Prisa Digital and Assured Labor announced today that they are partnering to connect Mexican workers with local jobs using mobile phones and the Internet.
According to San Francisco Chronicle, Joseph Bamber and Dain Reich founders of the company “created a service that allows job seekers to receive text messages from companies that are interested in their resumes called Assured Labor. Job seekers only need to access the site once to fill out a brief pre-formatted resume. From then on, they're contacted via text message”. This idea came up from Reich´s travels where he noticed a problem. Most emerging markets don't have easy Internet access, let alone computers in their homes. It turns out many more people have cellphones (4.8 billion) than Internet access (1.5 billion). The company was founded in 2008 at the MIT Media Lab.
Assured Labor launched its job platform, www.EmpleoListo.com.mx, in Mexico in October 2010 in collaboration with the country's largest wireless carriers. Assured Labor also announced that it has registered more than 100,000 job seekers in Mexico and over 800 companies have posted jobs through the service. San Francisco Chronicle adds that “Reich and Bamber bootstrapped their startup for two years before securing a $1 million angel round. Now Assured Labor is the largest job site in Nicaragua and it's growing rapidly throughout Latin America.”
The deal between Prisa Digital and Assured Labor implies Prisa’s base of digital assets throughout Latin America (including www.elpais.com, www.as.com, www.los40.com, and many more, to promote Assured Labor's Mexican brand EmpleoListo and Assured Labor will join Prisa’s portfolio and enable Prisa to engage with hundreds of thousands of Mexicans.
Alvaro Palacios, VP of Sales & Operations for PRISA DIGITAL Americas, said, "Assured Labor's innovative service has the potential to enable anyone with a cell phone to rapidly connect with job opportunities. This partnership will enable Prisa Digital to engage with hundreds of thousands of Mexicans while supporting Assured Labor's growth."
Assured Labor's service, EmpleoListo, enables job seekers to register and receive text-messages when companies are interested in contacting them about job opportunities. Businesses can contact a set number of candidates for free each month or choose larger paid plans. The service is offered free of charge for job seekers.
