brunschot, Rabobank Account manager SME on the deal:
“As Rabobank, we see Nxus as a perfect collaboration. Both commercially and in terms of social impact, Nxus builds a great bridge between education and the world of employment.”
“Eliminate internship discrimination”
In February this year minister of education Robbert Dijkgraaf, along with other industry stakeholders including o.a. Beroepsvereniging opleiders MBO (BVMBO), MBO Raad, MKB-Nederland and Samenwerkingsorganisatie Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven (SBB), signed the Stagepact with the intent to completely ‘eliminate internship discrimination’ by 2027. Last month, the Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid and Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap presented the Toolbox Aanpak Stagediscriminatie, a guide for MBO colleges further highlighting the need to “focus on what really matters in getting an internship: the learning desire and the competencies of the student.”
How Nxus works
The Nxus platform removes (unconscious)biases from the hiring process and instead highlights the skills acquired in education and from possible work experience of recent graduates. Profiles are made more personal by attaching short biographies and including motivation letters which are anonymized in the profile view of the employer. Only once the student is invited for an interview is the profile made public to the employer. Nxus thereby provides equal opportunities for all students in their first encounter with the job market.
Radboud University as launching partner
The platform first went Live in September 2021 at the Radboud University in Nijmegen under the white-label name Career Central. Since then, more than 6.000 students and alumni created an account and more than 700 companies signed up, ranging from local startups and SMEs to corporates.
Nico Ellérie, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Radboud University on the partnership with Nxus:
“Working with Nxus feels like a perfect match. This bias-free matching platform aligns with our vision for equality and inclusion. As a university, it enables us to connect students, alumni and companies in the region. In this way, students not only gain insight into their skills, but also a view of the professional field and highly educated talent is retained for the region.”
