perspectives from german development cooperation€¦ · development implications of the digital...

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Development Implications of the Digital

Transformation of Labour

Perspectives from German

Development Cooperation:

Linda Gabel

Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale

Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

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Sector Project:

Digital Development

1. Introduction: GIZ Sector Project Digital Development

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About 380 projects implementing digital solutions in 80 countries

ICT Projects in German Development Cooperation

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2. Relevance of Digital Transformation of Labour

We need: 20 million jobs

for Africa

One strategy: Jobs in

the global South to end

poverty

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How can the digital economy help us to create jobs and

end poverty (to reach SDG 1 and SDG 8)?

What can we do to prevent or minimize the negative

impacts of the digital economy and use its potentials at

the same time?

What is our responsibility as German development

cooperation and what is the role of the private sector?

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3. Definition: Digitalisation of Labour

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Digital Labour Market Trends:

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Digital Labour Market Trends

AutomationPlatform

Economy / IT-Sourcing

Digital Enterprise Entrepreneurship

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4. Development Implications

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Automation

• Job loss through automation and reshoring

• Two-thirds of jobs in developing nations could

be wiped out by automation (World Bank 2016)

• Threat that gender-specific challenges of

employment increase on a more technology-

based labour market

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Digital Platforms

• Inadequacy of earnings (‘race to

the bottom’)

• Labour oversupply

• Poor communication and lack of

information in the work process

• Health and safety issues

• Discrimination and poor

treatment

• Long and distorted working

hours

• Lack of collectively bargain and

negotiate

• New employment opportunities

• Can improve payment practices,

• Higher degree of inclusivity and objectivity

• Enable workers to transcend some of the

constraints of their local labour markets

(ineffective, corrupt market and labour

institutions)

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IT-Sourcing/Digital Offshoring

• Poor working conditions

• High rates of staff turnover

• Dependence from their Western employers

• Impact sourcing (include socioeconomically

disadvantaged individuals into the online

offshoring market): jobs and income to poor

communities and helps workers learn

marketable skills

• New jobs on a global labour market

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Titel

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Digital Enterprise and

Entrepreneurship

• Start-ups: just few job opportunities

• Competiveness on a global market

• Exclusion of a huge labour force

lacking access and/or skills for

these jobs

• New employment opportunities in the

long-term

• Participation on a global market (e.g.

eCommerce)

• Creating a local ecosystem

• Fostering innovations

• Stimulating the local market (mainly

urban areas)

How can we support digital

entrepreneuship and enterprises

without doing harm to local markets?

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Strategic Partnerships with the European Private Sector

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How can we minimize the threats and

leverage the opportunities of digital work?

• Enable participation in the digital economy

through education (capacity building)

Providing digital literacy and IT-Skills,

especially for women and girls

• Strenghten local economies through support of

digital enterprises and start-ups

• Strategie partnerships with the European

private sector

• Supporting fair working condition

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Future Skills

• changes across a full range of

education (formal and informal)

• skills requirements change quickly

• Lifelong learning opportunities

• Digital skills

• Demand for computer programming

skills

What future skills will we need to address the new labor market

requirements and to make sure that no one will be left behind in the

digital economy?

Is it enough to provide access and digital literacy skills?

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Initiative #eSkills4Girls – Digital Competencies for Women and Girls

• Digital Economy: Big potential for women empowerment

• initiative #eSkills4Girls promotes education and employment opportunities for

women and girls in the digital economy

• Important topic for the German G20 Presidency

- Africa Code Week with SAP: coding

workshop for 1.3 million youth in

more than 35 countries

- Indonesia: Girls Innovation Camps

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• Jobs: Is the digital economy an answer to the job crisis in

the global South? – How?

• Skills: How to create a robust and future oriented

workforce in the Global South? What are the skills they

need?

• Global / Local Market: How can coders from the global

South compete on a global market? Shoudl we rather

focus on: How can digitalization strengthen local labor

markets?

5. Discussion

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THANK YOU

Contact: linda.gabel@giz.de