Gig economy Employment for all

1. Gig economy: Employment for all

2. The International LabourOrganisation or ILO has come up with grim news, estimating that around 205 million people will be jobless by 2022. An additional 108 million workers worldwide too have been categorised as poor or extremely poor after the COVID-19 outbreak as compared to 2019. This, the ILO states, has undone five years of progress towards the eradication of working poverty, which makes achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty by 2030 even more difficult. In these times, as COVID-19 continues to extract a toll from the planet in terms of restrictions on people’s movement, manufacturing and production, gig work seems to be a reasonable solution when it comes to providing people with a source of income. Minus defined office spaces as work from home gets to be the norm, organisations are also finding it worthwhile to get freelancers to complete pending tasks and to finalise projects requiring inputs of experts. As gig services are also priced low, there’s a real chance of consumer surplus spilling over to various businesses, generating higher incomes and jobs. Though the government needs to come up with regulations for gig companies and acknowledge their role in bringing the economy back on track after the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled, there’s no doubt that these firms are enabling people impacted by the recent layoffs to survive by hiring out their special skills. According to industry estimates, India has about 130 million gig economy workers, and more are expected to be hired after COVID-hit organisations trim staff. ASSOCHAM had earlier forecast growth at $455 billion by 2024, a figure which has to been doubled after the pandemic.    

3. The rise of gig economy in a post pandemic world Gig economy has received a fresh lease of life in a post pandemic world. It has, in fact, gone mainstream. Studies have shown that both those who had lost their jobs following the first wave of Covid-19 and those who had full time jobs, are all looking for flexible job options. Companies too have started shifting full time entry level roles to a gig model. A report by Boston Consultancy Group has indicated that India's gig economy is set to triple in the next three to four years to 24 million jobs from the current eight million. An analysis by Teamlease.com also said that there has been a 2.5x jump in demand for gig jobs since 2019 and an almost 12% increase post the pandemic compared to pre-COVID-19 times. Post the pandemic, there has been greater participation of women in the gig economy. Reports have suggested that women giggers have increased from 12% to 30 % after the first lockdown. The Economic Survey this year too had noted that India is becoming one of the world's largest gig work economies due to proliferation of digital technology. Going forward too, as more organisations look to integrate the traditional workforce with the gig economy, they have to ensure that for the best talent to be retained, the expanding gig economy should not prove to be a hindrance to career growth but rather an advancement tool.

4. Top tech gig skills enterprises are looking for today From data analytics to data science, from artificial engineering to software programming, gig employees with great tech skills are in high demand today as hirers hunt for high-energy, creative but independent individuals who have the ability to think out of the box and add value to an organisation’s output. What counts in the tech world today is:

5. Artificial intelligence (AI) AI was a term coined by American computer scientist John McCarthy. Readers of science fiction of course will love this as AI is meant for creation of intelligent machines that, through repetition, seek to emulate how humans take decisions, think and act. AI’s time seems to have come as The World Economic Forum has forecast that development of machines and algorithms could create 133 million new roles by 2025. So what’s required for careers in AI? For starters, you should have scientific bent of mind with the ability to think innovatively, coupled with strong mathematical and computer programming skills and knowledge of computer applications and computer languages. Communication and analytical skills, expertise in software development as well as an interest in research will help you fathom how machines can think and act intelligently. A degree in computer science is a must with knowledge of programming languages such as Python, Java and Scala.

6. Programming It’s a promising field as the world is relying increasingly on computers and mobile phones. Programmers are ‘instructors’ of machines and teach these how to function. Knowledge of Go, JavaScript, Java, and Python is required if you want to become efficient at writing code to enable computers, applications and software programmes to carry out specific actions. These actions result in how social media platforms work and how browsers and word processing programmes function. JavaScript is a scripting or programming language allowing coders to add special features on web pages such as animated graphics, content updates or scrolling videos. C# is key in programming. It’s an object-oriented and component-oriented easy-to-learn language which produces efficient programmes.

7. Gig working – Everybody is an entrepreneur Amaya Fernandez, 34, has been a Flamenco dancer for years. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, she would spend at least six hours over the weekend to her dance class to perfect the art. It paid off: In the last few years, she has been a top performer in her class. Fernandez was keen to go professional and set up a dance studio but did not dare to quit her day (a senior IT professional) job. However, sometimes passion overrides profession, and that happened to Fernandez also. In November 2020, she built her Flamenco dance platform and started taking online classes since physical classes were not possible. Initially, there were very few students, but slowly it picked up. Today, she has 50 students. But Fernandez is not happy with just a dance class. So along with teaching Flamenco to her students, she started showing them short movies on the dance form, talking to them about the history of Flamenco, and sometimes holds discussions on Spanish food. “I think people need to understand the local/national culture to truly imbibe an art form,” says Fernandez. Her site has live classes and recorded classes, and students can choose their preferred channel and pay accordingly. While Fernandez still does freelance IT work, she is not dependent on that income anymore. “I still take up hi-value IT projects that give me headroom to spend more time on the dance platform”. “The gig economy is not an extra money situation anymore,” says Fernandez. “Traditional jobs are not as sought-after or desirable as they once were, especially by people like me who are in their 30s. I want more flexibility and quality of life. This is the way forward,” she adds. Fernandez is now in talks with a certification institute in Spain for yearly evaluation of her students.

8. Gig hotspots – where to hire? Whom to hire? How to hire? After the economic slowdown in 2020, business sentiment is picking up due to falling Covid-19 cases and increasing vaccinations, but still companies are uncertain about long-term demand and are delaying hiring permanent staff. This means that hiring for temporary jobs is bouncing back, and short-term roles are in high demand. But choosing gig workers is not easy. This is because hiring is quick and there is little downtime that allows companies to do background screening. In most cases, there aren’t any formal processes in place, which can be risky.

9. Where to hire There are several platforms that work as an interface between employers and gig workers. Here are the popular ones. • 1. JobsforHer • 2. Contently • 3. Crowdspring • 4. FreelanceDiary • 5. PeoplePerHour

10. How to hire a gig worker • 1. Always hire for a pilot project or a small ticket task and pay on completion. • 2. Set expectations clearly, but be realistic about them • 3. Create simple onboarding processes • 4. Make gig workers feel valued • 5. Establish a strong background screening policy • 6. Hire from a verified source and partner with an experienced background screening provider, especially when dealing with sensitive data • 7. Get gig workers to sign code of conduct, non-disclosure agreement, or self declaration documents • 8. Implement productivity measurement systems. A rating system could work. • 9. Commissions and bonus can be offered based on productivity

11. Thank you Please Visit :- https://www.begig.io/