US job training must teach the new skills the labor force needs to get work

My parents came to this country in 1978. Like so many first generation children of Indian immigrants, I learned to believe in a dream that is as much American as it is universal: a dream of equal opportunity for all based on merit, of power concentrated not in the hands of a few at the top, but fanning across a large, educated, and civically engaged middle class.

The reality, though, is that Americans have an increasingly difficult time rising from the bottom of the economic playing field. Part of the reason is because of the severe poverty that exists in the US–people have a harder time rising to the top because they start further behind. What’s worse is that people born into poverty tend to stay there.

At least five major studies in recent years have found the United States to be less mobile than comparable nations. A project led by Markus Jantti, an economist at a Swedish university, found that 42% of American men raised in the bottom fifth of incomes stay there as adults. That shows a level of persistent disadvantage much higher than in Denmark (25%) and Britain (30%)—a country famous for its class constraints. Meanwhile, just 8% of American men at the bottom rose to the top fifth. That compares with 12% of the British and 14% of the Danes.

The income compression in rival countries may also make them seem more mobile. Reihan Salam, a writer for The Daily and National Review Online, has calculated that a Danish family can move from the 10th percentile to the 90th percentile with $45,000 of additional earnings, while an American family would need an additional $93,000.

The bottom line is incomes have stagnated for working class Americans, driven in part by technological advances. The GDP and productivity rates, traditional measurements of economic growth, have slowed greatly over the last decade. While many believe these fail to take into account significant technological advances such as the iPhone, Uber, and other digital creations, it’s clear that the economy is not working for all Americans.

In a recent interview in Harvard Business Review, authors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee explain that while digital technologies will help economies grow faster, not everyone will benefit equally. Brynjolfsson says, “Digitization is creating new types of economic disruption. In part, this reflects the fact that as computers get more powerful, companies have less need for some kinds of workers. Even as it races ahead, technological progress may leave some people—perhaps even a lot—behind.” It’s not worth disputing this fact. But it is important to discuss how we respond. The opportunity is there for us to leverage the forces of change.

Today’s digital shift occurs in concert with a massive movement of jobs from traditional employers to freelance marketplaces. These marketplaces, long stuck under the radar, are now exploding and growing 20% faster than offline work. They’re as varied as Uber and Lyft for transportation, Care.com for babysitters, home-health workers, and dog walkers, Postmates and Caviar for food delivery, and TaskRabbit for nearly any errand. And they are creating a new career path for a lot of people. According to newly released statistics from the Government Accountability Office, over 40% of all U.S. workers are contingent, which includes temp workers, contractors, on-call workers, part-time employees, and the self-employed.

According to McKinsey, by 2025, online work will add $2.7 trillion to the global GDP and enable 540 million people to access work. Yet our job training infrastructure, especially our publicly funded colleges and vocational schools—the basis for the kind of meritocracy my parents sought when they moved here—lags dramatically behind that of other countries.

Many federal and state-funded job training programs lack awareness of the explosive growth of the contingent and increasingly web-mediated economy. Community colleges, a system of schools designed to put people to work, have a 70% dropout rate nationwide. And even when people do manage to finish, they emerge with training that doesn’t equip them to succeed in the new economy—skills like marketing one’s talents in an online profile, submitting applications for project-based work, and developing new skills using on-line resources. Many of the non-profits providing free educational resources, including websites like Code.org and Khan Academy, mainly attract wealthier people who grew up using the internet and learning to be autodidacts.

But there are some promising efforts out there to alter this reality. The state of Colorado and the city of Phoenix have recently partnered with the Markle Foundation, which has convened a diverse group of CEOs, educators, thought leaders, and community advocates to expand opportunity for all Americans. Working directly with local communities, Rework America is currently focused on creating a skills-based labor market to better inform job seekers about the skills needed for meaningful work and to better connect them to those jobs, as well as help create a pipeline of more qualified workers to fill middle-skill jobs.

Some skills might seem obvious to those of us who grew up with computers in the home. If you’re reading this on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, you likely have a hard time understanding why the flood of websites offering part-time work at higher than minimum wage have a hard time finding applicants. The answer: our publicly-funded job training infrastructure doesn’t teach people how to navigate these systems. I’m not talking about coding, which has become a national obsession. I’m talking about the more basic skills required to find and, in some cases, perform part-time, project-based work through the internet. Skills like data entry, internet research, and an understanding of technologies like Gmail and Google Docs to secure one of the many jobs posted for virtual administrative or customer support in rising categories like Real Estate, Law, HR and Accounting.

Labor looks different in the 21st century. And so should our job training programs. In 2011, the US alone spent $18 billion on 47 programs that resulted in poor tracking and overlapping missions. Two major shifts would help us prepare more people for today’s workforce. First, all organizations receiving federal or state funds for job training should be required to have an online jobs component to their training programs, regardless of the type of job we’re training people to perform. Using the internet to secure employment is as vital to a construction worker as it is to a software engineer.

Second, we need to do more to ensure that people are not left out of the benefits afforded by technological progress. At Sama we do this through offering a free 10-week program to people in underserved communities, teaching basic digital literacy and in-demand skills like social media marketing and personal finance to help get people up and running on sites like Upwork and TaskRabbit. From those that have graduated and go on to complete freelance contracts, we’ve seen a 27% increase in hourly wages, which tells us this model is a successful model for change. We also just launched online with the intent to reach even more people, both domestically and abroad.

We’re not the only ones making progress. Year Up and Per Scholas are other great examples of organizations that are challenging traditional job training and thinking about how we can prepare more people for work in the digital economy. We’re doing our part by growing the talent pool and motivating more people to return to the workforce. Now it’s up to you to hire them.

This Labor Day, think about how we can give more people the opportunity to participate in today’s changing world of work. Encourage your local politicians to support online work initiatives and look closely at the education and labor policies your presidential candidate of choice represents. If you’re in the position to do so, consider hiring someone from one of the many online work platforms or through one of the job training programs I mentioned.

I still believe in the dream I was taught when I was young, in equal opportunity for all and inclusive view of the future of work. It’s not that we need a new American Dream but a different approach in achieving it.

This is how sub-Saharan Africa will cash in on its youth

At a time when population growth is slowing across the globe, sub-Saharan Af­rica’s (SSA) population will more than double to two billion by 2050. The vast majority of this population will be young: In 10 years, the region will be home to around a quarter of the global population aged 24 and younger.

To capitalize on its youthful populace and boost economic growth across the region there will need to be strong and sustainable job creation to match the demographic boom. But there’s work to be done: between 2000 and 2008 Africa created 73 million jobs, but only 16 million for young people.

Surely, this would be a challenge for any economy, but the charge stands even taller for a regional labor market that is already struggling to absorb workers into formal employment. Currently, an overwhelming majority of workers are either self-employed or work unpaid for their families. And the need for job creation is particularly crucial for Africa’s youth—they comprise around 60 percent of Africa’s unemployed, compared to a 44 percent global average.

But while Africa’s potential labor force is hefty and growing, big parts of the workforce remain unskilled, and there is a need for more colleges and technical schools to generate those skills. According to the World Bank, about two-thirds of all young workers in the sub-Saharan labor market—95 million people—lack the basic skills needed to be competitive. What’s more, unemployment rates for graduates are often high. In Nigeria, the graduate unemployment rate is 23.1 percent, and in Kenya, it can take up to five years for a graduate to secure relevant employment.

It’s easy to lambast ed­ucation that does not develop employable skills, and it’s true that one part of the problem is a lack of effective and widespread technical instruction. But there is also a gap in the data and available tools that might better pair skilled workers with those jobs that need their labor. Plainly, Africa needs a closer dialogue between schools and industry to optimize the demand and supply of skills.

The right strategy for Africa will address these weaknesses and make the investments today that strengthen the foundation for jobs of tomorrow. This strategy should rest on three tenets:

1. Education: Efforts to strengthen the education system should steer more student towards STEM subjects, increase funding for technical and vocational colleges, and improve ties between industry and labor.

2. Openness and localization: Policymakers should focus on creating a level playing field, eliminating regulatory burdens and streamlining administrative procedures. Further, allowing freer movement for skilled foreign workers can make it easier for companies—both domestic and foreign—to establish themselves and rapidly hire African nationals.

3. Enabling the Future of Work: Tenets 1 and 2 are needed to boost already established industries and to help broaden manufacturing capacity to extend the region’s industrial base. And with technology spurring rapid innovations across industry, government policy should encourage the rapid blend of digital and physical technologies—this could set the stage for sub-Saharan Africa to leapfrog outmoded industrialization models and surpass global competitors.

There is no industry more poised for future improvement than Africa’s healthcare sector. In a survey of over 110 African and Middle Eastern leaders, 77% of respondents rated “education and training to improve skills and increase capacity” as the single most important investment to im­prove national healthcare. The skills gap in leadership and management is particularly acute, but there’s room to foster clinical and technical training, as well as in the IT and e-health fields.

Since 2013, GE Healthcare has led over 25 Ministry of Health and regional leadership teams through its Leadership, Inno­vation, and Strategy (LIS) program. The curriculum focuses on improving the patient experience, designing strat­egy in uncertain times, innovation, and healthcare leadership development, drawing material from leading universities and healthcare institutions as well as GE Crotonville.

The educational innovations seeking to narrow the skills gap leverage the same robust entrepreneurial spirit that’s bloomed throughout the host of technology hubs in the region. The sub-Saharan’s youthful glow and enthusiastic dynamism will define Africa’s future, but their collective talents cannot go to waste; governments should continue to invest more in education and skills development. But the private sector can help, and GE stands strong in its ongoing commitment to doing more to help build African human capital.

Where the elderly are still working, whether by choice or necessity

Across the US, people are enjoying time off today for Labor Day. Perhaps they’re visiting parents or grandparents—after all, they probably have the day off work, too.

The workforce, like society at large, is aging. In the US, there are some 3 million more workers over 65 than there were a decade ago. Although these older employees only comprise 5% of the total workforce, they are one of the fastest growing groups of employed Americans:

With pensions punished by the financial crisis, some older people are working longer than they expected to fund their (delayed) retirement. And given that people are living longer, others choose to pass the time staying busy at work instead of pottering around at home. Still othersare being specifically sought for their experience and sympathetic customer-service skills.

Overall, nearly a fifth of Americans over 65 are still working, which is among the highest rates in advanced economies. With similar dynamics across the rich world, other countries are catching up: Over-65 participation rates have roughly doubled in places like Canada and Germany over the past decade:

Amazon is reportedly going to sell a $50 tablet

Amazon is pushing the price on its entry-level tablet even lower this year: The company is set to offer a 6-inch tablet for $50, the Wall Street Journal reports (paywall), which is half the price of the retailer’s current 6-inch device.

The move suggests that Amazon and Apple have increasingly different priorities in the tablet market, which is shrinking and disappointing, but still substantial at 45 million units in the second quarter.

Apple is trying to further blur the lines between tablets and laptops for business users. On Sept. 9, it is expected to announce a new, 13-inch iPad Pro that could cost more than $1,000.

Meanwhile, Amazon—which has always beat Apple’s iPad on price—seems to be going more aggressively after super-inexpensive, no-name media slates, which already are widely available for $50 or less. (Walmart is currently offering a 9-inch “Nobis” tablet for $40.) Since launching the iPad in 2010, Apple has kept the same $499 price for its standard tablet. Its cheapest tablet currently is a $299 iPad mini.

Amazon will also offer 8- and 10-inch tablets, according to the WSJ. (We’ve reached out to Amazon for confirmation of its tablet plans and will update this post as warranted.) Apple is expected to keep similarly sized products in its own lineup, which currently includes the 8-inch iPad mini and 10-inch iPad Air.

Obama is ordering US federal contractors to give their employees paid sick leave

From 2017 on, any company that does business with the federal government must offer its employees up to seven days of paid sick leave annually, according to an executive order that US president Barack Obama will sign today.

This is the latest in a series of actions the Obama administration has taken to change rules and expectations in the American workplace, and one the president hinted at during his State of the Union address in January: “Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave,” he told his fellow lawmakers. “It’s the right thing to do.”

No such bill ever made its way to Obama’s desk, let alone a congressional hearing, according to the New York Times. But as the president proved during the immigration debate and in the fight against cybercrime, it doesn’t necessarily take legislation to effect policy change.

The new executive order won’t benefit every worker in America, obviously; it directly affects only the approximately 300,000 people currently working on government contracts. But proponents and critics alike expect it to have a broader influence on the US workforce. And according to Reuters, Obama is still pushing for Congress to pass legislation requiring all businesses with 15 or more employees to follow suit.

Nigeria’s Brown Ideye joins Olympiakos

Nigerian striker, Brown Ideye, has joined Greek side, Olympiakos.

Ideye’s move to the reigning Greek champions was finalized in time for him to be registered in their Champions League squad, where they face Bayern, Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb in Group F.

The Nigerian international, who has 25 caps to his name, fell out of manager Tony Pulis’ plans at West Brom after the recent arrivals of strikers Rickie Lambert from Liverpool and Salomon Rondon from Zenit.

The 26-year-old scored just four goals in 26 league appearances for the English club West Brom after joining in July 2014 from Dynamo Kyiv for a then club-record 10 million pounds ($15.4M), but failed to live up to his price tag at The Hawthorns.

Transfer windows has closed for all European clubs until January.

It officially closed Monday midnight.

Nigeria’s Quadri makes top eight at Czech Open

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri has put the disappointment from previous matches behind him after his excellent performance aided him to make the last eight of the men’s singles at the just concluded International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour tagged Czech Open.

The 2014 ITTF Star Player was seeded number 30 in the tournament and he began his campaign from the main draw where he was pitched against Iran’s Nima Alamian.

True to his rating, Quadri fought well against the Iranian to clinch a tough 4-3 win to secure a place in the round of 32 of the championship.

In the round of 32, Quadri was up against Germany’s Patrick Baum who was tournament’s number eight seed.

In their two previous meetings, Quadri lost to the German but at the weekend, the records were tumbled as the Nigerian bashed the world number 25 9-11,11-7,3-11,14-12,6-11,6-11 (4-2) to progress to the last 16 of the competition.

Just like he did against the German, Quadri once again faced tournament’s number 10 seed, Japan’s Masataka Morizono, who defeated him at same stage last year.

Without much efforts, Quadri walloped the Asian 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 (4-1) to make the quarterfinal round of the match.

The leg injury sustained during the round of 16 match prevented Quadri from doing well in the quarterfinal encounter against France’s Simon Gauzy. The Nigerian was beaten by the Frenchman, the no.18 seed (6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7) to exit the tournament.

  “I couldn´t move my leg, I have some pain on my knee, I couldn´t move on the right outside of the table. And it cost me a problem. Also I had some chances 2:1 on sets and 7:1 but I didn´t finish it. And since this moment my legs started. I didn´t want to stop, I had to finish the match.

“I have to find solution, to take a rest and cancel the tournament in Austria to take a rest and recover for African Games. The quarter-final is not bad but I lost a big opportunity 2:1 and 7:1, it was a little bit painful. But as my leg wasn´t good I couldn´t continue fighting,” Quadri said.

The performance at the Czech Open may rub off positively on Quadri’s world ranking in September

Taiwo Awoniyi joins Liverpool

English Premier League club Liverpool have confirmed the signing of 18-year-old Nigerian striker, Taiwo Awoniyi​.

But club immediately sent the striker out on a season-long loan to Frankfurt.

​I​n an official confirmation, Liverpool wrote on its website: “Liverpool Football Club have confirmed the signing of Taiwo Awoniyi”.

Awoniyi has previously represented Imperial Soccer Academy in Nigeria and reports say the sign on fee is in the region of £400,000.

Porto and Monaco were said to have been chasing the youngster, but Liverpool outflanked both teams.

The new Liverpool man does not qualify for a work permit yet hence his loan move to Germany.

However, Liverpool would still have sent him out on loan to aid his development.

Awoniyi has played for the U17, U21 and U23 Nigerian youth teams before completing his dream move abroad​.​

Segun Odegbami declares for FIFA Presidency, wants to succeed Blatter

Former Nigeria International, Segun Odegbami, has confirmed his interest to enter for the FIFA presidency race.

Odegbami, with his declaration, becomes the second Nigerian after ex-Governor Orji Uzor Kalu to declare his intention to succeed the current FIFA boss, Sepp Blatter.

Odegbami, like other aspirants, his professing the need for change in the world body even as he expressed optimism that he would get the necessary backing to take a shot at football’s most coveted administrative position.

A fresh election to select a new head for FIFA will be held on February 26, 2016 and despite the likes of Uefa President Michel Platini and South Korea’s Chung Mong-joon seen as early favourites, Odegbami said he is ready to take a shot at the hot seat.

The current scandal at Fifa is the organisation’s worst crisis in its 111 years of existence, Odegbami said in a statement.

“Moving forward, Fifa thus requires a new era of leadership that can restore the dignity of the noble sport.

“The world is very interested in who becomes the next president of Fifa, considering the present images and state of this institution.

“I see myself fitting into this role.”

Odegbami added that his bid will have the “highest sense of responsibility, integrity, transparency, probity and accountability”.

He also said he intends to create a “new and optimistic future for football that focuses on human, infrastructural, social and community development across the world”.

Like Liberia FA president Bility before him, Odegbami says it is high time Fifa was led by an African.

“The choice of an African, specifically a Nigerian, may look far-fetched in this pursuit, noting the international coverage of Fifa and the historical trend in its leadership reputation,” Odegbami said.

“However, a closer scrutiny of the international football environment reveals the real possibility of such change.”

Odegbami, who played for Nigeria between 1976 and 1981, says he has already informed the Nigeria Football Federation of his intentions.

Since hanging his boots as a professional player, Odegbami has remained in football circles with regular contributions as a journalist and football commentator.

“Football is what my entire life has revolved around,” he said.

“My life’s ambition has always been to use football to make a difference in my local space and across the world.”

Victor Moses completes move to West Ham

Nigerian international, Victor Moses, has completed a season-long loan move to West Ham thus ending speculations that he could be joining another London club, Tottenham Hotspurs.

The 24-year-old was winger is deemed a surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and Jose Mourinho has sanctioned Moses to go out on loan yet again same way he did in the last two seasons at Liverpool and Stoke City.

Confirming the deal on Tuesday morning, West Ham in a statement on its official website wrote, “West Ham United are delighted to announce that Chelsea winger Victor Moses has signed for the Club on a season-long loan.”

Moses grew up in south London and he began his football career with Crystal Palace, making his debut aged just 16 in November 2007.

He has since then played for clubs like Wigan Athletics before heading to Chelsea.

The fleet-footed forward made 43 appearances in his first season with the Chelsea, scoring 10 goals – including four in the Club’s successful UEFA Europa League campaign.

However, he was on loan to Liverpool the next campaign and played 22 games for the Reds, before another loan and 23 appearances followed at Stoke City last term.

Aside Moses, the Nigerian duo of Taiwo Awoniyi and Brown Ideye have also been involved in late transfer moves.

While Awoniyi was snapped up by Liverpool before being sent out on loan to Frankfurt, Ideye has exited EPL side for Greek club Olympiakos. 

658 Lagos pensioners get N2.27bn

Lagos State said it had given out Retirement Benefit Bond Certificates worth N2.17bn to 658 retirees in the state as part of efforts to ensure comfortable future for them.

A statement obtained from the Lagos State Pension Commission on Sunday, said the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Idiat Adebule, made the presentation to the retirees.

“For retires in the state, Local Government and SUBEB, a total number of 428 retirees already had accrued rights for a total sum of N1.5bn credited into their RSA (Retirement Savings Account). In essence, for the 18th batch retirement bond presentation ceremony, the state has expended the sum of N2.27bn on a total number of 658 retirees,” he said.

He stated that since the inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme in the country, Lagos had continued to be in the forefront of ensuring efficient and effective pension scheme administration.

With the 18th retirement benefit bond certificate presentation, a total liability of N761.82m was absorbed by the State Government on behalf of 230 retirees from 12 State Government Parastatals, he said.

The Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, said it was the practice of the Lagos State Pension Board to issue bond certificates to public servants who have retired from the mainstream service, primary and secondary schools and also from Local Government establishments.

She also noted that all those who had retired in the state but were yet to receive their entitlements would soon be paid.

“The Lagos Sate Government has consistently funded Retirement Bond Redemption Fund Account with an amount equal to five per cent of the total monthly personnel cost of the active workers,” she said.

According to her, the retirement benefit bond certificates indicate the accrued pension rights made up of gratuity and pension entitlements for active service rendered before the commencement of the CPS in April 2007.