A proposed solution which can convey how the nature of work is changing and what my country can do to prepare and support their workforce

1. THE FUTURE OF WORK
A proposed solution which can convey how the nature of work is changing and what my country
can do to prepare and support their workforce.
I am a Nigerian. The date today is 11/9/2019, an increase in Vat was just proposed by the Minister of
Finance (from 5 percent if I am not mistaken) to 7 percent. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/09/fg-
increases-vat-to-7-2/. Now the simple question I want to ask is was all the money previously collected as
VAT been put to good use that will or has benefited the common man?
The government should provide an online platform where people can monitor how funds collected as
VAT are used .This will encourage people to pay taxes and also justify the reason for bringing up such a
proposal in the first place. The people, especially the common man need to be able to trust and have faith
in the Government, he should be able to trust that money collected as VAT will be used to secure his
future and that of Generations yet unborn. Improve Human capital and leverage on Technology to provide
basic Education and improve Healthcare systems.
The nature of work is changing, people are of the opinion that machines will take over a lot of jobs
through automation, which is not true due to the fact that on the other hand innovation will create other
opportunities and provide new jobs. People need to be ready to take on the challenges ahead. The only
way we will be ready is for people to be educated. This is where the Government comes in, equal
opportunity should be giving to everyone to thrive. A society with equality of opportunity is often defined
as a society that manages to give all its members an equal chance to attain economic and social well-
being. However, this happens only if all members of society have access to some guaranteed social
minimum, including health care, education, and social protection. The adoption of automation and other
(high) skill-biased technologies has stoked fears of job losses by less-skilled workers. By contrast, the
adoption by informal firms and farms of low-skill-biased digital technologies that are complementary to
less sophisticated workers offers the potential of a poverty-reducing trajectory by enabling them to learn,
access credit, and perform higher-skill tasks, increasing the incomes of existing workers and creating
more job opportunities. World Development Report 2019 broadly discusses these issues for developing
countries; yet, further contextualization is useful to account for the specific circumstances in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The informal sector accounts for a sizable proportion of employment and output in African
economies. Building pathways to full formalization in Africa has had limited success to date. It may
better be viewed as a long-term policy goal. Short- to medium-term policies should realistically focus
more on upgrading the skills of workers and the productivity of firms in the informal sector.
The informal sector in Africa is really large. Formalization of small and large scale business will help in
boosting economy at the same time putting more money in the hands of the common man. The primary
goal of common pro-formalization reforms is to achieve the transition of informal labor and production
units to the formal sector using a range of incentives and enforcement tools. In the long run, a supportive
business environment and even-handed enforcement will likely help some productive informal firms to
grow and ultimately become formal, as they perceive a beneficial trade-off between the gains and the
costs of operating formally (Grimm, Knorringa, and Lay 2012). By connecting more informal businesses
with consumers, digital technologies can strengthen the backbone of Sub-Saharan African economies. In
low-income environments, low-skill-biased digital technologies, through instructional videos, voice
activated tactile screens, and simple-to-use applications, can empower low-skilled informal workers to
perform higher-skilled tasks and learn as they work. Such technologies can enable workers without any
collateral but with the ability to make small savings to access credit and insurance products based on their
recorded savings and purchase histories, and to be matched to better jobs over time.
Government should invest early in children. Investing in early childhood development can foster
opportunity. One estimate suggests that expansion of early childhood development policies in the United
States could reduce inequality by 7 percent and increase intergenerational income mobility by 30
percent.5 Equality of opportunity also means boosting social protections, including social assistance and
insurance, in ways that are compatible with work. These elements of the social contract echo the three
freedoms featured by Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen in Development as Freedom: political freedoms

2. and transparency in relations between people, freedom of opportunity, and economic protection from
abject poverty.
To achieve all these one critical thing is to have honest leaders, good policy makers that are just, who will
provide a level playing field for everyone. People who will put the community and the Nation first, not
their interest or the family and friends.