UNITED STATES “ICTs Are Creating New Jobs and Making Labor Markets More Innovative, Inclusive, and Global,” World Bank Study Finds Washington (WORLD BANK - Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are transforming the world of work, creating new job opportunities and making labor markets more innovative, inclusive, and global, says a new policy note released earlier this week by the World Bank. “ICTs are influencing employment both as an industry that creates jobs and as a tool that empowers workers to access new forms of work, in new and more flexible ways,” said Chris Vein, World Bank Chief Innovation Officer for Global ICT Development. “The emerging ICT-enabled employment opportunities matter because countries around the world are looking to create more good jobs, which have positive economic and social implications for workers and for society.” The new policy note, “Connecting to Work: How Information and Communication Technologies Could Help Expand Employment Opportunities,” identifies three global drivers responsible for the increase in ICT-related jobs worldwide: Greater connectivity (more than 120 countries now have over 80 percent market penetration of mobile telephones); digitization of more aspects of work (today, telecommuting and outsourcing have become standard business practices globally), and more globalized skills (India and the Philippines have become major outsourcing hubs thanks to their English language skills, and other countries are targeting the sector for future growth). ICTs are providing new avenues for job creation that could help tackle global unemployment. For instance, the development of the mobile phone applications industry has created new opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A firm that provides a digital application to the Apple app store, for example, gains access to over 500 million app store account holders. ICTs connect people to jobs. Online employment marketplaces are helping an estimated 12 million people worldwide find work by connecting them with employers globally. Babajob in India, Duma and M-Kazi in Kenya, and Souktel in the Middle East and North Africa are examples of job search services using internet-based and mobile tools. Such services empower workers by making labor markets more transparent and inclusive; for instance, Souktel targets low-income and marginalized communities.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 13:41:23 +0000