Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Broken record, yes? It’s what’s
needed in the Pacific as lifestyles change, as communities develop. It’s
doubtful policy makers thought too far ahead in terms of what would happen as
economies transitioned due to trade. What would people do?
This is of particular concern for youth in the Pacific,
specifically educated youth. Here is a whole subset of the labour force that is
unemployed or underemployed - unproductive if you think in terms of its
productivity potential. We need jobs for youth, and they need to be productive,
allow for social protection AND promote the idea of sustainability. Ideally,
they would also focus on transferable skills that can move across sectors and
borders.
The Asian Development Bank undertook a study on labour
market challenges in Fiji, which can, without too much controversy, be
extrapolated across the Pacific. They note that there is low economic
investment (to scale up sustainable home industries and develop domestic
markets), there is a significant rural-urban wage gap, there is a definite
youth unemployment and skills gap, and a significant skills mismatch where
people are in productive employment.
One of the challenges is that many youth career aspirations
lean towards white collar jobs (think doctor, teacher, civil servant) while
trade or technical skills are severely lacking across the region. With
encroaching climate change, trade and technical skills to facilitate adaptation
are critical.
There is also the option of opening up the region to new types
of employment. One very interesting suggestion was to transition part of the
labour force to digital labour - focussing on the knowledge economy. It has a
significantly smaller ecological footprint, and focuses on skills that are
transferable across sectors AND countries.
What are the benefits in the context of the Pacific? You can
work anywhere. It is often micro-work (meaning it doesn’t require years of
post-secondary schooling) focussing on transcribing audio and video files, or
updating databases. It does, however, necessitate good ICT, which has been
unreliable and disproportionately expensive in the Pacific to date. The World Bank identifies four ‘pillars’ that
underpin a knowledge economy, of which some aspects could well suit Pacific
island economic development needs in the sector.
1.
Institutional structures that provide incentives for
entrepreneurship and use of knowledge (think: how to get global companies to
outsource digital micro work to the Pacific)
2.
Skilled labour availability and good education systems
(education needs more prioritization on being digitally literate)
3.
ICT infrastructure and access (expensive but a
worthwhile investment not just for economic growth but also service provision
such as distance education and health care)
4.
A vibrant innovation landscape (building up academia,
the private sector and civil society to act as ‘laboratories’ for ideas that
could generate digital and knowledge-based economic opportunities).
A benefit of a knowledge and skills based economy is that it
is more resilient to the challenges of climate change, and it provides
opportunities to diversify from traditional employment in the region such as
agriculture, fisheries, tourism and government.
Investment in trade and technical skills development will,
by far, have a faster payoff, as long as there is parallel investment in
developing businesses that employ trades and technical skills. Investing in
developing a knowledge economy is a long game, and requires equal if not more
investment to improve education to meet knowledge economy needs. Both are
options, in some combination, for countries in the region. Both allow for the
development of transferable skills whether in the Pacific or abroad. It is a
win-win. An expensive win-win, so development aid will a crucial component of
any decision to walk this path.
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