In the past two years, technology has more or less changed many sectors in Nigeria and how businesses are run, that is, how people drive their lives. It presents both opportunities and challenges to the employment landscape.
Positive Impacts of Technology on Jobs
- Technology industries create jobs: The growth of technology has brought about the creation of opportunities in job creation in the technology sector. Companies developing software, dealing in cybersecurity, and digital marketing are expanding their bases, thereby providing a wide range of job opportunities to professional individuals with acquired skills.
- Increased Efficiency and Productivity: Technology enhances productivity by automating some of that mundane work for which employees have been expending their time, freeing them up to engage in strategic and creative activities. This can result in increased satisfaction at work and create new roles that require advanced skills.
- Remote Work Opportunities: With the digital means of communication making remote work a lot easier, it is now possible for Nigerians to work for companies abroad without necessarily moving. This opens job opportunities available for them.
- Growth of the Gig Economy: It has made platforms like Upwork and Fiverr be open for freelancing services from Nigerians to the rest of the world. Through this gig economy, the alternative source of income opened, and it gave people the platform to harness their skills in areas of their specialty.
Challenges Posed by Technology
- Job Displacement: Automation and AI can lead to the displacement of jobs, mainly in those areas where manual labor plays a major role. As an example, the usage of automated machines in manufacturing industries minimizes the need for human resources.
- Skill Gap: The rate at which innovation is happening in technology generally runs at a much faster rate than that at which the worker is able to pick up new skills. This, in turn, leads to unemployment for those unable to embrace new technologies.
- Economic Inequality: In making highly paid job opportunities for skilled workers, technology might also increase the economic gap between the classes of people having access to technology and those who do not. This might further increase the already existent social inequities.
Strategies to Mitigate Negative Impacts
- Education and Training: It is essential to invest in the programs of education and vocational training, which will equip workers with the requisite skills to stay competitive in the tech-driven economy. Government and private sector initiatives should be focused on upskilling and reskilling of the workforce1.
- SMEs Support: SMEs are a lifeline for generating employment. Access to technologies and digital tools can significantly improve their productivity and competitiveness, thereby creating greater employment opportunities.
- Inclusive Policies: Policymakers will have to work out inclusive policies that enable gains from technological progress to be shared by all sections of society. This shall include policies aimed at providing digital literacy and access to technology among underserved communities.
Conclusion:
Opportunities and challenges of technology in impacting employment exist in Nigeria. If backed by appropriate policies, technology can be best harnessed for an inclusive and prosperous future for Nigeria's workforce.
