[asia-apec 502] (ICT-JOBS): List Summary June 8 - 15,

[Roberto Verzola]

The lively panel discussion in May has generated a thoughtful and
informative global debate. Highlights from each week's discussion will be
posted periodically, and an overall summary will be sent to all ICT-JOBS
members after the conclusion of the discussion on July 3rd. This message
attempts to summarize briefly the major discussion points raised during
the first week of the open discussion. We invite your comments or
conclusions. The debate must close July 3rd, so only one week remains for
you to join in the discussion! 

SOME HIGHLIGHTS of the OPEN DISCUSSION: WEEK 1 (June 8th - June 15th,
1998)

I.  ICT and Jobs: Creator and/ or Destroyer? 

1.  Several participants saw varying degrees and directions of change
caused by ICT. One perspective views ICT as a catalyst in opening up new
markets in both developing and developed countries without changing the
required level of job skills. This impact is generally realised where
there is an educated (i.e., literate) workforce, preferably one with
sufficient familiarity with ICT to enable them to gain computer skills
easily.  Alternatively, some believe that ICT does cause structural
change, with development of new products and the associated demand for new
skills; this is often the case for cross-border electronic commerce. Yet a
third type of ICT impact is not creation of new jobs but rather the demand
for new skills within existing jobs, e.g., journalism. In such cases, the
jobs already exist in developing countries, but evolution toward new
skills within those jobs is limited by the economic activity level and the
education level. 

2. One concern expressed by some members is that job creation due to ICTs
is incidental and takes considerable time, while job elimination is an
inevitable and fairly rapid result of introducing ICTs. Furthermore, new
jobs created by ICT tend to be short-lived as they are eventually replaced
by ongoing advances in technology. An alternative viewpoint proposed that
ICT initially destroys jobs in older sectors, but eventually creates jobs
in new sectors. It is therefore important for governments to develop
policies and programs that expand new job-related sectors as new
technologies are introduced. There was also confidence that certain social
sectors of production would never be replaced by ICTs because the human
element is key to their nature. In such cases, most notably in the
entertainment industry, ICT causes expansion into new forms of production. 

3. A further refinement of the explanation of ICT impact proposed that
there are multiplier effects of ICT on both job creation and destruction.
In some cases ICT can cause a virtuous cycle of innovation, as seen in
Silicon Valley, when increased prosperity of the local region leads to
regeneration of other industries. In contrast, a vicious cycle of
innovation occurs when ICT results in job losses in one sector, such as
heavy industry, leading to further losses in other sectors. 

4. Many members agreed that the impact of ICT is not an inevitable result
of the technology but rather depends on how it is introduced by those who
control resources and jobs. For example, ICT adoption can lead to process
innovation that requires less labour, thereby causing workers to become
redundant. In contrast, ICT can be used to create new goods and services,
thereby generating new jobs. Similarly, new technology can be used to
upskill as well as deskill the labour force, depending on how it is
introduced. 

5.  ICT facilitates the relocation of jobs, resulting in a loss of jobs in
one area and a gain in another. The result can accentuate local
differences and exacerbate regional polarisation, as employers take
advantage of ICTs to shift operations to locations with an abundance of
specialists. It is therefore more useful to consider what the new
employers extract from and contribute to the local economy, rather than to
attempt to quantify the overall change in employment patterns. Positive
contributions include the provision of training and the transfer of
technology to locals; examples of negative extraction are the consumption
of scarce resources, and destruction of clean environment. 

6. The social implications of new forms of work were also discussed. Job
relocation is often highly disruptive to family life, and needs to be
addressed. Increasingly, blue collar, as well as white collar workers now
have to relocate globally in search of jobs. The migrant population in big
cities was cited as one example of a vulnerable and dislocated workforce.
It was agreed that unions will have a greater role to play across borders
in preventing worker exploitation. 

II.  Telework and Organizational Change

1. Telework, as the discussion demonstrated, is not easy to define. One
broad definition includes all forms of work in which ICT is used to
conduct tasks away from the company site.  Using this definition, almost a
third of workers in industrialized countries can be considered
teleworkers. A dissenting view argued, however, that use of ICT to sell
goods or increase proximity to economic centres should not be included in
the term teleworking. A narrower definition of teleworking includes only
those who are using ICT on a regular basis to conduct work that ordinarily
would be conducted on-site; using this definition, all countries can be
considered "developing" insofar as their use of ICT for teleworking is
concerned. Participants broadly agreed that teleworking will increase, but
differed in the extent to which they felt that telework will affect the
workplace. 

2. Some perceived telework as a condition imposed on workers by business
management that, driven by profit-seeking, want to reap the benefits of
increased efficiency, flexibility, and competitiveness. It was also
suggested that telework can be a tool used by employers to undermine the
strength of unions. In contrast, expanded use of ICT by workers may help
them to share (some would say expose) information about employers' actions
as well as to organise across geographic areas. 

3. It was suggested that the future direction of telework is toward
"virtual environments," in which the environment within which one
works/provides a service is itself manipulated. An alternative view
countered, perhaps comfortingly, that as long as human needs are satisfied
by material goods and services, the majority of jobs in production and
distribution remain non-teleworkable. As such, face-to-face service will
continue to play a significant role in jobs of the future. It was
generally agreed that the direction in which telework will develop is
still uncertain, as the effect on human performance after extended periods
of immersion in such environments has yet to be understood.  Moreover,
telework will be influenced by legal and ethical disciplines which have
lagged behind the technological advances. 

III.  Use of ICT in development

1. Participants agreed that the lack of basic infrastructure in developing
countries makes teleworking difficult - perhaps unsuitable - in developing
countries. Many expressed the view that efforts must be made to develop
good quality basic telecommunications infrastructure and improve the IT
and managerial skills of workers in developed countries; otherwise, the
gap between North and South will continue to widen.  Exacerbating this gap
is the fact the major resource of Southern countries is their labour
force, which (due to economic/political/physical constraints) cannot be
moved as fast as technology and capital, the chief resource of developed
countries. 

2. Other ICT-related factors contribute to widening socio-economic gaps.
Many perceived "bubble economies" as contributing to expanding gaps within
and between countries.  Often, multinational corporations (MNCs) fund the
development of advanced enclaves in developing countries, while moving
creative tasks to the North. Another set of factors involves legal trade
mechanisms, e.g., protectionist measures such as copyright laws, were
perceived to extract wealth from the South while protecting wealth of the
North, much as colonialism did. It was noted that ICT can also expand gaps
within countries, e.g., when non-globalized Brazilian firms shift high-end
work to more developed areas within the country, resulting in job loss for
less developed areas. 

3. An important consideration is the impact that ICT will have on
communities that have yet to be influenced by ICT adoption. Many jobs in
the South are characterised by minimal use of ICTs and strong reliance on
communal interests. One attribute of traditional work is the ease with
which people are mobilized, because work is based on coexistence and
sustainability, the foundations of good governance. When ICT is
introduced, it is important to safeguard the environment of
information-sharing and participation and the values of rural dwellers.
Consideration of these issues raises the question of how ICT can be used
to support good governance. 

IV.  Education and Training for the Information Age

1. It was generally agreed that those who had the ability to continue
learning would benefit most from ICT, although the full potential of ICT
will be realised not by today's workers, but by their children. A system
of public education beginning at the primary levels must be instituted in
order to prepare the next generation for ICT-related jobs. It was argued
that the countries using the education system to foster ICT skills will
enjoy the greatest employment gains. One issue that must be addressed is
how the cost of training should be divided among governments, companies
and the individual. 

2. Several participants suggested ways in which education might use and be
affected by ICTs in the future. Distance delivery of university courses
may well become commonplace. A participant warned that, as a result,
developed countries may gain a monopoly over education, as they have over
technology resources.  It was emphasised that teachers, as well as
students, need to be trained in ICT skills. 


**LAST WEEK OF THE GLOBAL DEBATE**
The discussion thus far has identified many problems and new issues
arising from the impact of ICT on Jobs and Work. What solutions can
particpants suggest?  How can we chart future issues and priorities? The
Global Debate ends July 3rd. Please let us hear from you!