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NextStep

💡 Inspiration

Unemployment in Canada is at an all-time high in 2025, and it hits young people the hardest.
Teens want to make money, gain experience, and help their communities, but finding flexible, safe, and legit work opportunities is tough.

Instead of endless job applications that lead nowhere, why not create a space where you can just pick up a quick gig, do the job, and get paid?

That’s the idea behind NextStep, the platform that lets teens take their first step into work, independence, and community impact.

⚙️ What it does

NextStep is like a teen-friendly TaskRabbit/Airtasker, but built with safety and simplicity in mind:

🚀 Job Listings in Seconds: Homeowners and locals post small tasks (shoveling snow, dog walking, tutoring).
📲 Quick Work for Teens: Teens browse nearby gigs and accept tasks that fit their schedule.
📝 Volunteer Mode: Teens can log volunteer hours for school, with a downloadable PDF tracker.
🔒 Safe Accounts: Custom user model with guardian_email + minor verification built in.

Think of it as: “Get your money, not your funny.”

🛠️ How we built it

Backend: Django REST Framework with JWT authentication + SQLite/PostgreSQL database.
Frontend: SvelteKit + TypeScript for a fast, modern, mobile-friendly UI.
Authentication: Access + refresh tokens for smooth sessions.
Monorepo: One repo, simple npm scripts to launch backend + frontend concurrently.
Collaboration: GitHub branching, quick merges, and (a few) emergency resets.

🧩 Challenges we ran into

Wrestling with CORS + API integration to get SvelteKit and Django.
Adapting quickly to new stacks under hackathon time pressure.
Git Collapse: resets, merges, and repo mishaps that ate into dev time.

🏆 Accomplishments that we’re proud of

Delivering a working MVP (job posting + teen accounts) in just hours.
Building a safety-focused user system from scratch.
Creating the volunteer PDF log feature that could actually help teens earn school credit.
Surviving setbacks and shipping something that solves a real community problem.

📚 What we learned

How to bridge Django APIs with a modern frontend (and why architecture matters).
The value of scoping ruthlessly — MVP > perfection in hackathons.
Even small UX touches (like simple onboarding for teens) can make a platform feel legit.
That solving problems you actually see around you is way more rewarding than building in a vacuum.

Fun fact: We even thought about modeling youth unemployment rates with data — something like:

Youth unemployment in 2025 is around 18%, compared to a national average of about 8%.

showing how much harder it is for teens to find work.

🚀 What’s next for NextStep

🛡️ Safety Tools: ID verification, parental consent flows, and trust badges.
🤖 AI Matching: Suggest gigs based on skills, schedule, and location.
🌍 Community Expansion: Open it up beyond teens — seniors, students, neighbors helping neighbors.

So What is the NextStep? Get your money, not your funny!