Nokia launches job-finder app JobLens in the UK, offers startups cash to work with it
Nokia has launched its job-hunting app JobLens in the UK and is offering cash for improvements to the app through a new partnership with London-based incubator Entrepreneur First.
Nokia is kicking off its new sponsorship of Entrepreneur First with the launch of the UK version of its new JobLens app for Lumia devices and a promise to award cash prizes to a select few developers if they can build new tech around the job-finding app.
The JobLens app for Lumia was launched in June in the US and Canada, rendering job vacancy data through Nokia's Here maps.
The app draws its content from several sources, which in the UK includes data.uk.gov and salary-comparison site PayScale, and integrates with LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live. A filter helps narrow down searches based on experience or qualifications.
The JobLens contest is open to about 30 members of Entrepreneur First's 2013 intake, known as its 'cohort', who were selected in April. Accoridng to Entrepreneur First, the 2012 cohort has raised £15m in seed funding.
The group will get a detailed overview of JobLens and will meet representatives from government, education, and employment services to discover what challenges could be addressed by an app.
Nokia's sponsorship will be overseen by its VC arm, Nokia Growth Partners, and its developer relations unit Nokia developer experience, and was announced at the incubator's Innovation Day on Friday.
Nokia joins other sponsors of the not-for-profit program that launched in 2012, and is backed by Silicon Valley Bank, Microsoft, broadcaster BSkyB, consultants McKinsey & Company, credit information company Experian, the City of London Corporation, and law firm Osborne Clarke.