Ali Mahlodji is trying to prepare the next generation of Austrians for jobs that do not yet exist. The company he founded eight years ago, Whatchado, helps match jobseekers with companies and informs first-time would-be employees about careers they may not have learnt about in school.
Mr Mahlodji, a former teacher who came to Austria as a refugee from Iran 35 years ago, grounded the company in his experiences as a young man. Before dedicating himself to start-ups, he had held more than 40 jobs, from cleaning floors, project managing at a corporate technology company, to teaching at a high school.
“Sixty-five per cent of children entering primary school today will end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist,” says Mr Mahlodji, citing a 2017 study by the World Economic Forum.