Gig Economy: Employment For All by begig

Gig economy: Employment for all

The International Labour Organisation 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 categorized 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, organizations are also finding it worthwhile to get freelancers to complete pending tasks and to finalize 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 organizations trim staff. ASSOCHAM had earlier forecast growth at $455 billion by 2024, a figure which has to been doubled after the pandemic. 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. 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: 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. Cloud computing – In the COVID-19 months, as companies have moved their staff from workplaces into their homes, the reliance on videoconferencing facilities and large-scale transfer of information and files, has increased. This is pushing the demand for information storage space or cloud computing Cloud is a virtual space where large files and applications can be stored and accessed remotely through the internet. It’s more cost effective for businesses than using local data centres, their own servers, or proprietary hard drives as many users can together access cloud services at reasonable costs to improve efficiency, speed, productivity and security.

IT analyst company Gartner had predicted in the past that more than 50% companies around the world would move to all-cloud working by 2021. This would involve shifting emails, data analysis, testing and creation of apps apart from audio and video streaming as well as data backup and retrieval, to cloud platforms, allowing companies avoid the bother of paying for and maintaining expensive storage facilities. According to New York based career website, Dice, software engineers, developers, or architects are preferred for jobs if they have cloud computing experience. Hirers are looking for people who have knowledge of programming as languages such as Python, Java, Go and Scala are now being used for cloudbased software. Candidates interested in database programming have to be familiar with Structured Query Language (SQL), NoSQL, and Linux. SQL is a language used for programming. It has been designed for managing data held in a relational database management system (data stored in tables), which can be used in relation to other stored datasets. NoSQL are non tabular systems that store data differently than relational tables. Linux operates like the Unix, a multitasking, multiuser computer operating system. People in this field should also understand the workings of lead cloud service providers such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon and smaller companies such as Dell and Oracle. They have the option of doing a certificate programmer with the major vendors and also tap institutes that offer certifications in cloud tools and technologies. Candidates should also be familiar with work in an integrated environment as no two cloud service providers are likely to have similar strengths. They should know which databases and services are best suited for specific businesses. Knowledge is also required of securing cloud services, including data, services on which apps run, as well as the apps themselves. That’s why candidates should remain updated on everything that’s new in the cyber security space.

Cyber security – The latest Pegasus spyware case in which smart phones of journalists, government officials and human rights activists were allegedly targeted for surveillance by clients of the Israeli company NSO group, is indicative of how far snoops can go to get what they want. According to Risk Based Security, which gathers data on vulnerability intelligence, compromised data and risk ratings, data breaches in the first nine months of 2019 had exposed 7.9 billion records. The scenario is not expected to improve at a time when millions of job cuts have pushed people to the brink of poverty and desperation, leading to a spike in cybercrimes, driving the demand for cyber security experts. Organisations are now keeping aside hefty budgets for programmes that foresee and prevent attacks on mobile phones, servers, computers, and other electronics systems. Those keen to work in this field should have master’s degrees in computer applications, information technology and cyber security as well as a business degree in information security management. Shorter specialisations on ethical hacking, cyber crime investigation, and constant updates on viruses will help. An investigative bent of mind also helps, so those fancying themselves as Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple can definitely opt for this career. Software development – Software developers create, set up and test systems for mobile phones, computers and the web. Programming language is used for creating software so developers have to write a series of interrelated programming code for the software to work. From developing an idea for software, developers are required to design, programme, debug as well as maintain the software. That’s why research and development are key areas in software development. Developers require a bachelor's degree in computer science or related degree. They should know programming languages and be familiar with the entire life cycle of software development.

Data analytics and data science – An analyst who understands and interprets data and a scientist who comes up with innovative ways to capture and analyse data add value to organisations. Candidates in this field need to excel in math and statistics as well as computer programming. Data analysts crunch numbers to figure out why their companies are not performing as well as they should; or why they are not achieving their key performance objectives. Through data modelling, analytics and visualisation, analysts can identify trends that can help team heads work on successful plans to drive businesses. For data querying they use SQL. Excel is required for data analysis and forecasting. Data scientists, on the other hand, have to work on developing better and more efficient ways to gather and interpret data. Most of them use Python, Java and machine learning to read and manipulate data. They mine data by using application programme interface or building extract, transform, load (Or ETL) pipelines, which means using processes to move data from a source or multiple sources into a database such as a data warehouse. For statistical analysis they need to know machine learning algorithms such as natural language processing, logistic regression, kNN, Random Forest or gradient boosting. An interesting part of the data scientist’s work involves setting up ‘libraries’ by creating programming and automation techniques for developing machine learning models. 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. 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. 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. Where to hire There are several platforms that work as an interface between employers and gig workers. Here are the popular ones. 1.

JobsforHer

Contently

Crowdspring

FreelanceDiary

PeoplePerHour

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

Create simple onboarding processes

Make gig workers feel valued

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

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