Rarely have HR managers and recruiters had such a challenging job. The reason being that the baby boomer generation is retiring and is followed by much smaller generations. The inevitable consequence is that the labour force in Germany is shrinking. According to the study "Future. Work. Today. A guide to the world of work in 2030", conducted by the Düsseldorf based job platform Stepstone together with the Handelsblatt Research Institute, there will be around ten million fewer people in employment in Germany by 2050 alone than there are today. We are therefore looking at a time in which people will become a critical economic factor. This makes efficiency and smart ideas in the labour market all the more important today and in the future - we have once again selected three of them for you. Here are the start-ups AIMMO, netsome and yakha.

AIMMO TAKES DATA AUTOMATION TO A NEW LEVEL

With the help of AI, AIMMO is taking sensor data training to a new level. The Korean start-up has also recently set up shop in Düsseldorf.

In order for industrial robots on the assembly line to recognise the right objects and for AI automated cars to find their way correctly, sensor systems must be trained accordingly. Until now, this training was extremely time-consuming; image by image, humans had to teach each individual sensor what it was that it just had recognised. With the help of artificial intelligence, such learning processes can be automated - for example with the AI services of the South Korean start-up AIMMO. The company was founded in Seoul in 2016 and is now the market leader in Korea when it comes to labelling sensor data. For the past couple of months AIMMO has also been represented in Düsseldorf in the shape of a GmbH. "Our AI-based technologies help German industries - especially the automotive industry - to strengthen its competitive advantage," says Wang-Yong Park, Managing Director of the new AIMMO located in Germany. "Our AI makes object processing more accurate and efficient, even more so as we can close data gaps with synthetically generated data. This is essential for the training of the sensor systems."

Wang-Yong Park explains why Düsseldorf was chosen as the location: "Düsseldorf is like a hub connecting various industries. This is very interesting for us, because our technology not only makes work easier for vehicle manufacturers, but is also used, for example, in retail, recycling and by local authorities in the maintenance of its infrastructure. Welcome to Düsseldorf, AIMMO! All the best for your start in Germany. •

AIMMO GERMANY GMBH
OFFICE
BREITE STR. 3
40213 DÜSSELDORF
WWW.AIMMO.AI

YAKHA EXPANDS THE IT TALENT POOL

IT career changers are delighted with their yakha certificates. Off to a new job!

Skilled professionals in the IT sector are rare - especially those with specialised know-how. This hampers productivity and progress. Siblings Christina Greenidge and Florian Planert also had to make this experience. He as the long-standing head of his own IT company, she as a consultant for McKinsey & Company. "Even the best strategies are worth nothing if there aren't enough qualified employees to implement projects," says Christina Greenidge. "At the end of 2021, Florian and I therefore decided to take a new, more sustainable approach to the IT skills shortage." The result is the start-up yakha. "yakha" means "to build" in the isiZulu language. Florian Planert explains why this fits perfectly: "With yakha, we are expanding the IT talent pool with motivated career changers. We are not interested in CVs, but provide talented people with the customised basic knowledge that the respective company needs. This is how we build up new specialists and strengthen our partner companies."

The success proves the two founders right: on average, 70-80 people seeking a career change apply for each programme. Around 10% of them pass the demanding selection process and receive the relevant training. In addition to theoretical training in specialist areas such as web development, system administration or cyber security, the programme also focuses on soft skills and personal coaching. The retention rate after completion of the training programme is around 95%. The yakha 2022 team received the HR Innovation Award in the "Recruiting & Attraction" category for this practical personnel development concept. •

YAKHA GMBH
SPEDITIONSTR. 15A
D-40221 DÜSSELDORF
WWW.YAKHA.DE

The netsome founders from left to right: Stefan Ekimov, Jakob Zinnitsch, Lennard Wehrmeyer and Amin Tarbalouti.

NETSOME MAKES NETWORKING EASIER

A strong network is an important key to professional success. But all too often, business contacts get neglected due to the stressful demands of everyday work. With the aim to make professional networking more effective and easier, Stefan Ekimov, Lennard Wehrmeyer, Amin Tarbalouti and Jakob Zinnitsch founded netsome in April 2023. "Our digital assistant is designed to help people keep track of the most important information about their contacts and maintain relationships in the long term," explains Jakob, Head of Product.

The first version of the mobile app was officially launched at the end of September 2023. "We are still at the very beginning of our journey - but these fi rst steps are defi nitely motivating us to keep pushing forward every day," says Stefan, responsible for Sales & Business Development. "With our fi rst marketing campaigns, we have already reached over 600,000 people, gained 1,700 followers and generated numerous enquiries for our networking tool." At Startup Week Düsseldorf in May 2023, the founders secured 1st place in the "Founders x Investors" competition and recently moved into the TechHub. K67 co-working space in Düsseldorf`s city centre. In the coming period, netsome will be continuously developed further, says IT boss Amin: "We want to help as many people as possible to network successfully and then tap into the new opportunities and potential that have been opened up this way. We also use artifi cial intelligence in our tool to achieve this." And strategist Lennard adds: "Although we are developing a digital tool, nothing can replace personal contact. That's why we also want to organise events in the future to bring people together - like our launch event in the format of a Christmas market." •

NETSOME GMBH
KONRADSTRASSE 11
40229 DÜSSELDORF
WWW.NETSOME.DE

Words: Maria Leipold
Pictures: PR, AIMMO, yakha, Benjamin Püschel

Fresh Ideas from Düsseldorf