For us at CityLAB, it’s always a special moment when we get to test our prototypes with users and hear their feedback. It’s even better when our historic rooms at Tempelhof Airport are filled for a day with the generation growing up with artificial intelligence – and to whom we were able to present our AI training assistant from our project “Your Training Assistant” (working title AzuKI). Young people, who still have their careers ahead of them, met with stakeholders from education, administration, civil society and tech. The audience had plenty to say and surprised us more than once.
The fact that we were able to develop this event and the prototype in such close collaboration with our young target audience is largely thanks to our partnership with JOBLINGE. Their direct access to teenagers and young adults highlights just how important such influencers and stakeholders are for public innovation – because without them, the actual users often remain out of reach.
The result exceeded our expectations. Our expertise – drawn from different age groups and perspectives – inspired one another and turned the event into something that worked particularly well for our target audience and their needs. A test session suddenly turned into an icebreaker, and a feedback session turned into paper aeroplanes.
No gatekeeping – job seekers, professionals and AzuKI all in one place
What am I good at? What do I enjoy doing? What matters to me? These questions usually mark the start of the search for the right course of study. Anyone who hasn’t known since childhood what they want to be can quickly lose sight of the bigger picture when faced with so many options.
AzuKI is designed to help with this. It’s a simple and intuitive AI application that asks me the right questions so I can learn more about myself. Based on my answers, it creates a profile of my interests, skills and values. These are then compared and matched against the hundreds of apprenticeship roles available. What makes it special is that I can enter whatever I like – even outside the predefined categories. AzuKI can understand and process free-form input. And if I ever find myself struggling to understand AzuKI, the AI can answer my questions individually, adapting to my language habits in the process.
Putting AI to the test: The AI generation as the best critics
An app is only as good as the people who develop it. And who better to involve than the target group itself? Throughout the project, the young people were repeatedly involved, trying things out and providing valuable guidance and inspiration on the direction in which the product should develop. In doing so, they really put the ‘intelligence’ of the AI to the test, because it turns out that vocational training is as diverse and individual as the trainees themselves.
During the trial run, it becomes clear that many young participants disagree with the AI’s suggestions. They are puzzled as to why they are suddenly being presented with careers they hadn’t even considered. That’s a good thing. Where there is friction and irritation, there is criticism. Are the suggestions not well-tailored enough? Do we need more questions and input from users? Or is the application doing exactly what it’s supposed to do, namely broadening perspectives and delivering unexpected results?
In one instance, the confusion is quickly resolved. The participant answers the questions a second time – this time, she also enters her ‘secret talent’ in the text box. She is now very happy with the suggestions. The lesson we learn from this is that the app should do more to encourage users to reveal their hidden talents.
Real-time feedback for user testing tailored to the target audience
On the day, we want to find out as much as possible from our participants. What challenges and issues are on their minds? Does the app meet their needs? What do we need to improve so that they can use it in their daily lives? To ensure that all this feedback doesn’t become overwhelming, we’ve come up with a range of formats – both digital and in-person:
- Hands-on testing of the application, with observation and follow-up questions
- Structured feedback sessions in various small groups
- Digital voting via mobile phone, with live results displayed on the big screen
The highlight to round off the event is the paper aeroplane activity. Participants can use different coloured A4 sheets to share their views on what they would definitely not entrust to AI and what they find most challenging about the application process. These colourful sheets were then folded into paper aeroplanes and launched simultaneously towards the stage on command.
Looking ahead – can AI be used fluently and confidently in the job search?
Our project “Your Training Assistant” will run until December 2027 and is funded by the Civic Innovation Platform of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS). It is based on an open-source large language model and utilises data on apprenticeship places as well as the expertise of JOBLINGE Berlin.
Through targeted questions, the AI application creates a personalised skills profile and compares it with relevant apprenticeship roles. In addition, the tool provides information on personal advisory services to offer further support alongside the AI-powered recommendations.
The next round of prototyping will start soon – naturally, once again in collaboration with those for whom we are building it. Because only in this way can we create a tool that not only impresses technologically, but also opens real doors to dream careers.
When young people feel seen and have a tool that truly suits them, self-confidence grows. That is our goal. And the event has shown: we are on the right track.
