Oare Ehiemua has launched a mission to tackle the challenges faced by Nigerian artisans and clients seeking their services. Although a large workforce of electricians, carpenters, and masons, many artisans have difficulty securing stable employment due to a lack of certification, structured job placement systems, and access to financing for essential tools. On the other hand, developers and individual clients often struggle to find reliable, skilled professionals to hire. This disconnect has led to inefficiencies, substandard workmanship, and limited economic opportunities for skilled artisans.
Drawing from her extensive human resources background and tenure at African Capital Alliance, she was acutely aware of the unemployment rates and the pressing need for skilled labour in the construction sector. This insight led her to establish OPL Academy, an organisation dedicated to training young construction artisans and providing them with entry-level opportunities. It has successfully trained over 3000 Artisans.
“Coming to this training has opened my eyes and mind to the reality that I need to constantly grow in my technical skills but, more importantly how I relate with my colleagues and clients.”- Student review
Unfortunately, despite the academy’s success in equipping artisans with essential skills, Oare Ehiemua still identified a significant gap: a reliable platform to connect these trained professionals with potential clients.
Motivated by this disconnect, she founded LaborHack, a digital platform that connects vetted and certified artisans with job opportunities.
LaborHack’s primary objective is to offer clients access to a vetted pool of artisans on demand, ensuring that services rendered meet the highest standards of quality and professionalism and that workers are not underpaid.
Ehiemua leverages technology to ensure that the platform provides artisans with consistent employment opportunities and instils confidence in clients seeking reliable, skilled workers. Since its inception, the company has impacted Nigeria’s blue-collar, providing artisans with training, certification, financial support, and a seamless employment network.
Oare Ehimua has partnered with accreditation bodies in the United Kingdom and the United States to ensure that LaborHack provides certifications benchmarked against internationally recognised qualifications, including UK City & Guilds and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB). This enhances the credibility and employability of trained artisans, allowing them to compete in domestic and international markets.
Reports show they’ve made $320,000 from investors such as Techstars and Future Africa.
A key component of this success is its strategic collaboration with financial institutions, which has enabled initiatives such as the Buy Now, Pay Later Tool Financing Product. This product offers artisans up to 80% financing for essential tools and equipment. The organisation deployed this strategy to alleviate financial barriers among artisans, empower them to expand their service offerings and improve job performance.
Over the years, the organisation has scaled its operations, ensuring that large-scale developers and small business owners can efficiently hire skilled artisans. Through LaborHack, Oare Ehiemua continues to reshape the future of skilled Artisans in Nigeria.
