Project Presentation: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGruI4fLsQ/wYiTCW-ZjXIPKsVkWIFiFg/edit

Framing the Problem

What is the problem you are trying to solve?

The green economy is growing rapidly, but there's a massive access problem. While the world needs to double its green talent by 2050 to meet net-zero goals, the people who could fill these roles are being left behind.

The specific problems are:

1. Lack of Representation: Only 5-7% of clean-energy workers are from ethnic-minority backgrounds, despite these communities often being most affected by climate change.

2. No Career Guidance: 70% of young people have never received green-career guidance, meaning they don't even know these opportunities exist.

3. Invisible Barriers: Traditional career platforms assume everyone has the same starting point - they don't address real barriers like lack of networks, financial constraints, or unfamiliarity with "green" industries.

4. Scattered Resources: Information about green careers, training, funding, and mentorship exists but is spread across dozens of different websites and organizations.

Who does it affect?

Primary Impact: Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities who face systemic barriers to accessing green career opportunities.

Secondary Impact:

• First-generation college graduates who lack professional networks

• People from lower-income backgrounds who can't afford unpaid internships

• Career changers who don't know how their existing skills translate to green jobs

• Young people in areas with limited green job visibility

Personas:

We created three personas based on real experiences. Jamal Patel is a 23-year-old Environmental Science graduate struggling to break into the green sector despite his qualifications. Aisha Rahman is a 26-year-old Policy Analyst wanting to transition to climate policy but lacking connections. Rohan Singhis a 29-year-old Solar Installer looking to advance to project management roles.

Idea Explanation

What is your idea?

Greenovate Hub is a comprehensive platform that re-imagines access to green careers specifically for underrepresented communities. Instead of just listing jobs, we create a complete support ecosystem.

Elevator Pitch

Greenovate Hub is a one-stop platform breaking down barriers to green careers for under-represented communities. We provide a barrier-aware skills assessment, centralized learning and career pathways, on-demand mentorship, and direct funding opportunities - all in one place so every climate-minded professional can navigate, access, and thrive in tomorrow’s green economy.

How does it fix the problem?

Personalized Assessment & Guidance

Our interactive assessment tool maps your existing skills to green career opportunities. This helps to motivate users, showing they are not starting from zero - they already have valuable, transferable skills. The result provides personalized career pathways based on a user's background and goals.

Removes Information Barriers

Jobs, training, funding and mentorship resources are all provided in one place, which makes it easier for users to gather information. Plain language explanations of what different green careers actually involve enables newcomers to understand what roles are available to them. Real salary ranges and entry requirements enhance transparency, setting realistic expectations.

Community-Driven Development

Greenovate Hub is built FOR underrepresented communities, not just ABOUT them. The community feedback system allows users to shape platform development. Peer networking and experience sharing encourage community connection.

Practical Support

Direct connections to mentors from similar backgrounds can make underrepresented groups feel welcome. Information about grants and funding for underrepresented groups is available on the hub. Childcare-friendly training options and flexible learning paths increases accessibility.

Confidence Building

A skills-based approach that highlights your strengths and step-by-step guidance that doesn't assume prior knowledge can increase users' confidence in their abilities. Success stories from a diverse range of people can help users feel comfortable and motivated.

New ideas suggestion tool

Feature that allows users to submit feedback on how to help support diverse communities. Users can track the status of their submitted ideas (in progress, accepted, rejected), which demonstrates our commitment to acting on their suggestions.

Implementation

Technical Stack Overview

Core Technology Foundation

• Framework: Next.js with React 

• Language: TypeScript

• Styling: Tailwind CSS

• Hosting: Vercel

Features we built:

✅ 10-Step Career Assessment Wizard - Interactive questionnaire

✅ PDF Export - Custom-styled career action plans

✅ Mentor Matching - Algorithm matches users to mentors & courses

✅ Accessibility-First - Screen readers, high contrast, font sizes

✅ Mobile Responsive - Works perfectly on phones/tablets

✅ Progress Tracking - Visual progress bars and completion states

✅ Community Feedback System - Users submit ideas/suggestions and see real responses & actions taken by our team

Current Data Setup

• JSON Files as database (config.json, learning.json)

What's Next (Future Tech)

• 🔄 Real Database - MongoDB or Firebase

• 🤖 AI Integration - ChatGPT/Claude for personalized advice or Llama3 fro local deployment and privacy + RAG

• 🔐 User Accounts - Login and save progress

Why it's cool?

• Actually Accessible - It has accessability widget that cahnges contrast or font size.

• Production Ready - Live on the web right now

• Scalable - Easy to add AI and databases later or to make it separate independent platform/tool.

GitHub: Full source code available

Live Demo: Hosted on Vercel

PDF Generation: Download personalized career plans

Responsive: Works on any device

Challenges

What did you struggle with? How did you overcome it?

Perhaps our most significant challenge was finding the right balance between simplicity and comprehensiveness. We had lots of ideas and features we wanted to add, but not all were feasible within our deadline. Beyond this, we didn't want to overwhelm users with the entire spectrum of green careers to explore. Our solution consisted of refining our design whenever it began to grow too complex and to use a tiered approach with a pyramid structure of progressing for users.

A key aspect that we needed to keep in mind was accessibility. We needed to ensure the platform appealed to users of different abilities and experience levels. Adhering to the Octopus Energy brand to better showcase how our project could be used in real life was important to us, too. We managed these requirements by building accessibility features from the ground up (such as screen reader support, keyboard navigation and visual adjustments) and applying Octopus Energy's colours in a systematic, contrast-appropriate approach. The colour scheme we used included: octopus-dark, octopus-white, octopus-green and octopus-pink.

As the core feature of our project, the assessment tool presented us with the challenge of keeping users engaged. The data collected had to be sufficient for developing a useful action plan, but we didn't want to bore users with a long, complex questionnaire. To prevent users from abandoning the process, we broke the assessment into ten digestible steps, with clear progress indicators and the ability to save or resume their progress.

The time-constraint of this hackathon limited the possibilities for Greenovate Hub. By focusing on structured feedback and voting systems, we were able to create a meaningful community engagement system without building complex social features.

Accomplishments

What did you learn?

Technical Skills:

• How to leverage different AI models to achieve quick MVPrs (v0, cursor, claude, chagpt)

Design Skills:

• Creating inclusive user experiences

• Balancing information density with usability

• Color theory and contrast for accessibility

Problem-Solving:

• How to research and understand complex social problems

• Breaking down large problems into actionable solutions

• Prioritizing features for maximum impact

Teamwork:

• Dividing primary goals into tasks

• Collaborative brainstorming (including methods such as Crazy 8s)

What did you accomplish?

We have built a helpful platform that adheres to our aim, complete with a comprehensive career guidance system, community engagement features, a mobile-responsive design and a dedicated tool for extended accessibility support. By collecting user feedback, the platform is designed to increase its effectiveness and ensure that the features address genuine barriers faced by underrepresented communities. We have provided a service that can provide actionable career advice, which can make a real impact in increasing user prospects.

Technically, we have produced a clean, maintainable codebase with a detailed component library and performance optimization managed through Next.js. Intuitive navigation and consistent design have created an enhanced user experience.

Next Steps

What are the next steps for your project?

Phase 1: Backend Development & Initial Enhancements

• Build user authentication system

• Create database schema for user profiles and assessments

• Implement API endpoints for data management

• Add real-time community features

• Build portal and user journey for mentors

Phase 2: Enhanced Features

• Live mentor matching system

• Individual pages for learning, mentorship, funding, etc.

• Integration with real job boards and training providers

• Advanced analytics and progress tracking

• Mobile app development

Phase 3: Community Growth

• Partner with organizations serving underrepresented communities

• Monetization to ask for sponsorship from mentors and companies

• Launch pilot programs with universities and community colleges

• Develop content partnerships with green employers

• Create certification pathways

Success Metrics:

• Number of users completing assessments

• Career transitions tracked through the platform

• Community engagement levels

• Partner organization adoption

• Diversity metrics in green career placements

Technical Debt to Address:

• Implement proper error handling and loading states

• Implement proper SEO optimization

• Add analytics and user behavior tracking

Conclusion:

We believe that this project represents more than just a platform - it's a movement toward making green careers accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or starting point. By focusing on the real barriers people face and building solutions with the communities we serve, we're not just creating another job board - we're re-imagining what career support can look like in the 21st century.