The nature of work is changing- what your country/sector governments can do to prepare and support their workforce

1. Lavine James-Reid 9/20/20191
STATEMENT: “A proposed solution which can convey how the nature of
work is changing and what your country/sector governments can do to
prepare and support their workforce.
The nature of work is changing, thousands of jobs will be displaced
because of automation in the coming years, however new technologies will
create an even greater number of new jobs for human workers than it will take
away since robots do not have advanced skills such as complex problem-
solving and critical thinking, they cannot replicate socio-behavioral skills such
as empathy, teamwork, and conflict resolution which are also becoming more
valuable in labor markets. People with these skills are becoming more valued
in labor markets and can work more effectively with new technologies.
As conditions change, there is the need to build new comparative advantages
and so Government need to prepare and support their workforce for the new
work environment.
To prepare and support our workforce Government can:
1. Invest in Human Capital which will in turn increase productivity in
future worker leading to positive economic growth. Human
Capital can be defined as the sum of a population’s health, skills,

2. Lavine James-Reid 9/20/20192
knowledge, experience, and habits and as such the Human Capital
Index (HCI) measured by countries looks at the contribution of health
and education to the productivity of future workers. The cost to build
human capital in individuals entails providing healthier diets for school
children, higher quality education and developing socio-behavioural
skills such as teamwork and empathy.
It is important for government to prepare and support our workforce for the
changing work environment by increasing human capital for greater equity and
economic growth and this will positively benefit societies at-large in several
ways:

3. Lavine James-Reid 9/20/20193
a. Increased cognitive and sociobehavioural skills which are very
important for workers in the new economy and helps in their social interactions
in society. These skills will also help individuals in their everyday interactions
at home and in the wider community thus resulting in better dispute
resolutions and thereby reducing the levels of crime and the number of
persons being incarcerated.
b. Higher labor market returns, that is increased productivity as a result of
better-quality trained individuals who are healthy and has great work ethics.
This will create better business environments as the country’s competitive
advantage increases and therefore will attract Foreign Direct Investments that
will have a positive impact on the economy as a whole.
c. Positive economic growth: according to The Human Capital Index
Explained “….human capital alone explains between 10 and 30 percent of
differences in per capita income across countries…”
2. Government can create the conditions for formal sector jobs and offer
better opportunities for the poor and for women who are often excluded
from work. Using technology, governments have new ways to reach the poor
as well as others who lack access to quality services or tools to manage risks.
Persistently high levels of informality are a symptom of the erosion of social
contracts and so Government must seek to reduce or remove informality within
the working environments and include all, especially women and those in rural
areas in the social assistance to enable opportunity for all.
Analyses based on the World Bank’s International Income Distribution Data Set
show that the returns to experience for a worker are higher in the formal sector.
For example, a year spent in the informal sector in Kenya raises income by only
2.7 percent a year. By contrast, workers in the formal sector in Kenya raised
their income by 4.1 percent every year, which is approximately 1.5 times higher
than for incomes in the informal sector.

4. Lavine James-Reid 9/20/20194
3. Government can also prepare and support our workforce in the new
economy by adopting the model developed by Otto von Bismarck,
Germany’s chancellor in the late 19th century which is credited with
inventing social insurance: benefits for workers in the formal sector
financed by dedicated taxes on wages. Government can provide social
protection systems with three main components: a guaranteed social minimum
(with social assistance at its core), social insurance, and labor market regulation
which can effectively manage labor market challenges in this new economy. In
order to more effectively protect people in the future economy, new ideas for a
modern social contract are being developed with drivers such as new
technologies, inefficient public services, social media and urbanization,
changing aspirations among the youth, rising protectionism, conflict and
insecurity.
The country needs to assess their future workers to effectively address the
specific needs of their society. The downside for investment in human capital
is that implementation can be difficult, or politicians may face disincentives as
the investments does not produce societal or economic returns immediately.
Conclusion: The nature of work is changing as a result of fast changes in
technology, however government can respond by supporting the workforce
through the development of human capital to operate at higher skill levels,
create regulations that will enable a formal work environment and providing a
social contract that will give equal opportunity to all.
Sources:
1. The Changing Nature of Work, WorldBank documents, edx course 2019
https://courses.edx.org/courses/
2. SAMAX AMEN 2019
3. Five things Robots Can’t do but People Can, Steven Van Belleghem,
October 27, 2014 https://www.google.com/five-things-that-robots-cant-
do-but-people-can