How to manage the future of work and reduce the employment gap – Orange County Register

Despite recent surges in the stock market and the promising jobs numbers in the wake of the pandemic, the recovery has been quite uneven, hurting Black and Hispanic workers more than white employees, for example.

The disparate effects of both the pandemic and nationwide protests and unrest reinforce the importance of addressing the widening national employment gap between the Haves and Have-Nots. The contrast between professional, educated, new-economy workers, and the rest of the workforce has never been sharper. These two crises together serve as a wake-up call for investing in re-shaping the American workforce.

Silicon Valley is home to both sides of this growing chasm. Some fortunate technology companies sit near their all-time high market values—including Amazon, Twilio, Wix, Salesforce, Shopify, and Zoom—but others face a much bleaker outlook, dealing with layoffs and complete shutdowns. So, while many are quickly regaining their footing, their neighboring small businesses and service-sector employees are struggling for their livelihoods.

Distributed work disruption

This widening gap exists not just among individuals, but across companies, industrial sectors, and countries. Even before the pandemic forced the world to work remotely in March, a shift to distributed work was underway that industry leaders have been evangelizing for years.

This disruptive change—a variant of work-from-home—has made poorer, less-educated workers more vulnerable than ever. Many companies have already announced plans to shift to distributed work structures, including Twitter, Square, and Coinbase. But what will happen to employees who are not in white-collar, office jobs?

One of many effects of more distributed work will be to broaden the employer’s job applicant pool. As they recruit for open positions, employers will be less restricted to their office locations, rewarding skills but punishing those lacking and further exacerbating this employment gap.

Addressing the widening skills and employment gap

What should employers and employees do, and how can governments and public-sector organizations help?

First, enterprises should follow the best practices of companies that have invested heavily in training, and upskilling. Industry expert, Josh Bersin, explains we will have to “learn our way out of this crisis.” He points to MacQuarie Bank and Novartis as examples of companies that have successfully accelerated learning programs in response to COVID-19. Privately-held Mars, Inc., is another company investing heavily in corporate training and upskilling, working with solutions to help employees with their management and learning needs.

Second, larger companies like Mastercard and T-Mobile are showing how they can help small businesses and their employees by offering tangible benefits and valuable programs. Policymakers should follow their lead by offering tax incentives and rebates to companies that make concrete upskilling and corporate learning investments with tangible results.

Also, public-sector and industry leaders should follow the example of India’s leading IT and BPO association NASSCOM, with 2,000 member companies representing 90 percent of the country’s IT revenues. The association’s upskilling initiative, called FutureSkills, is used by companies that include Wipro and Tech Mahindra.