A start-up called SkillsVillage.com aims to provide an electronic marketplace for the contingent workforce – that is, for IT contractors, the companies that hire them and the staffing outfits that mediate between them. Chris Wong, chief executive of the new firm, says SkillsVillage aims to be balanced in its relationships with its three constituencies. A PeopleSoft veteran, Wong criticizes rivals like Freeagent.com for leaning too far towards the contractors’ point of view. When you visit their site, it’s like you’re reading a union manifesto, he says.
How does SkillsVillage propose to represent the interests of both corporations and contractors, when those interests have historically been at odds? What corporate clients and contractors both say they want is the right job at the right rate, Wong argues. We’re talking about a supply management problem we’re trying to solve. If you’ve got good, qualified demand the contractors will come to the site. Similarly, if you have qualified supply, the companies will come.
Wong says SkillsVillage exists to: aggregate people into a community through chat rooms and shared files. Contractors will be offered software to help them with routine chores like work journalling. The software will collect their descriptions of the work they do, and dynamically construct a digital portfolio. The contractor can then opt to have that portfolio made available to companies looking to hire.
As well, contractors and staffing companies will be able to see what projects companies are hiring for, and will be able to put in bids for the work. This neatly reverses the model of a competitor like MonsterBoard.com, where companies are expected to bid on talent. For companies that aren’t comfortable with the self-service model, there’s SkillsVillage Direct. It’s our version of a staffing company, Wong explains. We don’t believe we can entirely service the community using just the portal, so we complement that resource with staffing professionals.
The company’s primary revenue model involves charging a flat transaction fee when a match is made between a contractor and a hiring manager. That fee starts at $1,000 and scales down, based on volume. Already SkillsVillage has five customers signed up and $3.2m in funding from Atlas Capital. In the future it hopes to add certification to the services it can offer. We want to be like the ISO [International Standards Organization], Wong concludes. รก
