The document discusses the changing nature of work and the need for government investment in human capital to enhance workforce adaptability in Nigeria. It identifies obstacles such as political disincentives and the prevalence of informal labor, which complicate social protection efforts. Proposed solutions include investing in education, strengthening social protections, and fostering private sector participation to create formal jobs and improve skills.

1. A Proposed Solution which
can convey how the nature of
work is changing and what
your country/sector
government can do to prepare
and support their workforces.
By
Ugwu, Chinemerem Promise

2. The major challenge to solving the problems
posed by the change in the nature of work
include:
• Governments in pursuit of economic growth love to
invest in physical capital -new roads, beautiful
bridges, gleaming airports and other infrastructure.
But they are typically far less interested in investing
in human capital which is the sum total of
population's health, skills, knowledge and experience.
This is disheartening because neglecting investment
in human capital can dramatically weaken a country
's competitiveness in a rapidly changing world.

3. The main obstacles currently standing in the
way of preparing and supporting the workforce
for the change in the nature of work are:
•
•
Despite how crucial it's for governement to
invest in capital, policy often gets in the way.
Politicians may lack the incentives to support
policies that can take decade to pay off. For
example in the absence of a pandemic,they can
usually get away with neglecting public health.
One other reason why government do not
invest in human capital is lack of political
incentive

4. A proposed solution which can convey how the nature
of work is changing and what my country/sector
governments can do to prepare and support their
workforces. To prepare and support the work force in
view of the change in the nature of work in Nigeria ; the
government has to
•Invest in Human capital: particularly early
childhood education, to develop higher
order cognitive and socio-behavioural
skills in addition to foundational skills.
Human capital is important because there
is now a higher premium on adaptability.

5. •
•
Strengthen social protection: a solid
guaranteed social minimum and
strengthened social insurance,
complemented by reforms in labour
market rules in some emerging
economies.
Achieve social inclusion.

6. •Create fiscal space for investments in
human capital development and social
protection: strengthen underused tax
instruments, combined with
eliminating tax avoidance and
improving tax administration.

7. •The social assistance and insurance
systems should also be adapted to the
changing nature of work. The concept of
progressive universalism could be a
guiding principle in covering more
people, especially in the informal
economy. When social protection is
established, flexible labour regulation
eases work transitions.

8. Challenges to implementing the solution
•
•
Implementing is challenging because raising funds for
such investment in human capital has become a hard
nut that cannot be cracked. In some countries, citizens
do not trust their government so they hesitate to pay tax
money thatthey worry will be misspent. It's hard for
government to deliver quality services if there's not
enough money.
70 percent of the economic activities that take place in
the developing economies take place in theinformal
market. Hence, getthese labour force into the social
protection becomes difficult.

9. Reasons for governement, private sector
and stakeholders participation.
•
•
•
Governments can raise returns to work by creating
more formal jobs for the poor. They can do this by
nuturing an enabling environment for business,
investing in enterprenuership training for adults, and
increasing access to technology.
Private sector can establish training for their
workforce to acquire the skills in high demand in the
work place.
Stakeholders participation in change of the nature of
work is indispensable.

10. A case study.
• it's rarely unpopular to fund public health programs by raising
tax or diverting money from more visible expenditure such as
infrastructure or public services especially in countries like
Nigeria. The government in Nigeria ran into major resistance in
2012 when it removed the country's fuel subsidy to spend more
on maternal and child health services. Media coverage focused
on the unpopular repeal of the subsidy and paid less attention to
the much needed expansion of primary health care. After
widespread public protest, the subsidy was reinstated. This
resistance is partly explained by a weak social contract: citizens
do not trust their government, so they hesitate to pay tax money
that they worry will be misspent.

11. References
Brynjolfsson, Erik, Andrew McAfee, Michael Sorell, and Feng Zhu.
“Scale without Mass: Business Process Replication and Industry
Dynamics.” Harvard Business School Technology and Operations
Management Unit Research Paper No. 07-016, Cambridge, MA.
Clausing, Kimberly A. 2016. “The Effect of Profit Shifting on the
Corporate Tax Base in the United States and Beyond.” National
Tax Journal 69 (4): 905–34.
Djankov, Simeon, Rafael la Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, and
Andrei Shleifer. 2002. “The Regulation of Entry.” Quarterly Journal
of Economics 118 (1): 1–37.