Gig workers hit by COVID-19 can be the new coders

With unemployment rising to 14 per cent and 2.5 million people working less than half their normal hours, few Canadians will escape the economic impact of COVID-19. The self-employed have been hit harder than most. While many full-time employees have been shielded by the government’s wage subsidy scheme, those who work for themselves driving Ubers or delivering take-aways often fall through the cracks.

Canada’s “gig workers” numbered1.7 million (8.2 per cent of the workforce) last year. Often working in sectors frozen by the pandemic, many are struggling to pay rent and put food on their families’ tables.

Society has a collective responsibility to help this group survive the crisis, adapt and be positioned for a successful future.

There is perhaps hope in the booming online economy — which is facing skills shortages that need to be filled urgently. Underemployed gig workers could learn new skills in areas where demand remains high, like software engineering, digital design, digital marketing or data science.

Over the last decade, Canada’s tech sector has seen growth of almost a quarter-of-a-million jobs. Yet an Accenture study found that a lack of digital skills could cost Canada $119 billion in GDP growth this decade. So there is a great opportunity here to both deliver skills businesses need and help gig economy workers retrain in a stillgrowing sector.

For many trying to make ends meet, however, upskilling via a university degree and taking on up to $60,000 debt is not an option. Thankfully, more affordable ways to gain tech skills are emerging, and high-quality career accelerators (also known as “boot camps”) are teaching them entirely online.

However, with boot camps active in seven Canadian cities, and around 110 currently operating across the U.S. and Canada, the quality of programs (which can cost over $10,000 and above) is highly variable. Some providers have even marketed themselves with selective graduate destination and salary data that may give misleading impressions about their effectiveness.

For unscrupulous providers to prey on people’s desire to provide for their loved ones by upskilling — especially in a pandemic-driven recession — is abhorrent. Students should choose a career accelerator that subscribes to a results transparency framework, such as the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting.

Even the highest-quality courses will only be viable if fees are deferred until participants are working again and some providers have income share agreements to ensure students pay no tuition until they have started their new career or reached a particular salary. Everyone wins by giving students a path to a better future.

The pandemic has coincided with a time when specialized technical education can be delivered directly to laptops and smartphones. By creating a practical and affordable route to employment, career accelerators can help millions stay ahead in the age of COVID and transform the economy.

Most importantly, the technological revolution that has thrown gig workers’ lives in the air can be harnessed to meet the promise of a fulfilling, well-paid job that this generation have grown up without.