Satgas Masa Depan Pekerjaan Dan Pendidikan

ADVANCING
INNOVATIVE,
INCLUSIVE AND
COLLABORATIVE
GROWTH
FUTURE OF WORK AND

EDUCATION TASK FORCE
POLICY PAPER
B20 INDONESIA 2022 | FUTURE OF WORK & EDUCATION TASK FORCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by the Task Force Chair 02
Recommendations: Executive Summary 07
Introduction 09
G20 Implementation Progress 17
Recommendation 1: Supporting post-pandemic 19

recovery and growth, aligned to the Future of
Work
Recommendation 2: Upgrading education and 55

lifelong learning systems to align with the Future
of Work
Recommendation 3: Ensuring that workforce 86

inclusion accelerates after the pandemic setback
Annex 110
1
FOREWORD BY THE TASK FORCE CHAIR

It has been my honor and privilege to chair this year’s B20 Taskforce on
the Future of Work and Education. Supported by a wealth of experience
and expertise from institutions, organizations and individuals from around
the world, our taskforce has generated a comprehensive and pragmatic
set of recommendations for G20 governments. Our ambition is to stimulate
a step-change in the prospects for global employment and education. A
step-change is not a simple thing to achieve, and it demands collaborative
effort from across governments, businesses and civil society. A step-change
also demands an impetus for action; and in our case, the impetus comes
in the form of the devastating aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our
taskforce has been driven by a shared sense of purpose to recover from the crisis in a way that builds
a better future of work and education for all.
Across the many and diverse issues covered in our policy paper, three urgent themes have stood out to
me throughout this process; job creation, learning and inclusion:
Job creation is not simply about improving employment statistics. It’s about generating long-term,
decent work opportunities that boost productivity and that are aligned with the future needs of our
economy. This places a burden on governments and businesses to collaboratively foster opportunities
to work and learn in sectors that are future-focused, such as the green economy, the care economy
and technology. The pandemic-induced upheaval offers an opportunity to reorient workers towards
these more productive sectors that will benefit workers, businesses, the economy and society as a
whole.
The impact of the pandemic on learning has been devastating; both in terms of lost learning among
children, and also in terms of lost learning among adults, most of whom learn while working and
interacting with colleagues. We need to seriously re-think and upgrade current learning structures
and methods. The pandemic provides an overdue moment to reassess and to rebuild learning systems
in a way that is relevant for the future of work. When it comes to skilling and re-skilling at scale, the
importance of vocational education and training systems cannot be overstated. In particular, we are
proud to join the G20 Employment Working Group in shining a light on the role of Community-Based
Vocational Training as an opportunity to accelerate work and learning opportunities for disadvantaged
sections of society.
The issue of workforce inclusion has been prominent throughout our work as a taskforce, and
the Indonesian Presidency has allowed us to shine a light on some of the more urgent inclusion
imperatives facing emerging and developing nations. This includes an emphasis on work and learning
opportunities for persons with disabilities, a group that has been persistently marginalized and
overlooked. But disadvantaged workers are not always small minority groups – women represent half
of the world’s population, yet their role in the workforce continues to be blighted by unequal pay,
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restricted opportunities, discrimination and even violence. Working women were hit especially hard
by the pandemic. Accordingly, our taskforce wholeheartedly supports the work of the B20 Action
Council on Women in Business, and our policy paper provides further analysis and actions for women’s
empowerment in the context of the future of work and education.
When I embarked upon this journey with G20 Indonesia, I could not have imagined the pace and
intensity of the learning I would undertake myself. I am extraordinarily grateful to have had this
opportunity, and I can confidently state that the process has revealed a sense of hope and optimism
that our objectives for a brighter future of work and education are shared by all stakeholders. The
challenge is to translate these objectives into concrete action. I hope that our policy paper provides a
clear path towards that action.
Sincerely,
Hamdhani Dzulkarnaen Salim
Chair of the B20 Taskforce on the Future of Work and Education
President Director of PT Astra Otoparts, Tbk and
Director of PT Astra International, Tbk
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FOREWORDS BY THE TASK FORCE CO-CHAIRS
CO-CHAIR
CO-CHAIRS FOREWORD
FOREWORDS
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a sense of urgency to
accelerate trends in the future of work and education. This
taskforce focused its effort in producing actionable policy
Ghadah Al-Arifi recommendations that emphasize the need to support
Dean of the College of SMEs entrepreneurial education, upgrade education
Business Administration systems, and advocate for inclusive employability and
at Princess Nourah growth. I would like to express my gratitude to be part
University; Cofounder of of the taskforce and extend my regards to the B20
Cella Professional Women’s secretariat, chair, co-chairs and the rest of the taskforce
Network team.
The B20 Future of Work and Education Task Force has

highlighted three critical themes regarding an inclusive
Future of Work. The Future of Work should be person-
centered and tech-enabled, while providing opportunity at
Dan Bryant all points along the skill curve. Additionally, it is important
Senior Vice President for that policy encourage on-the-job training and promote
Global Public Policy and formalization. Working across sectors, this Task Force has
Government Affairs at been successful in highlighting these themes which are
Walmart essential for the Future of Work.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated considerations

on what the future of work will look like. The work of this
task force is thus critical. I believe we need to focus on
the following as we advocate the recommendations that
covers bridging the digital divide; working with academic
Cas Coovadia institutions to enable appropriate curricula; enabling
CEO of BUSA (Business lifelong learning and recognition of experiential learning;
Unity South Africa) and the bringing youth and women into the new economy and
Managing Director at The workplace; as well as, retraining of existing workforces.
Banking Association South It has been a pleasure to be a Co-Chair in this initiative
Africa and I look forward to seeing the fruits of our work
The importance of the B20 Future of Work and Education

recommendations shows good continuity of former editions
adding value for this changing world in the post Covid
environment. This includes a focus on productivity and
Daniel Funes de competitiveness regarding different countries’ realities, as
well as the need to encourage investment, with regulatory
Rioja and fiscal frameworks for companies, especially SMEs.
President of the Argentine This should revitalize job creation and formalization of
Industrial Employers the economy. Clearly the objective will focus on hiring
Chamber (UIA), and and retaining skills, as well as a better enhancement
President of the Food between the new technologies and the productive sector
Industry Chamber (COPAL) in the context of the Industry 4.0.
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FOREWORDS BY THE TASK FORCE CO-CHAIRS

CO-CHAIR
CO-CHAIRS FOREWORD
FOREWORDS
After rounds of communications and discussions, the Task
Force for the Future of Work and Education of B20 Indonesia
has come to a consensus on three major themes including
post-pandemic recovery and growth in alignment with future
of work, education and life-long learning and inclusive
labor market and formed balanced and targeting policy
recommendations. Business community in G20 countries need
Zhu Hongren to enhance solidarity and build trust to implement these
Executive Vice-Chairman policy recommendations to create favorable environment
& Director-General, China for recovery and sustainable enterprise development and to
Enterprise Confederation meet the demands of future work and education.
Growth and employment are key for eradicating poverty,

addressing inequality and promoting sustainable
development. The recommendations of the B20 Future of
Renate Hornung- Work and Education Taskforce are a reform agenda for
the G20 in this regard to design, drive and deliver policies
Draus to tackle the challenges and harness the opportunities of
International Organization digitalization, decarbonization and demographic change
of Employers - IOE and to operationalize the G20 Indonesia focus on “recover
Vice-President to the together – recover stronger”. Full implementation of this
International Labour agenda will be crucial to create sustainable impact on
Organisation (ILO) the ground.
The future of work in the face of new challenges, such as a

pandemic, an economic crisis, requires the implementation
of policy measures to create new and maintain effective
jobs that provide employment for various categories of
the population, and formalize the economy. To do this,
it is necessary to create a friendly business climate for
David Iakobachvili the development of all types of companies, regardless of
their size. Flexible forms of employment, such as partial,
Vice-president of temporary, agency, platform, will also contribute to this.
the Russian Union They will enable employers to flexibly respond to changing
of Industrialists and economic conditions. An important role is played by a
Entrepreneurs and vocational education system focused on the needs of the
President and founder of labor market, which will require close cooperation between
ORION HERITAGE Co, Ltd business and educational organizations.
In times of great uncertainty, the B20 has a significant role

to play in shaping and promoting actionable solutions for
the challenges faced by societies and economies around the
Michele Parmelee globe. The B20 Future of Work and Education Task Force
puts forward a comprehensive agenda for employment,
President of the education, growth and sustainable development. It is now
International Organization up to the G20 to put those recommendations into action.
of Employers – IOE and Business stands ready to support G20 member states in
Deloitte Global Deputy better harnessing the opportunities which digitalisation offers
CEO and Chief People & and addressing longstanding gaps in labour markets and
Purpose Officer education systems.
5
TASK FORCE COORDINATION GROUP
DEPUTY CHAIR POLICY MANAGER
Yusak Kristian Tengku Dewi

Solaeman Head of IR Regulations &
Director of PT Astra Otoparts Development Department of
Tbk PT Astra International
KNOWLEDGE PARTNER NETWORK PARTNER
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RECOMMENDATIONS:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation 1: Supporting post-pandemic recovery and growth, aligned to the Future of
Work – The G20 should accelerate job creation and work transition in alignment with the sectors of
the future, supported by dynamic and flexible labor markets.
Policy Action 1.1: Actively enable entrepreneurship, business growth and job creation, targeting
SMEs – Incentivize entrepreneurship, support the growth and capacity development of SMEs and
reduce the barriers that hinder business growth and productivity.
Policy Action 1.2: Align labor-market regulations with the realities of post-pandemic ways of
working – Assess lessons from the pandemic to align labor regulations with the needs of diverse
forms of work, online/hybrid work and active labor-market policies.
Policy Action 1.3: Enable the transition of workers and businesses into the formal economy – Create
incentives and address policy impediments to formalization, while ensuring the improvement of
existing livelihoods during the transition.
Policy Action 1.4: Ensure that the future of work is “people-centred”, supported by enabling
technologies – Collaborate with the private sector, academia and relevant experts to ensure
appropriate safeguards are designed alongside technological developments, and incentivize
solutions to intractable global challenges through science and innovation.
Recommendation 2: Upgrading education and lifelong learning systems to align with the
Future of Work – The G20 should improve learning and work-transition systems to meet labor-
market needs, thereby boosting productivity and innovation and narrowing skills gaps.
Policy Action 2.1: Upgrade the quality of education systems – Improve basic education, modernize
teaching methods, improve digital learning and upgrade curricula to align with business needs.
Policy Action 2.2: Build fit-for-purpose lifelong learning systems – Develop relevant, accessible
and affordable lifelong learning systems (including on-the-job training, vocational, technical and
professional education), supported by funding models and skills strategies that are relevant to future
sectors and jobs.
Policy Action 2.3: Actively anticipate and support a smooth transition to future sectors and jobs
– Collaborate across stakeholders (including business associations and academia) to design and
implement policies that support work transition and investment toward sectors of the future.
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Recommendation 3: Ensuring that workforce inclusion accelerates after the pandemic setback
– The G20 should ensure that every part of society is included in recovery and growth efforts, with
special attention paid to the vulnerable and to labor-market formalization.
Policy Action 3.1: Rebuild confidence, employability, and employment for the youth – Promote
partnerships across public and private sectors and relevant institutions to accelerate training and
job creation among young people, and to improve their mental health and engagement.
Policy Action 3.2: Empower women across the workforce – Dismantle obstacles to female
employment, and accelerate and incentivize training opportunities and job creation for women at all
levels, including through strengthened family-care provisions.
Policy Action 3.3: Target pandemic-recovery initiatives to support vulnerable sections of the
workforce – Promote work opportunities (such as Community-Based Vocational Training) and
safeguards for vulnerable populations, including a focus on mental and physical disability.
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INTRODUCTION
Convening to Reassess, Rebuild and Recover
The COVID-19 pandemic generated the biggest disruption to global employment and education
in living memory. No country was left untouched; no sector was left untouched, and some were
devastated. Global supply chains must be restored, as they remain disrupted from the pandemic,
and geopolitical turmoil is further reconfiguring traditional global value chains. Every aspect of
life and work is in flux, with profound implications on the future of work and education.
Employers, employees, teachers and students worldwide are still struggling to recover from the
pandemic. Although uncertainties and risks remain, many countries around the world are moving from
pandemic-containment activities towards pandemic-recovery strategies. There is an overwhelming
shared sense across governments, businesses and societies that we should collaborate to build a
better future, learning from our experience over the pandemic period. This policy paper intends
to support this journey through concrete, actionable recommendations.
The Future of Work and Education must be at the forefront of government strategies to avoid social
and economic turmoil and to build a decent, productive future for all. From the acceleration of
automation and economic fragmentation, to the shift towards online/hybrid work and learning,
and more flexible forms of work, the world has experienced a step-change in the realities and
expectations connected to employment and education. Both governments and businesses have
readjusted their mindsets, and are more prepared than ever to take bold decisions for the next
era of work and learning.
The pandemic experience has raised the urgency for action, it has united businesses and governments
towards shared objectives, and it has shown the power of collaboration when confronted with
crises. This is the moment to capitalize on these shared ambitions and to harness this spirit of
collaboration. In doing so, we can both recover with resilience and explore new solutions to long-
standing challenges facing the future of work and education. Our taskforce commits to ensuring
that the G20 global leadership does not waste this critical moment, by acting to forge progressive
partnerships that meet the needs of the future.
Taking Responsibility to Support the Hardest Hit

Leadership during the pandemic recovery period demands responsibility. Specifically, leaders
from government and business have an obligation to rebuild industries, reorganize and strengthen
supply chains, and support the companies and sections of the workforce that are hardest hit by
the turmoil. Sectors like those connected to travel, tourism and hospitality, for example, are still
struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic. Many economies and workers are dependent on
these industries, especially in lower-income countries. In terms of individuals, the pandemic had
a relatively lighter impact on higher-skilled and more-qualified employees, but no employee has
been left unaffected.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs in particular require support.
Many of those that managed to survive remain heavily indebted; their precarious state persists
9
amid inflationary pressures and supply-chain instabilities. SMEs are the very companies required
to drive growth and job creation at the scale required, so it is in the interests of all to support
their recovery and growth, ensuring that this support is tailored to the diverse and specific needs
across the economy.
Beyond fiscal and legislative interventions, policymakers play a key role in creating an enabling
environment for businesses through ensuring access to fundamentals like digital infrastructure,
affordable funding options, and integration into efficient supply chains. At the same time, many
G20 countries need to make significant progress in easing bureaucratic barriers and hurdles to
domestic and international growth. Recent geopolitical events highlight the need to support SMEs
through the reconfiguration of global value chains, which are evolving due to a mix of economic,
political, technological, societal and environmental trends.
Informal work is another persistent challenge that particularly affects SMEs and has been
exacerbated by the pandemic. The informal economy distances workers from basic protections,
rights and decent working conditions, and excludes companies from access to affordable financing
and other support. Informality also reduces tax revenues and productivity, as well as creating an
environment of unfair competition that disadvantages those investing in formal systems, especially
in emerging economies. According to the ILO, ninety percent of workers in low-income countries
are employed in the informal sector. The pandemic-recovery period offers an opportunity to finally
address this longstanding drag on decent, productive work, through appropriate incentives.
It is a sad fact that sections of the workforce that were already disadvantaged before the pandemic
were hit especially hard. This includes women, young workers and vulnerable parts of the workforce,
such as and those subject to discrimination. These groups all worked in jobs that were affected
disproportionately by the pandemic, as well as facing additional hurdles. For example, women
took on more of the home and care burdens brought by the pandemic, on top of their work; and
the youth have seen a marked decline in their mental health, potentially affecting their lifelong
work prospects. In particular, our taskforce finds the G20 Employment Working Group’s decision
to prioritize the support of people with disabilities both timely and fitting. Bringing decent work
opportunities to the disabled has been overlooked for too long, and the pandemic caused a major
hit to the confidence and job security of this large population. There is an opportunity here to
build upon the focus on physical and mental health brought by the pandemic to advocate for the
disabled, and further empower their contributions through new technological innovations.
In many G20 countries, these trends mark a reversal of steady progress that had been made
over the pre-pandemic period in improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Rather
than allowing these setbacks to become engrained as part of a “new normal”, governments and
business must collaborate to immediately accelerate and prioritize equity and inclusion within
pandemic recovery plans.
Revitalizing Productivity for Sustainable, Resilient Growth

The global economy has struggled to ignite productivity growth since the 2007-09 global financial
crisis, especially in lower-income countries. The pandemic brought a further hit to productivity
prospects through collapsed investment, high unemployment, lost education and training, and the
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breakdown of supply chains. Global equality is a major casualty of this productivity shock: The
World Bank estimates that on recent productivity growth rates, it would take more than a century
to halve the productivity gap between advanced economies and emerging market and developing
economies.1 The challenge is aggravated by the fact that lower-income countries have relied on
manufacturing and export-led approaches to building their productivity, but these levers are losing
their effectiveness in the advent of accelerating automation and fragmenting global value chains.
In short, all countries, but especially lower-income countries, need to urgently focus on productivity
growth, as the key driver of firm competitiveness, improved living standards and poverty reduction.
The recommendations across this policy paper therefore aim to boost productivity through a
range of channels, including improvements in education and lifelong learning; incentives to orient
skills and innovation towards the productive sectors of the future; investments in future-relevant
sectors, technologies and infrastructures; reforms that reduce labor-market inefficiencies and
remove unnecessary administrative obstacles to formal job creation and growth; and safeguards
that ensure healthy, decent work opportunities for all parts of society.
Keeping Pace with Technology

Accelerating investments in digitalization, automation and the 4th Industrial Revolution as a whole
have been a feature of the pandemic period. The benefits in terms of both greater effectiveness
and efficiency to business are clear; as should be the benefits of digitalization within government
processes to support transparency, efficiency and the rule of law. The implications for the future
of work and education are profound and enduring. As with all waves of technological progress,
the benefits to individuals and society will be tremendous; but previous tech revolutions have
taught us that the speed of progress requires governments and business to manage risks during
this transition period. These risks range from the ethical design and use of technology to the
impact on jobs and workers.
Millions of new jobs will be created, not only within the tech sector, but in ancillary roles and
entirely new sectors. At the same time, many existing jobs will be displaced, requiring workers
to retrain and transition. Furthermore, work will increasingly be carried out in new and different
ways, for example, humans will regularly collaborate with intelligent machines, depending
more on innately “human” skills and capabilities, such as emotional intelligence, creativity and
communication. These highly-transferable skills must be emphasized in addition to traditional
academic priorities like Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). At the
same time, these evolving skill demands will require tremendous investment in re-skilling, training
and work transition, to ensure that workers are able to move into future-relevant roles with the
appropriate skills and with minimal disruption to their livelihoods.
This transition also implies large-scale revamping of skilling and qualifications systems as well
as the updating of education systems to be relevant to the future of work. In most of the G20,
education systems have struggled to adapt to today’s labor-market needs, resulting in skills gaps
and labor shortages across industries. With concerted effort by governments, in partnership
1 World Bank, 2022. Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers and Policies, https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/publication/global-productivity
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with business and academia, the pandemic recovery period could stimulate a wake-up call for
education systems to leapfrog to teaching approaches and curricula that are geared towards the
realities of the future workplace and labor market. Given the speed of technological progress,
this wake-up call is long overdue.
Keeping Pace with the Green Economy

Among the societal shifts during the pandemic, there has been heightening awareness and action
among consumers and citizens worldwide towards more green and sustainable approaches to work
and consumption. Technology investments and advances in the Green Economy have also grown.
Consequently, these issues have risen up the agenda for business, and for many governments
too, as witnessed by escalating commitments to Sustainable Development and Net-Zero Goals.
These forces have been building for some time, but in the post-pandemic era of work, the
Green Economy will play a defining role in shaping economic development, investment priorities,
technological advances and human capital strategies. Specifically, the shift toward renewable
energy has received a new accelerant as many parts of the world seek domestic control over
energy sources, in response to an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape.
For emerging economies where significant parts of the workforce are currently employed in jobs
connected to the fossil-fuel industries, it is crucial that governments support a Just Transition
towards the greener future, including reskilling and work transition programs to support these
workers through the inevitable upheavals ahead.
The Green Economy offers new economic and job opportunities (eg. in sectors like green tech,
green finance and renewable energy), as well as transformations in existing work roles and
practices (eg. ESG reporting, circular economy and sustainable innovation). Governments must
keep pace with this new reality, ensuring that climate change goals are realized in conjunction
with growth and welfare goals. This includes incentives to increase high-potential green sectors
and jobs, as well as the associated adaptations to learning systems and curricula, and support
for work transition. As sustainability practices become embedded in the workplace, they need
to be accompanied by appropriate knowledge and skill building across education and training
systems. Moreover, post-pandemic job creation should be guided towards productive sectors
of the future with strong growth potential; the Green Economy presents a salient and strategic
target in this regard.
Keeping Pace with New Ways of Working

During the pandemic, extraordinary experimentation took place in terms of different ways of working.
Most obviously, large portions of the workforce transitioned to online working, from home. Online
and hybrid work has continued for large sections of the workforce, long after confinement measures
were removed. This is due to benefits being seen by both employers and employees. In the post-
pandemic world of work, government must work with business to design and implement policies that
allow the benefits of online/hybrid work to flourish whilst minimizing the dangers, such as risks to
mental health and innovation. This includes the provision of affordable and secure access to adequate
digital infrastructure, devices and skills to all parts of the workforce; rich or poor, urban or rural.
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Beyond online work, employees have been exposed to a range of more flexible models of work
that have proven popular, especially flexibility in work schedules and work location. The appetite
for more diverse forms of work has increased as companies and workers have experienced the
flexibility and agility they offer. However, in many G20 countries, legislation has not caught up
with the range of working models that are now feasible, limiting the dynamism of labor markets.
Labor-market regulations that support dynamism are all the more urgent in preparation for the
employment upheavals that are arising from the 4th Industrial Revolution: More flexible forms
of work, more frequent work transitions and more regular training are becoming the norm, and
each requires support from government. These features of the labor market must be appropriately
incorporated into the education and training curricula of today’s youth to better prepare them for
their future careers. The experimentation and upheavals experienced during the pandemic should
provide a useful source of lessons for policy formulation. For example, policymakers can learn from
the Active Labor Market Policies, social protection and work transition initiatives implemented
during the pandemic to devise appropriate solutions for the post-pandemic world of work.
Upgrading Education to Match Future Realities

Education is the fundamental lever to improve employability, productivity, living standards and the
prospects for health and happiness of future generations. Yet many G20 countries still possess
significant populations that lack basic literacy and numeracy, let alone rudimentary digital skills
which are now vital for work. It is important to shine a light on these persistent gaps, especially
during the G20 Presidencies of emerging economies, as with Indonesia.
The broader global issue is the degree of misalignment between education systems and labor-
market needs. This results in skills gaps, labor shortages and unemployment, as well as acting as
a persistent drag on productivity and competitiveness. Moreover, labor-market needs are evolving
rapidly, as the world undergoes transformations in its fundamental economic drivers, from energy
and manufacturing to biology and innovation. Keeping up with these transitions requires large-
scale upgrading of education systems, and also of adult learning systems, as reskilling, training
and work transition become regular features of adult work life.
Beyond skills and jobs, the pandemic experience has changed work environments as well as
expectations around work practices and cultures. The youth themselves have an important role
in shaping the future work environment and the pandemic recovery period seems an appropriate
moment for governments to assess the preparedness of the youth for post-pandemic workplaces,
as well as the preparedness of workplaces for post-pandemic young workers.
School curricula need to be geared towards job opportunities of the future, and the skills that will
be required by workers in the future. For example, as intelligent machines increasingly perform
complex calculations, repetitive tasks and predictive analysis, human workers will need to bring
to bear their capacity for critical thinking, innovation, empathy, communication and judgement.
This also has implications on teaching approaches, which should include a greater prevalence
of project-based learning and team-based learning, rather than a reliance on memorization and
repetition in exams. From early ages, an emphasis should be placed on developing a “growth
mindset” of continual self-improvement. A crucial objective should be to create lifelong learners
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with an appreciation (and preferably a love) for continually learning. Beyond curricula and methods,
this requires serious investment in teacher training.
Accelerating Lifelong Learning

As adults increasingly face a rapidly-evolving labor market, and transition between jobs more
frequently, lifelong learning becomes crucial. Yet the quality and accessibility of high-quality adult
learning remains a challenge across the G20. Training and skilling systems must be adapted to
the realities of adult life, including flexibility to engage in learning opportunities around work and
family commitments. For example, modular courses can be organized to fit the learner’s schedule
and structured to meet the learner’s specific needs; immersive approaches can accelerate the
learning process for adult brains, increasing the importance of methods like roleplay and work-
based learning, like on-the-job training; qualification systems and funding models for training
can be adapted to better support workers build the skills they need in a dynamic labor market.
Serious restructuring and improvement of adult learning systems requires significant investment, but
these investments are essential to ignite productivity growth, improve life chances and accelerate
social and economic progress.
Building a Future of Work that is People-Centred, and Supported by Enabling Technologies

Technology is a driving force behind many of the changes we are seeing in business, economics
and society. But it is important to remember that technology is merely a tool; a tool that enables
action at speeds and scales previously unimaginable; a tool that can be used to uplift or to
supress; to enlighten or to obfuscate. It is the choices and decisions of policymakers, business
leaders and technologists that guide the design and usage of new technology tools. It is therefore
crucial to ensure that the enabling potential of technology is geared towards the fulfilment of
people – people as workers, people as citizens, people as consumers, and people as members
of communities and society. Hence, as technology increasingly permeates the workplace, we
call for a guiding principle among policymakers to design a future of work and education that is
people-centred and tech-enabled.
Throughout history, technology has driven fundamental advances that have improved socio-
economic development and raised living standards; from the wheel to the Internet. At every stage
of technological exploration, we encounter both new opportunities and new risks. The challenge
for policymakers and business leaders is to maximize those opportunities, while minimizing the
risks, as rapidly as possible. For example, the time gap between inventing the automobile and
requiring seat belts resulted in decades of avoidable death and injury. It is essential that today’s
new technologies come to fruition through responsible and ethical design and usage principles,
from the outset. This is especially due to the rapid speed at which new technologies spread, their
power, and the difficulty of reversing negative effects. The development of appropriate safeguards
demands close collaboration between policymakers, businesses, technologists and other relevant
experts. Moreover, coordination across the G20 would only improve the chances of spreading the
benefits of technological progress and achieving widespread mitigation of its risks. Responsibility
and ethics sit at the heart of the people-centred, tech-enabled future of work.
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Collaborating to Anticipate, Plan and Act

Collaboration across business and government has always been a hallmark of the B20’s mission.
The pandemic period offered a set of large-scale experiments that stress-tested and proved
that collaboration can generate tangible solutions to urgent, intractable challenges. The clearest
example was the set of partnerships across governments, businesses, researchers and medical
experts in developing and disseminating the COVID-19 vaccines. This has inspired the UN to
designate 2022 as the “Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development”, to encourage global
science and innovation initiatives that target major global challenges.
There is every reason for this kind of concerted, collaborative effort to improve the future of work
and education. The challenges facing the future of work and education may garner less visible
panic than a pandemic, but inaction on these issues will directly impact the livelihoods and life
prospects of every individual on the planet. Without action, the employment crisis unleashed by
the pandemic will leave long-term scars on millions of workers, especially the most vulnerable.
But decisive, targeted, collaborative action can both help heal these scars and create a more
resilient future of work and education that is relevant to the trends and future shocks that labor
markets will inevitably experience.
Every policy action recommended in this paper would benefit from collaboration across business
and government, and usually with other stakeholders too, including social partners, academia,
learning experts and technologists, among others. For example, data analysts can help to predict
trends in job and skills demand, neuroscientists and learning experts can help design effective
teaching approaches, and NGOs can help devise effective schemes that target youth employment.
Large corporations will be crucial to implementing vocational education and training schemes at
scale, and private employment services organizations can be invaluable partners to deliver efficient
and effective work transition programs. The sheer range and complexity of challenges we address
in this paper demands collaboration as a pre-requisite; both to planning and to implementation.
At the highest level, we expect G20 policymakers to maximize their impact through consultation
and collaboration with other relevant bodies dedicated to these issues, such as the G7, the ILO,
the OECD, and the United Nations. As business leaders, we welcome, encourage and commit to
engage in these collaborative efforts to create that better future of work and education.
A Commitment to Action and Implementation

The urgency for post-pandemic recovery and growth is clear. As a taskforce, we believe our policy
recommendations provide a comprehensive and pragmatic pathway towards inclusive growth
through decent work opportunities. Every effort has been made to craft policy actions that are as
concrete and actionable as possible. This has been done by drilling down to specific sub-actions
that clarify how implementation can occur.
We further reinforce our commitment to action by tracking the progress of implementation of our
recommendations by the G20. In this way, we highlight and recognize improvements and shine a light
on areas that require further attention by G20 policymakers. This assessment is summarized at the
start of our policy paper. We have taken the decision to explicitly include this assessment within our
policy paper to underline our commitment and determination to generate real change on the ground.
15
In the aftermath of a devastating global catastrophe, we take heart in the consensus across all
parts of society that we can and must build a brighter future of work and education, together.
We call on all partners to harness this moment of shared ambition, and translate our ambitions
into reality. We hope that our policy recommendations can serve as a roadmap to support this
journey, and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to this critical initiative.
16
G20 IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS

Highlights from the monitoring of G20 implementation progress, 2022
The legitimacy and credibility of the G20 strongly depend on the ambition and relevance of its
commitments, and on the extent to which these commitments are implemented. It is therefore
important that the B20 tracks the degree to which it is able to affect G20 declarations and policy
actions on the ground, by national governments.
Looking back at last year’s Presidency, the Italian B20 has evaluated the uptake of the Italy B20
Employment & Education recommendations by G20 Labor Ministers of Employment & Education
in 2021, and classified this uptake as “Good”. They found that all B20 recommendations had
“at least been partially reflected” in the G20’s declarations. The G20 Labor and Employment
Ministerial Declaration was particularly supportive of specific topics that had been prioritized by
the B20, including:
• “Supporting entrepreneurship to drive business recovery, growth and employment” – promoting,
in cooperation with relevant Ministries, an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and
sustainable enterprises, in particular micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as
cooperatives and the social economy.
• “Stimulating youth employability and youth employment” – with specific support for the G20
Youth Roadmap 2025 and the monitoring of progress towards the Antalya Youth Goal.
• “Empowering women across the workforce” – including a commitment to “renewed and
extraordinary efforts” towards the Brisbane targets on reducing gender gaps.
• “Fostering healthy, decent, formal work for all, with appropriate protections” – in line with the
Fundamental Principles and Rights at work as well as the ILO Centenary Declaration for the
Future of Work.
The qualitative assessment of the degree to which B20 Employment & Education Taskforce
Recommendations and Actions were reflected in G20 Commitments generated an overall score
of 75%. Although relatively good, this score is at the low end of the Taskforce assessments, and
below the 84% average score across all the Taskforces. The score for this Taskforce was negatively
impacted by two Policy Actions in particular:
• “Promote diverse forms of work to stimulate job creation and growth” was not covered at all
in 2021 G20 Commitments.
• “Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs)” was
poorly covered in 2021 G20 Commitments.
These actions have been reiterated in this year’s Policy Paper in the hope that the Indonesian G20
Presidency will ascribe greater attention to these important labor market issues.
Beyond the overall B20 assessment, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) has regularly
monitored the uptake of B20 Employment and Education recommendations by G20 labor ministers,
the implementation of G20 commitments in G20 countries, and the relevance of the G20 on
17
the ground. This national-level assessment of implementation is an essential metric to track the
progress of the Taskforce on the Future of Work & Education.
The IOE has assessed the implementation of commitments made by G20 Labor Ministers in 2021
at the national level, using a 0-3 point scoring system:
• The qualitative assessment of “Inadequate” indicates that the G20 has not addressed the issue
at all, (0 points awarded).
• A score of “Poor” indicates that the G20 has, at minimum, taken notice of the subject, but
that little or no action has been taken in response, (1 point awarded).
• A score of “Fair” illustrates that the G20 has recognized the business recommendation and
has initiated at least some steps in response, (2 points awarded).
• A score of “Good” means that the G20 has effectively addressed the business recommendation,
(3 points awarded).
Using this methodology, the IOE has revealed an important trend that demands attention. Specifically,
the assessment covers the national-level implementation of G20 commitments in the areas of:
• More, better, and equally paid jobs for women.
• Social protection systems in a changing world of work.
• Working patterns, business organization and production processs in the Digitalization Era.
The assessment of these areas has been classified as “Fair”, based on an average score across
G20 countries of 1.51.
The reason for concern is that this marks a fourth consecutive year of falling scores in this evaluation.
The average score was 1.55 in 2020, 1.7 in 2019 and 1.9 in 2018. This trend underlines the urgency
to significantly strengthen the national-level follow-up of B20 and G20 recommendations. We call
on all social partners to step up their collaborative efforts to accelerate action and implementation
across these policy actions in every G20 nation.
18
RECOMMENDATION 1
Supporting post-pandemic recovery and growth, aligned to the
Future of Work
The G20 should accelerate job creation and work transition in
alignment with the sectors of the future, supported by dynamic and
flexible labor markets.
19
POLICY ACTIONS
Policy Actions 1.1 - Actively enable entrepreneurship, business growth and job creation,
targeting SMEs – Incentivize entrepreneurship, support the growth and capacity development
of SMEs and reduce the barriers that hinder business growth and productivity.
• The G20 should provide targeted fiscal support and greater access to funding for entrepreneurs
and SMEs, as well as support to operate internationally, build digital capacity and innovate.
• The G20 should create an enabling business environment, reducing administrative and legislative
barriers that encumber the ability of companies to establish, operate and grow.
• The G20 should encourage the teaching of entrepreneurship skills for all through schools,
universities, community groups and other institutions, especially for under-represented groups
such as female, lower-skilled, older and disabled workers.
Policy Actions 1.2 - Align labor-market regulations with the realities of post-pandemic ways
of working – Assess lessons from the pandemic to align labor regulations with the needs of
diverse forms of work, online/hybrid work and active labor market policies.
• The G20 should promote safe, productive online/hybrid work whilst mitigating associated risks
• The G20 should implement national and international regulatory frameworks that recognize
and enable diverse forms of work, including open-ended, fixed-term, agency, part-time and
self-employed work, as well as platform work
• The G20 should work across public and private sectors to improve the effectiveness of Active Labor
Market Policies (ALMPs), including job retention schemes, training and work transition support
Policy Actions 1.3 - Enable the transition of workers and businesses into the formal economy –
Create incentives and address policy impediments to formalization, while ensuring the improvement
of existing livelihoods during the transition.
• The G20 should address regulatory and other impediments to formalization and encourage
legal compliance, including the digitalization of relevant regulatory processes.
• The G20 should provide tax and other incentives to support the establishment of business
operations in low-income, rural and other communities with high levels of informality.
• The G20 should work with business to create incentives that encourage entry-level workers
from the informal sector into formal employment.
Policy Actions 1.4 - Ensure that the future of work is “people-centred”, supported by
enabling technologies – Collaborate with the private sector, academia and relevant experts to
ensure appropriate safeguards are designed alongside technological developments, and incentivize
solutions to intractable global challenges through science and innovation.
• The G20 should collaborate across nations and relevant sectors to develop policies and
mechanisms that maximize the benefits of emerging technologies and mitigate their negative
effects on work, workers and students
• The G20 should capitalize on the UN’s Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development to
encourage global science and innovation initiatives that target intractable global challenges
20
SDG IMPACT
Recommendation 1 is primarily aligned to SDG 8.3 on “promoting development-oriented policies

that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation,
and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises,
including through access to financial services”.
Furthermore, it resonates with SDG 4.4 on substantially increasing the number of youth and adults
who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs
and entrepreneurship.
Recommendation 1 also supports SDG 9.1, in particular the development of quality, reliable,
sustainable and resilient infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being.
The policy actions within this recommendation contribute to the achievement of SDG 8.8: “Protect
labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers” , as well as SDG
17.17: “encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships,
building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships”, also covering SDG 1.4
which seeks to ‘ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have
equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control
over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology
and financial services, including microfinance.’
G20 INDONESIA PRIORITY IMPACT
Recommendation 1 supports the Indonesian G20 Presidency priority issue on Global Health
Architecture through the enablement of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policies that seek
transformative solutions to intractable healthcare problems and also seek to ensure appropriate
safeguards as science, technology and innovation continue their rapid advance.
21
Recommendation 1 also highlights the crucial role of Digital Transformation in defining the
Future of Work, including the growing importance of online/hybrid work models, the efficiency
and transparency brought by digital processes, and the growth opportunities brought by digital
models and the new sectors they create. The recommendation also highlights the importance of
ensuring affordable access of digital opportunities to all types of organization and all parts of
the workforce.
Recommendation 1 also underlines the increasing importance of the Green Economy as a source
of future jobs, demanding the transition of a number of industries and the creation of entirely new
roles and even sectors. This recommendation highlights that sustainable energy transition is not
confined to action in the energy sector but across all types and sizes of organization, requiring
concerted action to both minimize risks and grasp opportunities.
22
Policy Action 1.1: Actively enable entrepreneurship, business growth and job creation,
targeting SMEs
Incentivize entrepreneurship, support the growth and capacity development of SMEs and reduce
the barriers that hinder business growth and productivity.
Context on the need to enable growth, job creation and entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs and SMEs are essential to drive recovery and growth at scale, yet they were
hit disproportionately by the pandemic and need fiscal and legislative support.
The prolonged disruptions and shocks to supply chains and to global demand have taken
a heavy toll on entrepreneurs and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The smaller
size of these firms makes it harder to cope with the cashflow impact of economic shocks,
and they lack the technologies, financing terms and economies of scale that bring resilience
to larger organizations. Moreover, they are over-represented in sectors most affected by the
crisis, such as accommodation and food services, and arts, entertainment and recreation.
The OECD estimates that SMEs account for 75% of employment in the hardest-hit sectors;
and Microenterprises (with fewer than 10 employees) account for around 30%. In countries
like Greece and Italy, the figure for SMEs reaches almost 90%, and for Microenterprises, 60%.
International tourism, in particular, fell by around 80% in 2020, and recovery to pre-crisis levels is
not expected until 2023.2 SMEs in regions with a strong dependence on tourism have therefore
suffered disproportionately, as the decline of tourism quickly spread to other economic activities.
It is in the economic interests of all G20 nations to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in
the aftermath of the pandemic, due to their overwhelming contribution to job creation and
economic growth. Worldwide, they represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50%
2 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/97a5bbfe-en/1/3/1/index.
html?itemId=/content/publication/97a5bbfe-en&_csp_=d1fc5acec34e67180d5f3e84ef7e00e6&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#section-
d1e1919
23
of employment.3 In OECD nations, SMEs account for 99 percent of all firms and contribute
up to 60 percent of value-add to the economy.4 New and young firms alone employ around
20% of the total workforce and create almost half of new jobs across the OECD.5 In emerging
economies, SMEs contribute up to 40% of GDP and create 7 out of 10 jobs.6 Many SMEs
drive growth in areas of strategic importance to the G20, such as new technologies, clean
energy, green finance, and healthcare, strengthening the case for support.
Appropriate regulatory, fiscal and legislative support are essential to unleash large-scale job
creation and growth through entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes. Beyond targeted financial
support, businesses require urgent improvements to the “ease of doing business”, including
fewer costly and complex administrative, bureaucratic and legal barriers, as well as support in
building international connections, easier access to finance (both domestic and international),
and efficient, digitalized processes and procedures (such as licencing and permitting).
The capacity and resilience of business would be significantly enhanced in the longer term
through dedicated teaching of entrepreneurship skills at all levels of education and training.
Indeed, these life skills will prove to be important in every career path imaginable.
Exhibit 1 | SMEs account for the bulk of employment in the most affected sectors
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Australia
Austria
Germany
Greece
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Lithuania
Norway
Finland
France
Hungary
Iceland
Japan
Latvia
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Poland
Portugal
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
United Kingdom
1 to 9 Employees 10 to 294 Employees 250+ Employees Unallocated by firm size
Source: OECD. 2021. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/97a5bbfe-en/1/3/1/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/97a5bbfe-en&_csp_=d1fc5ac

ec34e67180d5f3e84ef7e00e6&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#figure-d1e2022
Note: Share of total employment in the economy located in the most adversely affected
sectors, broken down by firm size
3 World Bank. 2021. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Finance. Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/smefinance
4 OECD. 2018. OECD SME Ministerial Conference, https://www.oecd.org/about/secretary-general/oecd-sme-ministerial-conference-mexico-2018.htm
5 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/97a5bbfe-en/1/3/1/index.
html?itemId=/content/publication/97a5bbfe-en&_csp_=d1fc5acec34e67180d5f3e84ef7e00e6&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#section-
d1e1919
6 World Bank. 2021. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Finance. Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/smefinance
24
Exploration of Action Areas

Provide targeted fiscal support and greater access to funding for entrepreneurs and SMEs,
as well as support to operate internationally, build digital capacity and innovate.
Providing support to overcome entrepreneur and SME indebtedness

Both the pandemic and recent geopolitical events have accelerated global economic fragmentation,
inflicting significant damage to global value chains and unleashing serious inflationary pressures.
These trends place extreme stress on SMEs, who are especially vulnerable to supply-chain
disruptions and inflation. This is due to their less resilient supplier networks and inventories, and
weaker access to favorable financing terms and options.
Despite a range of interventions, from government-backed loans with flexible repayment conditions
to debt-repayment moratoria, it is difficult to understate the degree of SME indebtedness generated
by the pandemic, and the consequent increase in default and insolvency risk. Estimates of the
increase in SME debt vary. The OECD collected the following data points to illustrate the impact:
The Bank of France estimated that by December 2020, SME debt reached EUR 523.7 billion. In
the United Kingdom, by late January 2021 it appeared that SMEs had already taken out GPB 68.2
billion in loans since the start of the pandemic through two instruments alone, the Coronavirus
Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. The Canadian Small
Business Confederation estimated that the average small business in Canada would accumulate
USD 100,000 in COVID-19 related debt, with total small business debt potentially amounting
to CAD 117 billion. In Australia, estimates from October 2020 suggested that AUD 40 billion in
unproductive debt would be left on SME balance sheets when the pandemic clears. And crucially,
a survey among SMEs in the UK, released in February 2021, shows that 63% of SMEs are expected
to be unable to repay COVID-19 support loans, and may be left with GBP 173,000 in debt.7
In 2021, the OECD released a report: “One year of SME and entrepreneurship policy responses
to COVID-19: Lessons learned to “build back better””, which highlights the following range of
potential policy measures to address liquidity shortages, while at the same time, not increasing
the leverage ratio of beneficiaries:8
• Grant support: A key advantage of grant support is that a broad spectrum of firms can benefit,
including micro-enterprises and SMEs with limited growth potential without adding to their
debt. Grants have been increasingly used for a variety of purposes, from wage subsidies to
compensation for lost revenue or fixed costs and vouchers for digital, up-skilling or restart
support in countries as varied as Chile, Ireland or Sweden.
• Convertible loans: A convertible loan allows a loan to be converted to equity if a borrower is
unable to repay it. This type of instrument is beneficial for borrower SMEs as well as for lending
banks. SMEs are able to have liquidity at zero interest, companies’ growth potential is not
impacted, and banks have the opportunity to recoup the capital in the medium and long term.
7 OECD. 2021, One year of SME and entrepreneurship policy responses to COVID-19: Lessons learned to “build back better“”, OECD Policy Responses
to Coronavirus (COVID-19), https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/one-year-of-sme-and-entrepreneurship-policy-responses-to-
COVID-19-lessons-learned-to-build-back-better-9a230220/#section-d1e410
8 Idem
25
• Loans eligible for forgiveness: Some lending facilities convert loans to grants (ie. the loan
does not have to be repaid) under certain conditions.
• Subordinated loans: Subordinated loans are already in use in countries like Austria, Belgium,
France, Germany and Italy. Such loans bring debt that – in case of liquidation – only needs
to be paid back after other primary debts.
• Equity funds/convertible bonds: While participation in firms’ capital is usually reserved for
somewhat larger firms and/or for innovative start-ups, some new schemes have been launched
for SMEs, or existing schemes expanded.
• Equity crowdfunding: Crowdfunding instruments could potentially address finance needs
of a slightly larger segment of the SME population compared to capital market instruments,
allowing them to raise capital by selling securities in the form of equity, revenue share, or
convertible notes. In response to the need or raise capital and not debt, some governments
have put in place new regulations to facilitate SMEs to tap into funds from retail investors.
• Tax policies to strengthen SME equity: Governments can also incentivize private investment
to SMEs through tax policies, eg. offering individuals income tax reductions if they acquire
new shares in SMEs or start ups that meet certain qualifications.
In its assessments, the OECD stresses the advantages of equity instruments over debt instruments,
acknowledging that they are currently not as accessible. Equity instruments can offer better
prospects for SMEs to invest and grow once recovery sets in. Specifically, they imply lower
leverage ratios, which in turn increase credit rating scores and lower the cost of borrowing and
the probability of default. In addition, equity instruments lend themselves to co-investments from
the private sector, thereby enabling more funds to be channelled towards SMEs.9
Periods of crisis have often been seen as crucial moments for innovation, which can both build
and accelerate broader recovery. Yet the most innovative SMEs, such as start-ups, often lack
access to appropriate risk capital that can support their innovation efforts. This is especially true
in emerging and developing countries where governments have yet to build efficient financial
infrastructures to provide SMEs, entrepreneurs and start-ups with essential early-stage funding.
G20 governments have a wide range of financial tools available to enable SMEs of different types
to drive recovery and job creation; the requirement now is to deploy these tools in a targeted
and effective manner.
Providing incentives and support to operate internationally

The current disruption of supply chains highlights the impact of one-off events, but broader trends
are also in the process of reshaping global value chains. These include increasing restrictions on
trade and investment, including legal constraints on data localization and transfer; new technologies
(like 3D Printing, 5G networks and Edge Computing) facilitating highly localized production and
operations; new talent pools of locally-based contract workers made accessible through new,
9 OECD. 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on SME financing: A special edition of the OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard. https://doi.
org/10.1787/ecd81a65-en
26
flexible work contracts; growing customer expectations for highly-responsive business models;
and rising consumer demands for traceable, sustainable and ethical supply chains, including the
preference for local sourcing.
Amid these forces, businesses of all sizes still need to access strategic resources and international
markets, even if the constraints around doing so are changing. Smaller firms are particularly
exposed to these global value chain disruptions and require support. Lessons can be learned
from government attempts to support SMEs in finding alternative foreign markets and diversify
their integration in global value chains, as a response to the pandemic shock. These include:10
• Intensifying export guarantees and support measures for SMEs, including extra support, market
intelligence services or match-making assistance.
• Reinforcing international business linkages of SMEs, with the involvement of multinational
enterprises.
• Reinforcing aftercare and facilitation services to retain foreign direct investment.
• Implementing measures to maintain trade channels open and reduce costs in trading abroad,
eg. through the reduction of customs duties or streamlining customs procedures.
• Creating mechanisms for SMEs to aggregate the purchase of freight rates.
• Supporting the sustainable competitiveness of the logistics industry.
• Partnering with incubator and accelerator landing pads in foreign markets for SMEs conducting
international business, especially “born-global” start-ups.
Beyond, the increasing challenges to international operations, SMEs are also less likely than larger
firms to internationalize at all. Their limited size, resources, managerial structure and geographic
location can result in informational, technical and administrative barriers that make it difficult to
access finance, comply with quality standards, bridge connectivity and infrastructure constraints,
innovate or find and develop suitable human capital.11
Yet, foreign markets represent an important route for SMEs to grow and achieve economies
of scale. Perhaps even more valuably, access to international markets presents SMEs with an
important channel for the transfer of know-how, technology and higher-quality inputs; all of
which improve productivity.
Policy interventions can be designed to improve access to global markets for SMEs and
entrepreneurs, including: enhancing export financing facilities, training programs and portals
for international marketing, “business matchmaking” activities between SMEs and multinational
corporations, support to acquire internationally-recognized product quality certifications, support
for attending international trade fairs and the creation of e-commerce platforms on which SMEs
can list. These programs are often part of a country’s overall economic development and/or export
10 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/dde13fd1-en/index.html?itemId=/content/

component/dde13fd1-en
11 OECD. 2018. Access to market and internationalisation. https://w w w.oecd-ilibrar y.org/docser ver/9789264305328-11-en.
pdf?expires=1612862219&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=6E25B33D324B5AD14284F98B61486298
27
promotion strategy, and should therefore be prioritized for implementation by governments as

part of broader efforts to stimulate recovery and growth.12
Promoting the growth of SMEs and entrepreneurs through digital capacity building
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the relationship between SMEs and the digital
world. On one hand, the crisis exposed the limited engagement that smaller organizations have
with digital tools. But on the other, the crisis acted as a catalyst to accelerate digital transition.
Many SMEs had no choice but to create digital operations in order to stay in business during the
pandemic. Firms were forced to build new connections and relationships with their ecosystems,
in doing so, they built entirely new relationships through online platforms. Among SMEs that
increased digital activity during the pandemic, about two-thirds of the self-employed, micro
firms and small firms and 78% of medium-sized firms declared these changes to be permanent.13
This dramatic shift multiplied the gap between those organizations that have access to adequate
digital capacity, and those that do not.
A crucial prerequisite to inclusive digital capacity building is the provision of adequate connectivity.
High-speed broadband penetration has been increasing around the world, but smaller companies
and more isolated locations remain lagging, exacerbating the digital divide. It’s also important to
note that different aspects of digital capacity vary in their importance for different sectors. For
example, in the accommodation and food service sector, high-speed broadband connectivity,
websites and cloud computing file storage are crucial; in the wholesale sector, the major needs
are in e-sales, training of ICT specialists and cloud computing to host databases; in the retail
trade, e-sales and cloud computing to manage customer relationships are key; and in construction,
the digital divide is apparent in websites, the training of ICT specialists and equipping employees
with connected and portable devices.14
Cost has been the major barrier to improving digital uptake by SMEs, especially for the self-
employed and for micro firms. Other key barriers include the skills gap (for both managers and
workers), the lack of awareness of tools, integration challenges, solutions to bridge the investment
gap, legal uncertainty, technological lock-ins, weak data culture and data management practices,
and reputational risks in case of dispute15. Accelerated digitalization has also revealed the
vulnerabilities of SMEs and entrepreneurs to cybersecurity risks: SMEs tend to have poorer digital
security risk management practices and low awareness of cyber risks.16
Government support makes a difference. The OECD finds that SMEs that received government
support are, on average, eight percentage points more likely to increase their levels of digitalization
than SMEs that did not receive support. The effect was 3 times as large for SMEs that received
12 OECD. 2018. Access to market and internationalisation. https://w w w.oecd-ilibrar y.org/docser ver/9789264305328-11-en.
pdf?expires=1612862219&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=6E25B33D324B5AD14284F98B61486298
13 Facebook/OECD/World Bank, 2020. Global State of Small Business Report, https://dataforgood.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/
GlobalStateofSmallBusinessReport.pdf
14 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/706b5701-en/index.html?itemId=/content/
component/706b5701-en#endnotea5z3
15 Idem
16 OECD. 2021. The Digital Transformation of SMEs, https://doi.org/10.1787/bdb9256a-en
28
multiple types of support (18 percentage points more likely to increase digitalization) as SMEs
receiving financial support alone (6 percentage points more likely to increase digitalization). A
combination of both financial and non-financial support from governments seems key.17
Again, the proactive policy interventions during the pandemic can serve as an important source of
guidance for G20 governments as they craft their policy actions for the broader digital inclusion of
SMEs. In their SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021, the OECD has gathered multiple examples
of such initiatives, ranging from e-government services to incentives for digital uptake, reskilling,
reinforcing digital security and infrastructure, as well as better connecting SMEs with innovation
networks and digital solutions providers.
In addition to the points made above, our taskforce also endorses the recommended policy actions
of the B20 Taskforce on Digitalization on this topic, including Recommendation 3, on “Ensuring a
digital-ready mindset for individuals and MSMEs, and enabling MSMEs through access to digital
platforms”.
Exhibit 2 | SMEs lag in digital adoption, in all technology areas

Diffusion rate, median OECD, based on country average percentages of enterprises using
technology, 2015-18
B2G interaction
E-booking 100 Enterprise resource
and orders planning
80
50
Big data Social media
40
20
Supplier-customer Customer relationship

0
management management
High-speed Electronic
broadband invoicing
E-commerce Cloud computing
Radio frequency identification
Small Medium Large
Source: OECD. 2021. The Digital Transformation of SMEs. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1787/bdb9256a-en.
Note: Values represent the median of diffusion rates in countries for which data are available.
Country diffusion rates are average rates calculated over the period 2015-18. This approach helps
avoid distortions in time or a single year but may tend to underestimate the diffusion rates of
technologies that are diffusing quicker
17 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/706b5701-en/index.html?itemId=/content/

component/706b5701-en#endnotea5z3
29
Promoting the growth of SMEs and entrepreneurs through innovation resources

SMEs are primary sources of innovation. Based on national innovation surveys that cover firms with
10 employees or more, SMEs account on average for over 90% of the innovative firms (as broadly
defined in the OECD Oslo Manual18) and incur between 20% and 60% of business expenditures
on product or process innovation.19 The innovation advantage of smaller firms lies in their higher
risk tolerance, greater flexibility and their agile and adaptive organizational cultures. Despite all
this, their contribution to innovation remains limited, relative to the large population of firms they
account for.
If access to innovation assets is critical for firms of all sizes, the challenge is particularly acute for
SMEs. These firms confront specific barriers in finding and using the technology, data, information
and networks that would enable them to participate in and benefit from innovation activities. For
instance, smaller firms are less likely to engage in R&D, for both lack of capacity and incentives.
In addition, SMEs tend to be more dependent on external sources of knowledge, but they are
also less well integrated into the local, national and global innovation networks that would help
them capture knowledge spill-overs.20
Even those SMEs that have strong networks and a focus on R&D, such as in the start-up sector, often
lack access to appropriate risk capital that can support their innovation efforts. This is especially
true in emerging and developing countries where governments have yet to build efficient financial
infrastructures to provide SMEs, entrepreneurs and start-ups with essential early-stage funding.
Governments should therefore aim to ensure SME adoption of technological change and full
engagement with the industrial transformations at play, from emerging tech trends to cutting-
edge innovations in sustainability. SME-targeted financial support and technical assistance are
important ways to achieve this. Governments should also revamp innovation support packages, to
better align them with the needs of SMEs. Finally, promoting the scaling up of innovation networks
through accelerators and incubators, or through Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives, could
bring opportunities for SMEs to access knowledge and new data at reduced costs.
Create an enabling business environment, reducing administrative and legislative barriers that
encumber the ability of companies to establish, operate and grow; including investments in
digital government tools and processes.
Administrative and legislative barriers that encumber the establishment of businesses

Regulations on business are essential. But all too often, regulations miss their goals, generating
unintended consequences or replacing old inefficiencies with new ones. For example, some
burdensome regulations and tax laws on entrepreneurs can act as barriers to their entering the
18 OECD. 2018. Oslo Manual. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/oslo-manual-2018-info.pdf

19 OECD. 2019. OECD and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/3adb4264-en/index.html?itemId=/
content/component/3adb4264-en
20 Idem
30
formal economy, leaving firms away from the oversight of regulators and tax collectors.
In more than 50% of G20 countries, the number of days it takes to start a business is still in double
digits (see exhibit 3).21 This is particularly harmful because complex administrative procedures and
licensing requirements are among the main obstacles for entrepreneurs.
Exhibit 3 | Time required to start a business, number of days, 2019
40
17 18
12 13 11 11 10 10 12
9 8 8 8 7
4 4 5
2 2
Canada
France
Germany
Mexico
Turkey
US
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
China
India
South Korea
UK
EU
Indonesia
Japan
Italy
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Source: World Bank Ease of Doing Business, 2019, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.REG.DURS
Economies that score highest in the World Bank’s analysis of the ease of doing business, share
several common features. Firstly, the widespread use of electronic systems. All of the 20 top-ranking
economies have online business incorporation processes, have electronic tax filing platforms, and
allow online procedures related to property transfers. Moreover, 11 economies have electronic
procedures for construction permitting. In all of these processes, the top-ranking economies are
characterized by their sound business regulations with a high degree of transparency. Secondly,
the time and cost of procedures to open a new business, such as transferring property, obtaining
an electricity connection, or even the legal registration of a new company, are significantly higher
in low-ranked countries. In these countries, such processes take nearly six times longer, on
average, and can cost up to 50 times more than in high-ranked countries. And finally, high-ranking
economies benefit from effective regulations and information-sharing mechanisms. For example, in
the 20 highest-ranking countries, credit bureaus cover 83% of adults, compared to 10% coverage
in the 50 lowest-ranking countries.22 These success factors of high-ranked countries should serve
as a guide for implementation priorities for G20 governments.
21 The World Bank Doing Business 2020, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/32436/9781464814402.pdf

22 World Bank Ease of Doing Business, 2019, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.REG.DURS
31
Reducing barriers to the operation and growth of businesses, especially through digital government
The World Bank states that efficient and transparent rules that allow voluntary exchanges between
economic actors, set out strong property rights, facilitate the resolution of commercial disputes,
and provide contractual partners with protections against arbitrariness and abuse, eases the
ability of businesses to operate and grow. Moreover, the rules themselves should be easy to
access and clear to those for whom they are intended. Digital tools offer an invaluable means
to achieve these objectives, for example through clear and transparent communication channels,
and through transparent processes, like digital licensing and permitting. Digital solutions can be
especially helpful to small business entrepreneurs who often struggle to navigate complex and
unpredictable processes.
The pandemic has highlighted the immense value of digitized government processes. Some
countries have managed to undertake dramatic digital transformations in response to the crisis.
For instance, Singapore’s public service agencies have been almost entirely digitized, allowing
the public administration to continue functioning as normal even during the pandemic.
An important prerequisite for effective digital processes is the reliability of and access to adequate
digital infrastructure. The pandemic period tested the resilience of digital infrastructures and
highlighted their importance to ensuring the continuity of economic and social activity. As G20
governments implement clearer, more efficient and more transparent processes and regulations,
the strategic use of technology must inevitably sit at the foundation of their design.
In this context, our taskforce endorses the detailed policy actions within Recommendation 2 of
the B20 Taskforce on Digitalization, which calls on the G20 to “build foundations for a sustainable
and resilient digital economy”.
Encourage the teaching of entrepreneurship skills for all through schools, universities,
community groups and other institutions, especially for under-represented groups such as
female, lower-skilled, older and disabled workers.
Encourage the teaching of entrepreneurship skills for all through schools, universities, community
groups, incubators and accelerators
Entrepreneurship skills are crucial life skills, irrespective of a person’s form of employment or the
type and size of organization they work in. In the context of teaching systems, entrepreneurship
has been shown to promote high levels of student motivation and can trigger engagement,
resulting in deep learning. Entrepreneurial skills include crucial “soft skills“ that are increasingly
important in labor markets, such as creativity, innovation, the ability to work with others, planning
and project management skills, the understanding of risk, the ability to turn stressors or sources
of harm into opportunities, and coping with failure.23
23 OECD. 2020. Entrepreneurship360: Skills for Entrepreneurship Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/entrepreneurship360-skills-

entrepreneurship.htm
32
Despite its importance, the teaching of entrepreneurship skills has been limited to elective
courses and programs, mostly for higher-education students already possessing some degree of
entrepreneurial passion, and thus self-selecting into entrepreneurial education. Even this limited
access is only available in some advanced economies. The teaching of entrepreneurship skills should
be expanded to reach all students across the G20, targeting secondary and higher education
students, as well as Vocational Education and Training (VET) participants and adults seeking to start
or operate an enterprise. Moreover, to inspire more youths to develop an entrepreneurial mindset,
courses should be designed to be stimulating and engaging. An important way to systematically
scale such entrepreneurship training is through governmental promotion of Entrepreneurship
Education and Training Programs (EET).24
For example, in 2015, the European Commission and the OECD created the E360 project, to
examine entrepreneurial learning in primary and secondary education, and in vocational education
and training.25 Experts and representatives from across Europe shared examples of good practice
and helped to create guiding notes for policymakers and educators, to help encourage and
improve the practice of entrepreneurial leadership, culture, teaching and learning in schools and
VET institutions. Initiatives like this can help spur the recognition of entrepreneurship skills in
education curricula.
Incubators and accelerators also represent an important channel to teach entrepreneurship skills
through hands-on experience. These business development support programs provide a range of
support services to entrepreneurs during the early stages of the business lifecycle. Both types of
support programs typically offer a package of services, including training seminars, workshops,
business coaching and mentoring, business advice, networking opportunities and access to
financing. In addition, business incubators have traditionally offered premises for the business to
operate. Evidence suggests that business incubators and business accelerators can be effective
supports for new and growing businesses. Firms that receive support in incubators tend to have
higher survival rates, create more jobs, and generate more revenue.26
In many locations, especially in lower-income economies, access to schools, universities and formal
training institutions is limited, let alone incubators and accelerators. In such situations, community
groups can present an important channel to reach individuals. Moreover, in such communities,
entrepreneurial skills can mean the difference between financial stability and poverty.
Given the scale of the economic, employment and social crises that the pandemic has unleashed,
and also the imminent disruptions and transformational changes ahead, from the 4th Industrial
Revolution to climate change, there is a strong argument to encourage more widespread teaching
of social entrepreneurship capabilities. Social entrepreneurship is proving to successfully balance
24 European Commission, Entrepreneurship in Education. 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/BGP_Entrepreneurship-in-Education.

pdf
25 E360 project : https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/resources/e360---successful-entrepreneur.htm
26 European Commission, OECD. (2015). Policy Brief on Incubators and Accelerators that Support Inclusive Entrepreneurship.
33
economic, social, and environmental goals, and is fast-becoming both a competitive advantage
and an expectation among consumers and citizens, especially the young. In fact, the pandemic
experience has resulted in a sharp uptick in social entrepreneurship, a proportion of which is
expected to endure.
Support entrepreneurship skill-building among under-represented groups
Business ownership builds a sense of autonomy, confidence, pride and social status, all of which
are invaluable to under-represented and disadvantaged members of the workforce, like women,
immigrants, the youth and older workers. The pandemic had a disproportionate impact on
entrepreneurs from these backgrounds. For example, about 27% of female-operated businesses
around the world closed between January and May 2020, compared to 20% of male-led businesses.27
This cohort of entrepreneurs is already far smaller in size than it could and should be. The OECD
calculates that if everyone was as active in business creation as men aged 30-49 years old currently
are, there would be 50% more people engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship in the EU and
40% more in OECD countries. About three-quarters of these additional entrepreneurs would be
women, half of them would be over 50 years old, and one in eight would be under 30 years old.28
The key factors preventing these workers from starting businesses include the greater difficulties
they face in accessing finance, their skills gaps, their under-developed networks and institutional
barriers, (such as a lack of childcare and discouraging social attitudes). These obstacles are
often interrelated and are greater, on average, for women, immigrants, youth, seniors and the
unemployed.29
Skill building is a crucial priority for governments to support these groups. Financial literacy, digital
skills and business acumen are typically less prevalent among entrepreneurs from under-represented
and disadvantaged groups. Coaching in these capabilities, as well as broader entrepreneurship
skills can significantly improve chances of success, especially as these groups also often have
difficulty accessing training opportunities. Moreover, support schemes should be appropriately
funded (eg. through microfinance institutions that are familiar with their needs), and tailored to
the specific circumstances of these groups (eg. to address systemic biases and obstacles).
Entrepreneurship can also present opportunities for disadvantaged groups to turn their particular
characteristics, or experiences, into a market advantage: such as ethnic minorities developing
services targeted at immigrants, or older entrepreneurs designing offerings for the elderly.30 Such
approaches allow for creative, entrepreneurial ideas that can also help address social inclusion
27 OECD, 2021. The Missing Entrepreneurs 2021 : Policies for Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/71b7a9bb-
en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/71b7a9bb-en&_csp_=d8d0020b2c4308e7c5bf88c928ccd139&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book
28 Idem
29 Idem
30 LEED. Sustaining self-employment for disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/Background%20paper%20for%20
sustainability%20policy%20brief%20rev.pdf
31 OECD, 2019. Policy Brief on incubators and accelerators that support inclusive entrepreneurship. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/policy-
brief-on-incubators-and-accelerators-that-support-inclusive-entrepreneurship_d7d81c23-en
34
issues. For example, immigrants often come from entrepreneurial cultures but face many challenges
in their new countries, including language barriers, difficulties understanding the culture and
operating in new regulatory environments. Initiatives can be designed to simultaneously achieve
business growth and inclusion goals, as exemplified by HEC Montréal’s “entrePrism” university
incubator that connects immigrant and established Quebecois entrepreneurs.31
In terms of policy actions, EET Programs, business incubator and accelerator programs can be
established to target entrepreneurs from under-represented and disadvantaged groups. Also,
entrepreneurs from these backgrounds can be encouraged and incentivized to participate in
broader enterprise-promotion initiatives, stimulating greater diversity within these mainstream
initiatives, which in turn accelerates inclusion and spurs innovation.
G20 member countries should therefore:

• Provide targeted fiscal support and greater access to funding for entrepreneurs and SMEs,
as well as support to operate internationally, build digital capacity and innovate.
• Create an enabling business environment, reducing administrative and legislative barriers that
encumber the ability of companies to establish, operate and grow.
• Encourage the teaching of entrepreneurship skills for all through schools, universities, community
groups and other institutions, especially for under-represented groups such as female, lower-
skilled, older and disabled workers.
35
Policy Action 1.2: Align labor-market regulations with the realities of post-pandemic ways
of working
Assess lessons from the pandemic to align labor regulations with the needs of diverse forms of
work, online/hybrid work and active labor market policies.
Context on changing ways of working

During the pandemic, work was conducted more flexibly, more remotely, and amid greater
uncertainty… many of these changes will endure, requiring regulatory adaptations.
Context on changing ways of working
During the pandemic, work was conducted more flexibly, more remotely, and amid greater
uncertainty… many of these changes will endure, requiring regulatory adaptations.
The most visible workplace impact of pandemic confinement was the move to online working.
In countries with stringent or multiple lockdowns, like France and the UK, almost 50% of
workers were teleworking; while even in Japan, which did not institute a nationwide lockdown,
teleworking increased from 10 to 28%.32 These home-working and hybrid-working behaviors
brought both benefits and challenges, and they will persist into the long term. Whatever the
degree of home working in coming years, there are important implications on factors ranging
from digital infrastructure and transport systems to real estate and urban planning, as well
as cultural and legal hurdles to overcome.
Policymakers must consider levers to boost productivity among online workers. The basics
include fast, reliable and secure digital infrastructure, as well as associated digital skills and
appropriate home offices. But productive home working also requires effective self-management,
32 OECD, 2021. Teleworking in the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/teleworking-in-the-COVID-19-pandemic-

trends-and-prospects-72a416b6/#boxsection-d1e32
36
team-management and online collaboration. Perhaps the greatest long-term risks to manage
are the potential damage to innovation and to worker well-being and satisfaction. Affordable
access is another critical factor: if teleworking is to become permanently mainstream, adequate
infrastructure, devices, content and skills must be available to all; rich and poor, urban and
rural.
The pandemic also saw greater experimentation in different working patterns, exposing
employers and employees to more flexible ways of working. Flexibility in work schedules
and in work locations have proven especially popular. This experience shines a bright light
on diverse forms of work, such as fixed-term work, part-time work, agency work and self-
employment, all of which have been increasing in demand, but which are still restricted by
law in many countries. The pandemic recovery period offers a chance for all social partners
to collaboratively update labor regulations in a way that responsibly maximizes the benefits of
these more flexible forms of work. In fact, diverse forms of work represent a crucial avenue to
bring large numbers of people back into the workforce, as well as reducing the pressures that
push workers into informality. According to the World Employment Confederation, one-third
of agency workers come from either inactivity or unemployment. On average, 73% of workers
entering the labor market through agency work remain in employment 12 months later, either
continuing within that sector or moving on to direct, fixed-term or open-ended contracts.33
Amid more flexible working options and persistently turbulent labor markets, effective Active
Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) become vital. ALMPs are government interventions in the labor
market to support worker transition, such as vocational training, assistance in the job search
process, wage subsidies, and support to independent workers. We have an opportunity to
learn from the great ALMP experiments during the pandemic to design effective solutions for
future upheavals in employment.
33 World Employment Confederation. 2020. Social Impact Report 2020. Retrieved from: https://wecglobal.org/uploads/2020/07/WEC-Social-Impact-
Report-2020.pdf
37
Promote safe, productive online/hybrid work whilst mitigating associated risks

As online/hybrid work becomes widespread, governments must enure that productivity,
innovation and wellbeing are enhanced, rather than dimished, through appropriate investments
and policies.
Pandemic confinement laid the stage for an extraordinary, global experiment in shifting to work from
home. Employers and employees felt major advantages and disadvantages from this experience,
depending on a number of factors. But overall, it seems clear that widespread home working is
likely to remain a permanent feature in many countries and sectors, whether that involves online-
only work or some hybrid blend of working from home and a work location.
Increased online/hybrid work can contribute to important policy goals, such as greater inclusion
of disadvantaged workers, improved job opportunities in deprived locations, reduced pollution,
congestion and housing costs in urban areas, and improvements in the overall health and wellbeing
of the population. In economic terms, if implemented well, home working can lead to raised levels
of productivity, innovation and worker satisfaction and wellbeing. Implemented badly, all of these
outcomes can suffer. Moreover, it is likely that these outcomes will move in a similar direction
to one another, highlighting the importance of establishing appropriate work and government
policies from the outset.
Organizations must understand the needs of different parts of the workforce to ensure that the
appropriate level of home working is established to improve worker productivity, engagement
and knowledge-sharing, and to avoid the risks of over-work and breakdowns in communication
and trust. This also demands shifts in work culture including changes in management practices,
performance assessment and norms of communication and interaction. All this must be underpinned
by appropriate home working environments, including adequate ICT equipment and a healthy and
safe workspace that enables productive work. A crucial prerequisite to this is fast, reliable and
secure access to digital infrastructure for companies and for workers at home.
In their assessment of the opportunities and risks of increased online/hybrid work, the OECD has
proposed specific policies for governments. They relate to complementary investments, surmounting
cultural and legal hurdles, and mitigating potential side effects. These policy proposals are listed
below, as they offer valuable guidance to the policy formulation of G20 governments:
OECD’s Key Policies to help Maximize the Productivity Benefits of Online/Hybrid Work34
1. Support Complementary Investments
• Stimulate investments into the communications infrastructure, eg. to phase out slower
xDSL by deploying fibre deeper into the broadband network of providers, to enhance the
34 OECD, 2021. Productivity gains from teleworking in the post COVID-19 era: How can public policies make it happen? https://www.oecd.org/
coronavirus/policy-responses/productivity-gains-from-teleworking-in-the-post-covid-19-era-a5d52e99/
38
capability and resilience of the communications infrastructure, and contribute to bridge

the geographical divide with high-speed broadband being less often available in rural
areas.
• Accelerate the diffusion of the communications infrastructure required for telework
through (conditional and targeted) financial support for ICT upgrades to encourage firms
to implement teleworking.
• Promote overall telework and counter social and regional disparities, stimulate investments
in relevant skills especially among workers currently less able to telework. As many workers
already possessing skills necessary for telework, eg. in knowledge-intensive services, are
largely concentrated in urban areas, large gains in skill supply may be obtained by up-
skilling workers in rural areas. Promoting online education is particularly suited to provide
training opportunities beyond the reach of large cities.
• Promote the sharing of best management practices through information campaigns and
stimulating investments in management training.
• Provide funding for relevant research, eg. Virtual Reality, to improve the quality of effective
remote communication.
2. Surmount Cultural and Legal Hurdles

• Counter resistance to introduce telework because of adherence to traditional working
arrangements by promoting a ‘right to telework’ for at least some hours per week in suitable
occupations, or by directly subsidizing telework, as done by the metropolitan government
in Tokyo, Japan. Framework arrangements for telework as part of collective agreements
among social partners can play a crucial role to facilitate the use of telework.
• Offering bilateral tax agreements, eg. as done between France and Belgium, facilitates
working across borders and increases the effective skill supply to firms; similar adjustments
may be required to accommodate the specific circumstances for cross-border workers on
retirement benefits and health care provision.
• A cultural shift may be achieved through information campaigns on successful transitions
and highlighting the broader societal benefits beyond productivity, such as reducing the
environmental impact and improving work-life balance. Adapting the public sector to
remote work could serve to showcase the benefits of telework and may ease bureaucratic
burdens.
• Counter legal hurdles to telework by adapting the legal and regulatory system, eg. accepting
the use of digital signatures more broadly as introduced during the lockdown for French
notaries.
• Importantly, the crisis is already catalyzing a cultural shift regarding the distribution of
care duties, as women, who are disproportionately engaged in these tasks, are more likely
to be employed in essential professions and partners have to fill in. This shift could be
reinforced by adapting the benefit and tax system, eg. by reconsidering tax benefits for
single-earner households.
39
3. Mitigate Potential Side Effects

• The risk for innovation due to the lack of in-person interactions and knowledge sharing
could be compensated for by deliberately creating opportunities for exchange. For
instance, promoting co-working spaces across the country can foster innovation while
saving commuting time and decrease regional inequalities.
• Counter the risk that telework leads to ‘hidden overtime’ by promoting a ‘right to disconnect’,
as eg. instituted for the French post and telecom sector via collective agreements among
social partners.
• Generally speaking, the risk of ‘excessive’ telework needs to be addressed so that firms do
not impose costs for office space and IT equipment on workers, and workers remain free
to choose whether or not to telework, eg. by promoting restrictions on imposed telework
and stimulating allowances provided by employers for home office equipment.
• Additional regulation may be necessary to prevent that teleworking across borders
undermines national labor standards and wage agreements.
• As telework is associated with new technologies to monitor the performance and behavior
of workers, additional regulation on data protection may be necessary to ensure privacy
rights.
• The provision of supportive infrastructure, for instance childcare, should be reassessed.
Increased telework should not lead to company-provided childcare being reduced, but
childcare may need to be offered closer to home. Increasing telework without complementary
policies to improve supportive infrastructure could increase the burden especially on
women from competing work and caretaker duties.
Implement national and international regulatory frameworks that recognize and enable diverse
forms of work, including open-ended, fixed-term, agency, part-time and self-employed work,
as well as platform work
Implement national and international regulatory frameworks that recognize all forms of work
Legal and recognized employment relations are the starting point for businesses to create jobs
and contribute to productive employment. These relations are a precondition for businesses to
adjust their human resource needs to economic realities, and to ensure that evolving workforce
demands translate into formal employment arrangements. Regulatory frameworks that recognize
the full range of employment relations thereby allow for better access to formal and decent jobs,
and create job opportunities for workers while also bringing them access to employment rights.
Unfortunately, many countries do not legally recognize the variety of employment arrangements
available in labour markets, or not in ways that align with formal labor demand. This failure creates
labor market inefficiencies and incentivizes workers towards informality. For instance, agency work
contracts are in many cases not recognized as a decent, third-party form of work. Such “triangular
employment relationships” can improve labor market efficiency and allow workers to gain easy
access to work and varied work experiences, as well as opening more flexible and varied options
40
for employees to combine work with other life commitments. By using agency work, businesses can
quickly find new employees and easily expand their workforce when needed.35 Amid the variety
of forms of work available, it is important for policymakers to make appropriate distinctions (eg.
part-time/full-time versus open-ended or temporary employment) to ensure relevant regulations
are applied appropriately to benefit both workers and businesses.
Beyond the recognition of diverse forms of work, regulatory frameworks must allow for easy
transitions from one form of work to another. The COVID crisis highlights the importance of these
flexible models to achieve efficient and effective work transitions, and this need will only increase
as trends like the Digital and Green Transitions require further flows of workers towards more
productive, future-relevant jobs. This can currently be a particular issue for temporary workers,
workers in temporary agencies and other multi-party employment relationships, as well as the
dependent self-employed. A model of effective part-time regulation is the Netherlands, where
legislation explicitly provides for the possibility of switching back and forth between full-time and
part-time jobs with the same employer. The Netherlands example demonstrates how to formalize
stepping stones for part-time workers.36
As forms of work become more diverse, this must be matched by appropriate safety nets to
ensure and incentivize the safe and easy transition of workers across different parts of the labor
market. This requires innovative adaptations to safety nets that provide the benefits of flexibility
and agility to both employees and employers, and a fair sharing of the associated costs and
risks. For example, employee benefits (such as access to training) can be designed to build up
across a variety of career experiences, allowing workers to more confidently transition across
different types of work, to the benefit of themselves and employers. This would also incentivize
informal workers to join the formal economy. Indeed, the flexibility offered by diverse forms of
work addresses a major pressure that pushes many workers into informality. Recent experiments
with social protection models in response to the COVID-19 pandemic offer valuable experiences
to analyze and learn lessons in designing such social innovations.
Regulatory frameworks that recognize all forms of work will allow G20 countries to ensure both
opportunities and protections for workers in all types of employment.
Diverse forms of work are enabled by increasingly flexible work solutions, including remote
working. The pandemic has accelerated this trend, highlighting the need for legislation to catch
up with modern working methods. For example, Russia implemented a law on 1 January 2021,
providing a framework for remote working policies, covering permanent and temporary remote
working arrangements, including cases of emergency, like pandemics. The law was designed by
a working group composed of government representatives, members of the Russian Parliament,
trade unions and employers’ organizations.37
35 World Employment Confederation (2020). Agency work. Retrieved from: https://wecglobal.org/private-employment-industry/agency-work/

For more information on the stepping stone role of agency work, see:
Jahn, Roshol. 2013. Looking beyond the bridge: The effect of temporary agency employment on labour market outcomes.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292113001372?via%3Dihub
36 OECD. (2019). Part-time and Partly Equal: Gender and Work in the Netherlands. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/social/part-time-and-partly-
equal-gender-and-work-in-the-netherlands-204235cf-en.htm
41
Implement policies and regulatory frameworks that enable all forms of work
The availability and clear regulation of diverse forms of work have proven to foster youth and
female inclusion in the workforce, as well as allowing lifelong learning opportunities alongside
work. For instance, women are over-represented in part-time jobs across OECD countries. And of
all 15-24 year-olds in the working population across 18 European countries, 53.5% have fixed-term
contracts, in comparison to 14.9% of their 24-49 year-old counterparts.38 Countries with clear
regulations to support diverse forms of work are also more attractive to international investment
and more amenable to the creation of new businesses.
Some countries have begun to adapt policies to newer forms of work. For instance, we have seen
extended rights, benefits and protections to previously unprotected workers in some countries. In
others, we have seen the reduction of differences in tax treatment between contract types. Some
countries are regulating the way that platforms operate and imposing reporting obligations in
relation to taxation. For example, in January 2021, India enacted three new codes on employment
conditions, social security and occupational health, safety and working conditions. New concepts
have been introduced, including provisions related to fixed-term employees, as well as the creation
of a worker re-skilling fund, social security for gig workers and platform workers, definitions related
to contract labour, and the recognition of trade unions, among other actions.39
Implement legislation, where necessary, to clarify the classification of workers in order to ensure
a level playing field for business and protect workers; and consider new requirements to protect
platform workers through the contributions of contracting entities.
The slow progress in formally recognizing diverse forms of work has led to the challenge of
misclassifying workers across the traditional definitions of dependent employment, self-employment,
and the myriad of working models that are a reality of today’s economy. Ensuring correct classification
is key to ensuring access to labor and social protection, as well as to collective bargaining and
lifelong learning. For example, the pandemic highlighted the dangers for many workers, who
found that they were not covered by social protection systems, due to the classification of their
work. In many countries, self-employed workers presented a visible example of such challenges.
Clearer classification of workers can also help enforce legislation that protects against discrimination
between workers who adopt different work arrangements, for example in areas of social security
payments, worker health and medical insurance, as well as job promotion prospects.
The rapid growth of platform work has also highlighted a segment of workers that value the
flexibility of being independent contractors, but do not wish to be classified as employees. For
such workers, important benefits and protections can be provided through the contributions of
contracting entities.
37 Industrial Relations and Labour Laws, 2021. Russia adopts a new legislation on remote work. Retrieved from: https://ioewec.newsletter.ioe-emp.
org/industrial-relations-and-labour-law-march-2021/news/article/russia-adopts-a-new-legislation-on-remote-work
38 ILO. 2017. The rising tide of non-standard employment. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/infostories/Stories/Employment/Non-Standard-
Employment#intro
38 The National Law Review. 2020. India Consolidates and Codifies Its National-Level Labour Laws. Retrieved from: https://www.natlawreview.com/
article/india-consolidates-and-codifies-its-national-level-labour-laws
42
Clear and correct classification of workers helps to both protect workers and to ensure a level
playing field for businesses. Businesses that act responsibly and comply with correct classification
procedures are unfairly disadvantaged against competitors that overlook or circumvent these
important distinctions. Effective legislation and enforcement are crucial for labor markets to
function in a manner that is fair and fit for the 21st century.
Work across public and private sectors to improve the effectiveness of Active Labor Market
Policies (ALMPs), including job retention schemes, training and work transition support
Learn from the experience of ALMP initiatives throughout the pandemic period to design ALMP
solutions fit for the recovery period and for future employment upheavals
For many countries, ALMPs, especially job retention schemes, have played a crucial role in managing
the worst employment and income effects of the pandemic period, and they will continue to play
a critical role in the transition towards recovery. A lesson learned from the crisis is the importance
of ensuring that ALMPs are effective and efficient. For instance, one study found that the reported
impact of ALMPs on employment and earnings, although moderately positive on average, are
subject to great variability, due to the complexity of the environment that these policies target.
Success is highly dependent on the quality of implementation.40
Urgent attention must be paid to ensure ALMPs are designed and implemented correctly to support
the employment and economic recovery. The longer people remain unemployed, or worse, inactive,
the greater the risk of permanent discouragement for some workers to re-enter the labour market.
ALMPs must be designed not only to provide avenues to productive work, but also to inspire
people to proactively engage with initiatives that will improve their employability and prospects.
Partnership between business and government is of crucial importance to success. The effectiveness
of ALMPs depends on their relevance to businesses. If these policies are adapted and tailored to
labor market needs, they can scale and evolve to meet the areas of greatest opportunity for both
employees and employers. By increasing the relevance and value of these policies to businesses,
it makes it more likely that employers will engage with these schemes.
Within the private sector, there is a great opportunity to improve both effectiveness and efficiency
of ALMPs through improved collaboration between Public and Private Employment Service
organizations. Indeed, Eurostat’s latest European Labour Force Survey shows that during the
COVID-19 pandemic, about a fifth of jobseekers reached out to private employment services,
while the role of public employment services has been steadily decreasing over recent years.41
Separately, the OECD has found that private providers contributed agility in the provision of job
search and career guidance services in response to the COVID-19 shock.42 Improved public-private
collaboration is also highly beneficial to outplacement and career guidance services, where both
businesses and jobseekers would benefit from quicker and better outcomes.
40 Brookings Research. (2020) Life After Coronavirus. Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu/research/life-after-coronavirus-strengthening-labor-

markets-through-active-policy/
43
For example, public-private partnerships could allow for the pooling of private and public
employment professionals and organizations to share expertise, create synergies and deliver more
efficient and targeted designs of public activation policies.43 This kind of collaboration promises
to accelerate employment and economic recovery, and is supported by institutions like the OECD
and ILO (eg. OECD post-pandemic labour market recommendations and 2018 Jobs Strategy, and
ILO Convention 181, Recommendation 188).
The experience of the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of technology in delivering
more impactful support services. For example, Public Employment Service (PES) offices that had
already embarked on digital transformation before the COVID-19 crisis were in a better position
to ensure remote access to services while physical distancing protocols were enforced. The
longer-term benefits of digitization are also clear, and should be prioritized along with necessary
measures to ensure inclusion of disadvantaged parts of the workforce.44
Finally, the impact of ALMPs should be scrutinized periodically, through continuous monitoring and
evaluation of the impact on different groups and on the workforce as a whole. Success factors
will vary over time, including over the coming recovery and growth periods.

• Promote safe, productive online/hybrid work whilst mitigating associated risks
• Implement national and international regulatory frameworks that recognize and enable diverse
forms of work, including open-ended, fixed-term, agency, part-time and self-employed work,
as well as platform work
• Work across public and private sectors to improve the effectiveness of Active Labor Market
Policies (ALMPs), including job retention schemes, training and work transition support
41 Eurostat, 2021. Methods used for seeking work- Percentage of unemployed who declared having used a given method, by sex (%). Retrieved from:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/lfsq_ugmsw
42 OECD, 2021. OECD 2021 Employment Outlook. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/5a700c4b-en/index.html?itemId=/content/
publication/5a700c4b-en
43 World Employment Confederation and International Organisation of Employers Joint Position Paper. (2021) Policy Priorities for the Road to a Sustainable
Job Recovery.
44 ILO. 2020. Labour market policies and employment services are critical ingredients of the COVID-19 policy responses https://www.ilo.org/employment/
Whatwedo/Publications/WCMS_753447/lang--en/index.htm
44
Policy Action 1.3: Enable the transition of workers and businesses into the formal economy
Create incentives and address policy impediments to formalization, while ensuring the improvement
of existing livelihoods during the transition.
Context on labor-market formality
The pandemic exacerbated dependence on informal work, harming workers and economies.
The informal economy thrives in environments with high unemployment, under-employment,

poverty, gender inequality and precarious work. Informal work is attractive in difficult economic
environments because of the relative ease of entry and low requirements for education, skills,
technology and capital. Most people enter the informal economy not by choice, but out of a need
to access basic income-generating activities for survival.45 However, informality puts workers at
a higher risk of vulnerability and precariousness. In fact, informality has a strong adverse impact
on the adequacy of earnings, occupational health and safety, and working conditions in general.
The pandemic saw millions of already-vulnerable workers fall into informal jobs, where they
often lack rights at work and decent working conditions. A large informal economy is perverse
for economic and social development: it excludes individuals from basic protections and
reduces tax revenues; companies in the informal sector are trapped in low productivity, with
restricted access to finance and lacking access to support systems. Productivity, economic
growth and wages are hindered by large informal markets, and those that invest in formal
systems are disadvantaged through unfair competition, especially in emerging economies.
According to the ILO, two billion people—more than 61 per cent of the world’s employed
population—make their living in the informal economy.46 This disproportionately affects emerging
45 ILO. 2014. Transitioning from the informal to the formal economy. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcm-sp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_218128.pdf
46 ILO. 2018. More than 60 per cent of the world’s employed population are in the informal economy. Recovered from: https://www.ilo.org/global/
about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_627189/lang--en/index.htm
45
economies where up to 88% of the workforce is found within the Informal Economy.47
Even during periods of strong economic growth in developing countries, the share of informal
workers has remained stubbornly high, and the pandemic has pushed levels far higher. This
can mark an important stimulus for G20 governments to take concerted action in finally
tackling the root causes of informality.
Both workers and businesses must be incentivized to transition to formality, especially in

low-income, rural and other communities with high levels of informality. Such incentives
can be connected to broader job creation efforts, especially in future-relevant sectors and
jobs, and in formal supply chains. G20 governments can also work with established, formal
businesses to incentivize and encourage entry-level workers from the informal sector. This
approach can offer fulfilling careers with propects for growth and development to workers
from all backgrounds and skill levels.
In addition to incentives, G20 governments should seek to address regulatory and other
impediments to formalization, and encourage legal compliance. For example, by digitalizing
regulatory processes, governments can bring transparency and encourage engagement with
formal systems. Such approaches should be designed to ensure that existing livelihoods are
improved through the process.
Exhibit 4 | Proportion of informal employment significantly impacted by lockdown and

social distancing measures by country income groups (2020, percentages)
100
88%
85%
80
80%
65%
60 62%
55%
47%
40
30%
20
20%
15%
0
Global Low income countries Lower-middle Upper-middle High income
income countries income countries countries
Total Employment
Informal employment in percentage of total employment
Informal employment significantly impacted as percentage of total employment
Source: ILO. 2020. Impact of lockfown measures on the informal economy. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_
protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/briefingnote/wcms_743523.pdf
Note: Estimates based on the analysis of national household survey data from 129 countries representing 90 percent of global employment.
47 ILO. 2020. Impact of lockfown measures on the informal economy. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---
protrav/---travail/documents/briefingnote/wcms_743523.pdf
46
Promote and enable the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal
economy, while ensuring the improvement of existing livelihoods during this transition
Most of the world’s employed population works in the informal sector: that’s 2 billion workers,
representing about 61% of all workers when including agriculture, and 50% when excluding
agriculture. Informality is the norm in developing and emerging countries, corresponding to 70%
of all employment, compared with about 18% in developed countries. Almost 1.6 billion of those
workers have been significantly affected by the pandemic, leading to an estimated decline in their
earnings of some 60 per cent and undermining social cohesion48
The informal economy thrives in environments with high unemployment, under-employment,

poverty, gender inequality and precarious work. Informal work is attractive in difficult economic
environments because of the relative ease of entry and low requirements for education, skills,
technology and capital. Most people enter the informal economy not by choice, but out of a need
to access basic income-generating activities for survival.49 However, informality puts workers at
a higher risk of vulnerability and precariousness. In fact, informality has a strong adverse impact
on the adequacy of earnings, occupational health and safety, and working conditions in general.
Even during periods of strong economic growth in developing countries, the share of informal
workers has remained stubbornly high, and the pandemic has pushed levels far higher. This can
mark an important stimulus for G20 governments to take concerted action in finally tackling the
root causes of informality.
For example, governments can provide tax and other incentives to support the establishment of
business operations in low-income, rural and other communities with high levels of informality,
thereby accelerating both job creation and formalization. Integration of SMEs into formal global
supply chains can be an important route to formalization. Incentives that support business investment
in digital training, skill building and on-the-job training for entry-level workers can similarly help
attract workers from the informal sector into formal employment. Diverse forms of work, such as
agency work, have also proven to act as a valuable stepping stone for workers transitioning from
the informal to the formal sector. In addition, employment services have an important role to play
in supporting and guiding workers towards formal employment opportunities, representing a useful
area of collaboration between private and public employment service organizations.
A range of policy actions can incentivize both businesses and workers to engage in the activities
described above, tailored to the needs of the local market. Beyond these, a crucial pre-requisite for
G20 governments is to actively remove barriers to formalization and encourage legal compliance.
The removal of unnecessary legal and regulatory hurdles to setting up and operating businesses
will result in fewer companies being pushed into informality, thereby increasing tax incomes,
and allowing the improvement of social protection systems. This must be a particular priority in
emerging markets where both informality levels and bureaucratic hurdles are high.
48 ILO. 2021. Renewing the social contract through e-formalization in the world of work https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/
documents/publication/wcms_826464.pdf
49 ILO. 2014. Transitioning from the informal to the formal economy. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_218128.pdf
47

• Address regulatory and other impediments to formalization and encourage legal compliance,
including the digitalization of relevant regulatory processes.
• Provide tax and other incentives to support the establishment of business operations in low-
income, rural and other communities with high levels of informality.
• Work with business to create incentives that encourage entry-level workers from the informal
sector into formal employment.
48
Policy Action 1.4: Ensure that the future of work is “people-centred”, supported by enabling
technologies
Collaborate with the private sector, academia and relevant experts to ensure appropriate safeguards
are designed alongside technological developments, and incentivize solutions to intractable global
challenges through science and innovation.
Context on the need and opportunity for responsible science, innovation and tech
Science & technology are generating transformational advances at breakneck speed,

demanding policies to guide and maximize their impact, and ensure appropriate safeguards.
Technology is an incredibly powerful tool that enables people and societies to achieve their
ambitions. Technology is the enabler, but people and communities should sit at the heart of
the purpose driving technological endeavours. This is a crucial consideration in designing the
future of work and education, as technology increasingly permeates the daily activities of all
workers, consumers, citizens and students. Fundamentally, government policies should aim to
maximize the tremendous benefits new technologies bring, whilst minimizing the associated
risks. This includes incentives and guidelines to support the appropriate design and use of
new technologies and scientific innovations.
The current speed of scientific and technological progress is breath-taking, and the benefits to
the way we work, learn and live will be extraordinary. But for the full benefits to be realized,
appropriate regulations must also be designed and enforced. For example, driverless cars may
eventually eliminate congestion, road accidents and pollution; but only when accompanied
by legislation to ensure safe, ethical design and implementation. Another example is Artificial
Intelligence (AI): It is in the interest of business to design, develop and deploy AI to empower
employees and companies and to have a positive impact on customers and society; but guidance
and, in some cases, regulation and transparency from business, will be essential to support the
levels of trust and confidence that will allow AI solutions to scale and spread their benefits.
49
Among technology trends, AI currently receives the most attention in terms of guidelines and
policy recommendations being explored by groups of experts and legislators. These efforts
aim to minimize the risks of bias and other ethical concerns. G20 policymakers need to pay
attention to these guidelines when deciding how to design their own legislation, in alignment
with global leading practice. These shared global technological challenges lend themselves to
shared global solutions, wherever possible. Beyond AI, other technological trends will demand
similar focus from across business, government, academia and relevant experts, to explore
risks and craft policy recommendations. G20 governments are well placed to convene such
experts, in areas ranging from Biotechnology to the Metaverse and Web 3.0.
The exponential progress of science and technology brings enormous opportunities for
governments, business and society to address some of the most urgent and intractable
challenges we face. Consider how AI enabled the extraordinarily rapid computations and
sequencing that generated COVID vaccines in record time. This global, collaborative experience
stimulated the UN to declare 2022 as the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable
Development, highlighting the links between science and the Sustainable Development
Goals. The G20 has the legitimacy to capitalize on this moment of hope and ambition, to
build consensus around specific targets, and to promote international cooperation towards
real action on shared global issues that can be tackled through technology and innovation.
The future of work and education would undoubtably flourish, as both contributors and
beneficiaries of such initiatives.
50
Collaborate across the G20 and relevant sectors to develop policies and mechanisms that
maximize the benefits of emerging technologies and mitigate their negative effects
Institute norms and mechanisms to help anticipate and responsibly steer the development of new
technologies, without stifling innovation
Technological innovation has driven improvements in human, social and economic development
throughout history. But with every technological advance, new risks accompany the new
opportunities. We currently sit at a critical moment of transition, where powerful new technologies
are advancing exponentially, many of them with the power to disrupt life and work around the
world. Artificial Intelligence (AI), nuclear power, the blockchain, neurotechnology and gene editing
are some of the areas of current contentious debate, but the rate of technological progress is
bringing new ethical discussions onto the agenda of Science, Technology and Innovation policy
at dramatic speed.
The objectives of such policy must be to maximize the benefits of these innovations whilst
mitigating their risks, and to do so in as comprehensive a way as possible that includes all parts
of the world. The G20 is well placed to take a leading role in such efforts.
The Future of Work and Education is intrinsically tied up in this arena. From the perspective of
inputs, these technological advances come from the creative minds and efforts of scientists,
technicians, inventors, academics and entrepreneurs that form a crucial high-value segment of
the workforce. From the perspective of outputs, many of these advances have transformative
effects on entire industries and wide-ranging impacts on the nature of work. Consider AI, as a
tool, it is revolutionizing the effectiveness and efficiency of entire industries, transforming the
way people and businesses interact, spurring entirely new sectors, creating new boundaries for
predictive analysis and modelling, as well as transforming how work gets done, by whom, and
the skills required by workers.
Therefore, the responsible and ethical development of science and technology is essential to
create a future of work and education that is healthy, productive and meaningful, and which
enhances our social and economic growth. This taskforce specifically underlines the need to take
this responsible approach when considering how technologies will affect work and workers. It is
essential that technology is always seen as an enabler; and that it should be put to the service of
people. Hence, our call for a “people-centred, tech-enabled future of work and education”. This
principle should guide the decisions of G20 policymakers as they craft legislation and regulations
that govern the use of current and future technologies in the workplace.
The governance of science, technology and innovation policy is not only about regulations, it
is also about a range of institutional and normative mechanisms that can help steer scientific,
entrepreneurial and policy communities towards responsible action. The OECD’s Science, Technology
and Innovation Outlook points to the following examples of activities involved:50
50 OECD. 2019. Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook, https://www.oecd.org/sti/science-technology-innovation-outlook/technology-governance/
51
• R&D agenda setting and public accountability mechanisms;

• Technology assessment, foresight, and science advice;
• Public engagement and science communication;
• Technical and design standards;
• Regulation and soft law; and
• Private sector governance and self-regulation.
When conducting such governance activities in today’s fast-paced innovation environment, an

important principle is to take an “anticipatory governance” approach, which David Guston,
Foundation Professor and founding director of the School for the Future of Innovation in Society,
describes as building three capacities:
• Anticipation, or foresight;
• Integration across disciplines; and
• Public engagement.
Guston says that “building these capacities, both in traditional innovation organizations (like universities
and private firms), as well as across society more broadly (in non-governmental organizations
and public education), can help create a reflexive approach to innovation that will constantly
be re-examining its public purpose and its ability to facilitate responsible changes in society.”51
Collaboration across countries, sectors, disciplines and areas of expertise is crucial to steer
scientific innovation and technology development towards positive directions and to identify risks
before they materialize. The G20 plays an important role in actively advocating for this kind of
responsible collaboration.
Engage with global institutions, business and other experts (such as ethicists, psychologists,
neuroscientists and behavioural theorists) to ensure alignment with the latest thinking and practices
around responsible innovation
Anticipatory governance is by its nature collaborative, bringing together experts from diverse fields
to deeply examine the interconnections and implications of new technologies. For example, the
worlds of Virtual Reality and the Metaverse are receiving much attention at the moment, which
brings up questions around the physical, neurological and mental health impacts on users, especially
children. The wider and deeper the consultations and discussions, the greater the chances of
responsible design and usage of such technologies.
At the same time, a multitude of studies and approaches can become confusing and sometimes
raise contradictory views. For example, the exciting and daunting promise of Artificial Intelligence
has generated dozens of “guiding principles” and “ethical frameworks” from both public and
private sources, all advocating for responsible design and usage. But there is no single authority
or recognized professional body charged with this challenge.
51 Ibid
52
It is therefore useful for G20 policymakers to seek out initiatives that bring together multiple
national governments, to agree on specific shared governance considerations. The OECD’s
“soft law” approach is helpful in this regard, especially through its formal recommendations on
the international regulation of emerging technologies. These recommendations are not legally
binding, but adherent nations are expected to do their utmost to implement them.52 Two of these
recommendations seem especially relevant to the topics discussed in this Policy Action:
• The OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology – which is the first
international standard in this domain, and aims to guide governments and innovators to anticipate
and address the ethical, legal and social challenges raised by novel neurotechnologies while
promoting innovation in the field.53
• The OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence – which promote AI that is innovative and
trustworthy, and that respects human rights and democratic values; setting standards for AI
that are practical and flexible enough to stand the test of time in a rapidly evolving field.54
Capitalize on the UN’s Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development to encourage
global science and innovation initiatives that target intractable global challenges
Utilize the convening and advocacy power of the G20 to incentivize and direct collaborative efforts
towards solving specific challenges of meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
“Unprecedented” is probably an over-used word, but it is fitting to describe the astonishing speed
and collaborative focus that characterized the development of the Coronavirus vaccines. This
rare instance of shared ambition and aligned incentives enabled groups that would normally not
interact (or would even compete) to come together in service of a greater, urgent, shared priority.
This experience is still fresh in people’s minds, and begs the question as to why such collaborative
focus cannot be stimulated in service of other urgent, intractable global challenges, such as
climate change, healthcare or education. This is a driving force behind the United Nations’ decision
to name 2022 the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. The intent
is to orient the power of basic sciences towards achieving the targets of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals.
Specifically, the organizers highlight the importance of “training, skills and know-how for the
application of innovations that countries need to move from general goals to effective action”, and
many of the themes underpinning this initiative resonate with the priorities of the B20 Taskforce
on the Future of Work & Education – the themes are as follows:55
• Strengthening the presence and the visibility of women
• Basic sciences as sources of international dialogue and peace
52 Ibid
53 OECD. 2019. OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology, https://www.oecd.org/science/recommendation-on-responsible-
innovation-in-neurotechnology.htm
54 OECD. 2019. OECD AI Principles, https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles
55 United Nations, 2022. International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, https://www.iybssd2022.org/en/about-us/
53
• Science as a global public good

• Innovation and economic development
• Education and human development
• Meeting global challenges
There is therefore every reason for the G20 to utilize its convening power and its advocacy power
to encourage and support collaborative efforts towards solving specific challenges to sustainable
development. This includes the encouragement of transdisciplinary research and efforts to revisit
structures and incentives in scientific and academic institutions in order to unleash the collaborative
and innovative spirit required.
Among the range of appropriate targets, the G20/B20 prioritization of Climate Change and Carbon
Neutrality suggests a strong imperative to encourage international cooperation on innovation,
green employment and climate education to support the efforts of countries in meeting their
Paris Agreement commitments.

• Collaborate across the G20 and relevant sectors to develop policies and mechanisms that
maximize the benefits of emerging technologies and mitigate their negative effects on work,
workers and students
• Capitalize on the UN’s Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development to encourage
global science and innovation initiatives that target intractable global challenges
54
RECOMMENDATION 2
Upgrading education and lifelong learning systems to align with
the Future of Work
The G20 should improve learning and work-transition systems to meet
labor-market needs, thereby boosting productivity and innovation
and narrowing skills gaps.
55
POLICY ACTIONS
Policy Actions 2.1 - Upgrade the quality of education systems – Improve basic education,
modernize teaching methods, improve digital learning and upgrade curricula to align with business
needs.
• The G20 should close basic education gaps to promote a level playing field for future workers
• The G20 should upgrade teaching techniques to incorporate more active learning approaches,
and update curricula to develop competency and content for the future of work
• The G20 should equip education systems to deliver effective digital learning to students from
all parts of society
Policy Actions 2.2 - Build fit-for-purpose lifelong learning systems – Develop relevant, accessible
and affordable lifelong learning systems (including on-the-job training, vocational, technical and
applied and professional learning), supported by funding models and skills strategies that are
relevant to future sectors and jobs.
• The G20 should improve the relevance and availability of adult learning systems
through appropriate promotion, targeting and alignment with labor-market needs
• The G20 should improve the quality and effectiveness of adult learning systems through experiential
teaching approaches, as well as modular and digital formats, to allow tailored and flexible learning
• The G20 should design mechanisms to finance lifelong skill-building, including tax incentives to
support VET initiatives and financial instruments to support the portability of training benefits
Policy Actions 2.3 - Actively anticipate and support a smooth transition to future sectors and
jobs – Collaborate across stakeholders (including business associations and academia) to design
and implement policies that support work transition and investment toward sectors of the future.
• The G20 should build partnerships to inform work transition programs and skills strategies in
response to the changing industrial landscape.
• The G20 should invest in improving career management and support services, including a
collaborative framework between Private and Public Employment Services organizations.
• The G20 should establish skills recognition frameworks and improve international recognition
of skills certifications.
SDG IMPACT
Recommendation 2 is primarily aligned to SDG 4.4 on “substantially increasing the number of

youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment,
decent jobs and entrepreneurship”.
56
Furthermore, it resonates with SDG 8.6 on substantially reducing the proportion of youth not in
employment, education or training.
Recommendation 2 also supports SDG 9.1, in particular the development of quality, reliable,
sustainable and resilient infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being.
The policy actions within this recommendation contribute to the achievement of SDG 17.17 which
is to “encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships,
building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships”, as well as SDG 10.3 which
seeks to “ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating
discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and
action in this regard”.
Architecture through the enablement of skills and jobs that will be crucial to the development of
the Future of Healthcare. This includes jobs and skills in traditional care and medicine as well as
crucial advances in sectors like biotechnology, neurotechnology, genetics and other life sciences
that are transforming the prospects of global healthcare.
Recommendation 2 also highlights how Digital Transformation is a fundamental pillar in the Future
of Work and Education, through both digital forms of learning and the ubiquity of digital tools
across every sector and geography across the global economy. This means that digital skills are
now a pre-requisite to function productively in the 21st Century, thereby demanding affordable
access to digital skills, infrastructure and content to all parts of society.
Recommendation 2 also underlines the urgency of preparing current and future workers for the
accelerating rise of the Green Economy, encompassing skills and jobs at every part of the skill-
curve, and the creation of appropriate teaching content, curricula, all supported by appropriate
teacher training and learning infrastructure.
57
Policy Action 2.1: Upgrade the quality of education systems
Improve basic education, modernize teaching methods, improve digital learning and upgrade
curricula to align with business needs.
Context on upgrading education systems
Education is the most effective lever to enhance employability and productivity, yet
investment and quality levels have significant room for improvement.
For families across the G20, education is the key to employability, socioeconomic progress
and escaping poverty. For businesses, education systems are the key to talent pipelines,
competitiveness and productivity. Yet, the UN cites a “global learning crisis”; even before
the pandemic, more than half of children in low- and middle-income countries were in
learning poverty, lacking proficiency in basic skills.56 COVID school closures could increase
learning poverty by 10%, reaching 63%. This risks US$17 trillion in lost lifetime earnings for
this generation of students.57
Beyond literacy and numeracy, digital skills are now also a basic skillset. This was highlighted
painfully during the pandemic, as confinement restricted all learning and much work to the
digital realm. Even European education systems are underprepared for dependence on digital
learning, with 40% of EU citizens lacking basic digital skills and less than 40% of teachers
and instructors receiving training on educational technologies during their initial teacher
education.58
56 Azevedo, Joao Pedro. 2020. Learning Poverty: Measures and Simulations. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 9446. World Bank
57 The World Bank, UNESCO and UNICEF (2021). The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery. Washington D.C., Paris, New York: The
World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF
58 ILO, 2020. Distance learning during the time of COVID-19. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/
publication/wcms_743485.pdf
58
Apart from skills, digital learning also requires access to appropriate infrastructure, content
and devices. Globally, 67% of school-age children lack Internet access at home.59 Even in
richer, OECD countries, one in five children from disadvantaged schools do not have access to
a computer for schoolwork.60 In emerging economies, inequalities are especially extreme. For
instance, in Mexico, 94% of 15-year-olds from privileged backgrounds have a home Internet
connection, compared to just 29% from disadvantaged backgrounds.61 In short, affordable
digital access and teaching capabilities are pre-requisites to effective digital learning systems,
and must be prioritized by governments.
In many G20 countries, education systems have barely evolved in decades, despite the
transformed landscape of work and skills demands. Curricula must be updated to build
knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to current and future jobs. Perhaps most
importantly, the habit and thirst for continual learning should be instilled in children from a
young age; building future generations of instinctive lifelong learners. This requires teaching
techniques that inspire and engage students through more active participation, such as
project-based learning and immersive activities that involve “learning by doing”, rather than
an over-emphasis on memorization and repetition. This degree of transformation implies
significant commitment and investment from governments, ranging from curriculum design to
teacher training, as well as greater cooperation and knowledge-sharing across G20 learning
institutions. This investment and effort is essential for future socioeconomic growth, and
businesses are ready and eager to collaborate to achieve these shared goals.
59 UNICEF. 2020. Two thirds of the world’s school-age children have no internet access at home. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/
two-thirds-worlds-school-age-children-have-no-internet-access-home-new-unicef-itu
60 OECD. 2019. OECD broadband statistics update. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/broadband-statistics-update.htm
61 OECD. 2020. Learning remotely when schools close: How well are students and schools prepared? Insights from PISA.
59
Close basic education gaps to promote a level playing field for future workers
Provide access for all to compulsory, high-quality education systems geared toward the future
of work.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda aims to “ensure inclusive
and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, by 2030.
With more than 262 million children and youth out of school and six out of ten not acquiring
basic literacy and numeracy after several year in school, our shared ambition seems to remain out
of reach.62 These basic skills gaps are recorded at around 80% of the population in low-income
countries, around 60% in middle-income countries, and around 20% in high-income countries.63
Low literacy and numeracy skills are a serious constraint to living standards and to social and
economic progress.
Without skills for lifelong learning, children face greater barriers to earning potential and employment
later in life. They are more likely to suffer adverse health outcomes and less likely to participate
in the decisions that affect them – threatening their ability to build a better future for themselves
and their communities. Education is essential to empower people with the knowledge, skills and
values to live in dignity, build their lives and contribute to their societies. Already, 750 million
adults are illiterate, fuelling poverty and marginalization.64
Beyond numeracy and literacy, digital skills are now a fundamental capability required for success
in the modern world. Moreover, schools are expected to deliver a strong basis in Science,
Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), as well as effective “softer” skills, such
as communication, empathy and socio-emotional intelligence. Many parts of G20 economies
remain far from providing these capabilities to the world’s future workforce. Bringing companies
closer to the educational system by promoting work-based learning experiences could contribute
in this regard. The discrepancies are most visible between low-middle income countries and high-
income countries, and in the gender gap. For example, only 7% of girls in developing countries
choose to major in STEM subjects, compared to 18% of boys.65
During pandemic confinement, families of all backgrounds were forced to acknowledge the
importance of education systems; yet few governments have initiated strategies to make up for the
loss of learning and social development that is so essential to children. The imperative to redress
the disasterous learning loss during the pandemic could offer an opportunity for G20 governments
to stimulate broader, longer-lasting campaigns that promote improvements in education to all
parts of society.
62 UNESCO Website, accessed 15 March 2022. https://en.unesco.org/themes/education2030-sdg4

63 ILO. 2019. World Employment Social Outlook. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/
wcms_670542.pdf
64 UNESCO Website, accessed 15 March 2022. https://en.unesco.org/themes/education2030-sdg4
65 UNICEF. 2020. Mapping gender equality in STEM from school to work. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/media/1361/file
60
UNESCO states that addressing exclusion and overcoming persistent barriers to education requires
reaching all learners, respecting their diverse needs, abilities and characteristics, and eliminating
all forms of discrimination in the learning environment. Inclusive education should guide policies
and practices to achieve full equality of educational opportunities.
Invest in early childhood education, especially in low-income countries and disadvantaged

communities
Education remains inaccessible to millions of children around the world. Despite the proven and
lifelong benefits of early education, nearly half of all children below primary school age are not
enrolled in education, and over 72 million children of primary education age are not in school.66
Low education levels and attainment stunt life prospects for an individual; and at the macro level,
they shrink the talent pool for business and drain economic productivity and growth. Intervention
must begin at early childhood: Children between 0 and 6 years of age who attend early childhood
education and care for at least two years, perform better when they reach 15 years old than those
who do not, according to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).67
Research shows that a child’s brain develops faster in the first 2-3 years than at any other time in
life. These early years are also a critical period of adaptability and responsiveness to interventions.
When young children are deprived of nutrition, stimulation, and protection, the damaging effects
can produce long-term detriments for families and communities. A study by The Lancet found
that if inaction on this issue persists, individuals could suffer a loss of about a quarter of average
adult income per year, and countries could forfeit up to as much as two times their current GDP
expenditures on health or education.68 The gaps in early childhood education are especially
prevalent in lower-income countries and in disadvantaged communities.
Build implementation and management capacity to better organize education systems and schools,
targeting the quality of education outcomes
The longer we wait to upgrade our education systems, the greater the accumulated cost to
our economies and societies. Data collected through the OECD Program for the International
Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) indicates a strong positive correlation between skills
and labor market outcomes: those with higher skills proficiencies tend to have a greater chance of
being employed and subsequently commanding higher wages.69 Skills proficiency is also closely
correlated with being able to participate in society “to a positive and full extent”, which further
develops the cohesiveness of society itself. As Exhibit 5 shows, people with higher skill levels
have higher levels of trust, are more active in community life and democracy, and have better
health outcomes.
66 Humanium, Right to Education : Situation around the world. https://www.humanium.org/en/right-to-education/

67 OECD. 2019. OECD Skills Strategy 2019. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264313835-en
68 UNICEF. 2016. Investing in early childhood development essential to helping more children and communities thrive, new Lancet Series finds. https://
www.unicef.org/press-releases/investing-early-childhood-development-essential-helping-more-children-and
69 OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.
org/10.1787/9789264258051-en
61
Exhibit 5 | Literacy proficiency and economic and social outcomes

Figure 3.1 Literacy proficiency and positive economic and social outcomes
OECD average, adjusted and unadjusted difference between the percentage of adults with high proficiency (Level 4 or 5) and the
percentage of adults with low proficiency (Level 1 or below) who reported high levels of trust and political efficacy, good to excellent
Unajusted Ajusted
Percentage-point difference
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
High levels of trust High levels of political Participation in Good to excellent Being employed Higher wages
efficacy volunteer activities health
Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2018[3]), Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015)
Upgrade teaching techniques to incorporate more active learning approaches, and update
curricula to develop competency and content for the future of work
Upgrade teaching techniques to incorporate more experiential, project-based and team-based

approaches and teach future-relevant skills and content
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the top missing skills
reported by HR professionals in 2019 were linked to problem solving, critical thinking, innovation,
creativity, the ability to deal with complexity and communication skills.70 These innately human
skills will become increasingly important in all work roles, especially in a world where humans and
intelligent machines collaborate in the workplace. However, these skills and capabilities are not
built through traditional classroom techniques. They are acquired through practice, experience,
and often over long time periods. There’s therefore a need to create environments and courses
that immerse students in scenarios and guide them to learn through creative experimentation.
This means more active learning techniques and project-based assessments rather than only end-
of-year exams based on rote learning and memorization. New learning models should develop
cooperation, communication and empathy.
Beyond the evolution of skills demand, curricula must also reflect the evolving demands of
knowledge and content. Specifically, topics around new technologies, environmental and social
issues and the myriad themes and complexities related to Sustainable Development Goals should
now be a core part of school curricula, equipping students for the challenges ahead, and inspiring
them to find solutions.
In order to remain continually abreast of evolving trends and to share leading practices, the G20 should
consider mechanisms that promote common platforms and sharing across leading learning institutions.
70 SHRM. 2019. The Global Skills Shortage: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/SHRM

percent20Skills percent20Gap percent202019.pdf
62
Exhibit 6 | OECD’s hard-to-find skills and abilities (Top 10)
1. Verbal abilities 6. Complex problem-solving skills
2. Basic skills (process) 7. Social skills
3. Basic skills (content) 8. Quantitative abilities
4. Systems skills 9. Memory
5. Reasoning Abilities 10. Perceptual abilities
Source: OECD Skills for Jobs, https://www.oecdskillsforjobsdatabase.org/imbalances.php#OECD/_/_/_/[%22skills%22%2C%22abilities%22]/co
Equip education systems to deliver effective digital learning to students from all parts of
society
Ensure that schools equip all students with basic digital skills - digital literacy, computing education,
knowledge of artificial intelligence - from an early age
Digital skills are fundamental to 21st century life and work. Entry-level digital skills, meaning
functional skills required to make basic use of digital devices and online applications – such as
digital literacy, computing education, and basic knowledge of artificial intelligence - are widely
considered as critical components of a new set of literacy skills in the digital era, along with
traditional reading, writing, and numeracy skills. However, unlike traditional basic skills, digital skills
are not available to all students. Every day that this digital divide persists, social and economic
gaps are widened.
G20 governments must therefore ensure that schools equip all students with basic digital skills,
placing special attention on students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those without access
to digital infrastructure or devices. In locations where digital infrastructure will not be available for
some time, interim solutions such as robust text-based tools or mobile wifi-based services should
be made available. Governments play a pivotal role in setting up the fundamental principles for
inclusive and equitable digital skills development, providing programs and capacity development
initiatives for all students. This includes the provision of adequate access to digital infrastructure,
tools, relevant curricula and crucially, appropriate teacher training.
Ensure that schools and students are equipped with adequate assets and capabilities – teacher
training, digital infrastructure, devices, content – for effective digital learning
Education is the primary lever to shape the digital skills of the workforce of the future. Digital
technology is accelerating its presence in both working and ordinary life, but education systems
are often unable to keep the same pace. Digital skills—including technical capabilities such as
programming but also digital responsibility and the practical usage of technologies and tools—
are deemed to be one of the eight critical areas of focus when defining high-quality learning in
63
the fourth industrial revolution.71 We therefore propose four areas of priority intervention for G20
governments:
1. The G20 should improve the provision of digital skills at schools, colleges and universities
to promote the creation of a digital-ready workforce, able to harness the power of digital
technologies while managing the associated risks.
2. The G20 should update educational programs to include digital topics in their curricula,
considering the skill requirements of the public and private sectors, while simultaneously
reducing gender inequalities and ageism in technology and digital education.
3. The G20 should promote the effective usage of digital equipment for educational purposes,
to improve students’ learning experience, also enhancing teachers’ digital proficiency.
4. The G20 should endorse the development of soft skills related to the digital world, to create
proficient and responsible digital citizens, aware of digital-related risks, and able to safely
navigate online (eg. critical thinking to recognise online misinformation, avoid cyberbullying
and hate speech.)
In this context, our taskforce supports Policy Action 3.1 from the B20 Taskforce on Digitalization,
which calls on G20 governments to “Define specific desired practical outcomes in mindset by
level of education (Primary, secondary, tertiary) to individuals, while promoting the use of digital
equipment to enhance the learning experience.”
Provide teachers with digital training to feel confident in digital skills themselves
The provision of digital infrastructure, hardware and software are necessary-but-insufficient for
effective digital learning in schools. Teachers that are comfortable in the use of technology can
not only teach digital skills more effectively, but also use digital tools to improve their teaching
techniques and outcomes. For example, by blending both physical and digital tools, teachers are
able to design more interactive, engaging lessons that improve the absorption and retention of
information.
Today, there is much room for improvement, as was felt by large sections of the population that
depended on digital learning during the coronavirus lockdowns. According to the OECD’s Teaching
And Learning International Survey (TALIS), in 2018, only 56% of teachers in the OECD received
training in the use of ICT for teaching as part of their formal education or training, and only 43%
felt “well prepared“ or “very well prepared“ for this when they had completed their initial teacher
training.72 Even those teachers that were trained in digital skills rarely received training in other
important digital competences like assessing online risks to students and teaching digital literacy
or digital citizenship. In emerging and developing countries, the situation is much worse, especially
in rural locations with inadequate digital infrastructure and weak teacher training.
71 World Economic Forum, Schools of the Future Report, 2019

72 OECD (2019), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://www.oecd.
org/education/talis-2018-results-volume-i-1d0bc92a-en.htm
64
Exhibit 7 | Allocation of teachers who had formal training in the use of ICT for teaching
Dissimilarity index for lower secondary teachers for whom the use of ICT for teaching was
included in their formal educating or training
75% or less teachers for whom the use of ICT for teaching was included in their formal education or training
More than 75% of teachers for whom the use of ICT for teaching was included in their formal education or training
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
OECD average-31
Viet nam
Alberta (Canada)
South Africa
United Arab Emirates
Sweden
Colombia
Chile
Singapore
Kazakhstan
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Brazil
Romania
Turkey
New Zealand
Iceland
Georgia
Bulgaria
Slovenia
Mexico
France
Japan
Russian Federation
Estonia
Croatia
Latvia
United States
Spain
Denmark
CABA (Argentina)
Flemish comm (Belgium)
Hungary
Belgium
Sloval Republic
Shanghai (China)
England (UK)
Australia
Netherlands
Korea
Czech Republic
Austria
Lithuania
Norway
Italy
Malta
Frech Comm (Belgium)
Portugal
Finland
Source: OECD, TALIS 2018 Database, Table 3.5. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/92b75874-en/1/3/3/index.html?itemId=/content/
publication/92b75874-en&_csp_=945d8addab827840c5ef1cdab2b01fd5&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#figure-d1e11098

• Close basic education gaps to promote a level playing field for future workers
• Upgrade teaching techniques to incorporate more active learning approaches, and update
curricula to develop competency and content for the future of work
• Equip education systems to deliver effective digital learning to students from all parts of
society
65
Policy Action 2.2: Build fit-for-purpose lifelong learning systems
Develop relevant, accessible and affordable lifelong learning systems (including on-the-job training,
vocational, technical and applied/professional learning), supported by funding models and skills
strategies that are relevant to future sectors and jobs.
Context on lifelong learning systems
Adult learning is in need of urgent re-vamping, both to accelerate recovery from the
pandemic, and to prepare workers for a future of work characterized by lifelong learning.
In an era where individuals are expected to change jobs with greater frequency, across a
greater variety of sectors and at older ages, the need for effective systems for learning, work
transition, career management, and financing for learning, is acute and growing. A challenge
of this scale demands significant public-private partnership.
The pandemic multiplies the urgency for effective adult learning systems: First, it generates a
serious learning deficit by depriving workers of their main sources of learning, (eg. on-the-
job training accounts for 66% of adult learning); second, it increases the need for training
as workers seek new opportunities amid employment turmoil; and third, it accelerates the
macro trends – such as automation and the rise of the Green Economy – which demand
large-scale re-skilling.
The lost learning from the pandemic implies a serious drain on productivity for business.
Lower-skilled workers are particularly affected, as they rely heavily on learning-by-doing and/
or from the interaction with their colleagues.73 Today, only two in five adults participate in
education and training in any given year. The most disadvantaged are least likely to participate
73 OECD. 2021. Adult Learning and COVID-19. oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/adult-learning-and-COVID-19-how-much-informal-and-non-

formal-learning-are-workers-missing-56a96569/#:~:text=In%20the%20global,learning%20by%2025%25
66
in training, with low-skilled adults three times less likely to undertake training than the
high-skilled (20% vs 58%). Other groups falling behind include older people, low-wage and
temporary workers, and the unemployed. Looking ahead, those workers whose jobs are most
at risk of disruption through automation also tend to participate less in training, with cost,
distance and time constraints acting as barriers.74 The scale of challenge demands innovative
approaches to fund learning systems, including appropriate contributions from government,
business and workers themselves.
The teaching techniques employed in adult education also need upgrading. Adult brains learn
best through experiential approaches, using hands-on, immersive, project-based techniques.
This puts an emphasis on practical, work-based learning methods, like Vocational Education
and Training and on-the-job training. These can be incentivized by governments. Fortunately,
this is also an exciting time for new tech-based learning solutions, which promise to deliver
effective learning experiences that are modular, personalized and flexible to fit around adult
work and life constraints. The challenge is to implement these learning solutions at speed
and scale, reaching those that need it most.
High-quality, future-ready adult education systems remain rare. The OECD has developed
an assessment framework to guide policy actions to improve these systems, based on six
dimensions: coverage, inclusiveness, flexibility and guidance, alignment with skill needs,
impact, and financing. G20 governments can benefit from such frameworks to accelerate and
guide implementation.
Exhibit 8 | Disadvantaged adults are least likely to participate in training, despite

potentially having most to gain
Disadvantaged adults receive little training

% of adults participation in training, OECD countries
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Skill-level low medium & high
Age 54+ 25-53

Employment status unemployed employed
Income low medium &
high
Gender women men
Company size SMEs large
Contract type temporary permanent
Source: Getting Skills Right: Future-Ready Adult Learning Systems
Source: OECD. 2019. Boosting adult learning essential to help people adapt to future of work. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/employment/
boosting-adult-learning-essential-to-help-people-adapt-to-future-of-work.htm
74 OECD. 2019. Boosting adult learning essential to help people adapt to future of work. https://www.oecd.org/employment/boosting-adult-learning-
essential-to-help-people-adapt-to-future-of-work.htm
67
Improve the relevance and availability of adult learning systems
Make up for the significant loss of non-formal and informal learning during the pandemic period,
especially for disadvantaged groups
The OECD has found that pandemic lockdowns significantly decreased worker participation in
non-formal and informal learning, with implications on productivity, wage potential and skills
development. Non-formal learning, (such as workshops and employer-provided training), decreased
by an average of 18%, while informal learning, (such as learning from others, learning-by-doing,
and learning on-the-job), reduced by 25%.75 Informal learning is by far the most prevalent form
of learning at work: on average across OECD countries, about 70% of workers engage in informal
learning activities over a 12-month period, compared with 41% who engage in non-formal learning,
and only 8% who train towards a formal qualification.76
Lower-skilled workers are at particular risk of these learning losses, as they are more reliant on
informal learning and workplace interaction for skills development. These workers are less likely
to participate in other, more formal, forms of learning and the nature of their jobs tend to be less
amenable to working and learning remotely. Therefore, lower-skilled workers are vulnerable to a
greater impact on their skills development, wage prospects and productivity improvements as a
result of lost learning and the shift to more remote work. OECD estimates suggest that while 54%
of tertiary-educated workers were able to work from home, the share was only 18% for workers
without a tertiary degree.77
A further disadvantaged group of adult learners is to be found in rural areas—and often even in
towns outside the capital city—in developing countries. The lack of basic education and skills,
including digital skills, among adults in these areas represents a disadvantage that is exacerbated
from generation to generation. Creative ways must be sought to deliver future-relevant skills to
these communities, such as the use of mobile devices.
With online/hybrid work taking on a permanent presence in many workplaces, and with no clear
sign that training investments will significantly increase, action is required to both make up for
the learning losses already incurred, as well as promoting structures and behaviors that support
learning (and prevent further learning loss) in the post-pandemic era of work. This includes making
concerted efforts to improve the accessibility and quality of remote learning tools, including digital
infrastructure as well as teaching approaches and curricula that are tailored to digital delivery
(many of these actions are covered in Policy Action 3.1).
75 OECD, 2021. Adult Learning and COVID-19: How much informal and non-formal learning are workers missing? https://oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-
responses/adult-learning-and-COVID-19-how-much-informal-and-non-formal-learning-are-workers-missing-56a96569/#:~:text=In%20the%20
global,learning%20by%2025%25
76 OECD, 2019. Returns to different forms of job related training, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/returns-to-different-
forms-of-job-related-training_b21807e9-en
77 OECD, 2020. Who can log in? The importance of skills for the feasibility of teleworking arrangements https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-
migration-health/who-can-log-in-the-importance-of-skills-for-the-feasibility-of-teleworking-arrangements-across-oecd-countries_3f115a10-en
68
Exhibit 9 | The estimated impact of COVID-19 related reductions in economic activity on

the ability of workers to learn, by country
Informal learning – Average weekly hours per worker. Pre-COVID and following the two shutdown
scenarios
Widespread shutdown Pre-Covid Limites shutdown
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Northem Ireland (UK)
England and
France
New Zealand
Estonia
Israel
Ireland
Belgium (Flanders)
Chile
Slovenia
United States
Australia
Norway
Spain
Canada
Sweden
Denmark
OECD
Slovak Republic
Netherlands
Austria
Germany
Mexico
Czech Republic
Poland
Greece
Finland
Japan
Italy
Hungary
Turkey
Lithuania
Korea
Non-formal learning – Average weekly hours per worker. Pre-COVID and following the two
shutdown scenarios
Widespread shutdown Pre-Covid Limites shutdown
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Northem Ireland (UK)
England and
Estonia
Finland
Ireland
Germany
Israel
Singapore
OECD
United States
Denmark
New Zealand
Netherlands
Korea
Spain
Canada
Sweden
Greece
Australia
Japan
Belgium (Flanders
Chile
Slovenia
Mexico
Hungary
Poland
Lithuania
Slovak Republic
Italy
Turkey
France
Source: Author’s calculations, based on OECD (2015[3]), OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (Database 2012, 2015), http://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/
publicdataandanalysis/, OECD (2021[2]), OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2021, https://doi.org/10.1787/16097408 , Fana, M. et al.
(2020[6]), The COVID confinement measures and EU labour markets COVID & Empl Working Group, http://dx.doi.org/10.2760/079230, and Espinoza,
R. and L. Reznikova (2020[4]), Who can log in? The importance of skills for the feasibility of teleworking arrangements across OECD countries, https://
dx.doi.org/10.1787/3f115a10-en.
69
Align training more closely with labor-market needs and design programs that target adults
vulnerable to job disruption.
Before the pandemic, the World Economic Forum estimated that automation would result in 85
million job losses and 97 million new jobs by 2025, resulting in net growth of 12 million job
opportunities.78 The pandemic period saw an acceleration in intelligent automation investments,
thereby speeding up the implications for workforce transition and the demands for urgent, large-
scale re-skilling.
Low-skilled work is more susceptible to automation (see Exhibit 10). Workers in these roles also
require the broadest range of skill-building but tend to participate less in training, compounding
their disadvantage.79 The percentage of low-skilled adults participating in training is only about
25% compared to more than 60% for high-skilled workers.80
Workers at risk of job displacement need help to manage transitions and mitigate risks. Personal
training accounts that provide funding support for learning new skills is one way that countries
have sought to prepare workers for this change. In addition to incentives for learning, workers
need access to an equal and fair social safety net that guarantees income during transition periods.
The pandemic period highlighted the need to improve social security systems in times of economic
and employment upheaval. As we encounter the coming waves of automation, we must prepare
our social protection and adult learning systems to support the inevitable increase in demand for
support during job displacement, training and transition.
Exhibit 10 | The impact of intelligent technologies on workers, by skill level
Worker time subject to automation
Low-skilled work 69%
Medium-skilled work 51%
High-skilled work 21%
Source: Accenture analysis of national labor force data, 2019, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF/Accenture-

Education-and-Technology-Skills-Research.pdf#zoom=50 (The ILO measures skill level by considering one or more of: i) the nature of the work
performed; ii) the level of formal education; and iii) the amount of informal on-the-job training and /or previous experience.)
78 World Economic Forum. 2020. The Future of Jobs Report. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf

79 Accenture analysis of national labor force data, 2019, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF/Accenture-Education-
and-Technology-Skills-Research.pdf#zoom=50
80 OECD. 2020. Future of Work http://www.oecd.org/els/emp/future-of-work/data/
70
The OECD finds that poorer, less educated and less digitally-literate adults face significant
informational and motivational barriers to training.81 The European Commission notes that only 4.4% of
the 66 million adults with at-best lower secondary education attainment participated in adult learning
in 2015.82 A Pew study in the US reinforces the finding: 57% of adults with secondary schooling or less
identified themselves as lifelong learners, compared with 81% who had completed tertiary education.83
Businesses and governments must understand and anticipate where the greatest vulnerabilities lie,
so that targeted interventions can be designed and deployed. Moreover, with vulnerable workers
unlikely to find training opportunities alone, there is an imperative for governments and business
to support and guide them through the retraining journey, including pathways and options towards
potential new careers. Business and government must act deliberately to make sure the lifelong
learning revolution we are striving for does not deepen economic and social inequalities.
Improve the quality and effectiveness of adult learning systems through experiential teaching
approaches, as well as modular and digital formats, to allow tailored and flexible learning
Upgrade teaching techniques for adults of all ages to incorporate more experiential and project-
based approaches, such as Vocational Education and Training, and On-the-Job Training
The science and theory of teaching and learning have improved significantly over recent decades,
thanks in large part to advances in neuroscience and behavioral sciences. Yet, teaching techniques
across education and training systems remain slow to change. Investment in the upgrading of
teaching techniques and the requisite investments in teacher training are long overdue across
G20 countries. The returns on these investments would be felt across economies and societies.
The advance of intelligent technology systems, such as artificial intelligence, robotics and machine
learning, is reshaping skills demand and therefore also approaches to teaching. Tasks where
machines have comparative advantage include complex calculations and routine, repetitive activities.
Tasks where humans have comparative advantage include creativity, complex reasoning and socio-
emotional intelligence. Many of these “human“ skills are best acquired through experiential learning
techniques that involve practice and hands-on application. Training techniques must therefore place
much greater emphasis on the experiential forms of learning to build these future-relevant skills.
The employment crisis created by the pandemic places greater urgency to provide experiential
learning opportunities that boost employability and re-employment prospects for workers at all
skills levels. Work-based learning systems such as Vocational Education and Training (VET) and
on-the-job training, offer highly experiential and project-based approaches that are proven to
be effective at rapidly building work-relevant skills. Adult brains are especially responsive to
experiential learning, making these techniques even more important in addressing the large-scale
re-training and re-employment challenges ahead.
81 OECD Education Working Paper No. 166 (2018). Skills for the 21st century: findings and policy lessons from the OCED survey of adult skills http://
www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=EDU/WKP(2018)2&docLanguage=En
82 European Commission. Annex to the Commission implementing decision on the adoption of multi-annual work programmes, 2016. https://ec.europa.
eu/jrc/sites/jrcsh/files/mawp-2016-2017-keyorientations_en.pdf
83 Pew Research Center. Lifelong Learning and Technology, 2016.
https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2016/03/PI_2016.03.22_Educational-Ecosystems_FINAL.pdf
71
As the market increasingly responds to this surge in demand for training, the G20 should also
consider training quality indicators to support informed decisions by workers, companies and learning
institutions. Moreover, G20 governments should involve social partners, including employers’ and
workers’ organizations, in the design and implementation of these work-based learning programs
to ensure maximum relevance to labor market realities.
The Russian Federation is currently undertaking a deep revision of its education policy and secondary
vocational education system in an effort to better align adult learning systems with labor-market
needs. The initiative, called “Professionalism”, aims to create 210 educational and production
clusters by 2024, based on a collaboration between educational organizations and companies
looking to improve their training schemes. Government support of this initiative includes plans
to amend federal legislation to provide tax incentives to encourage private investment in these
vocational education and training programs.
Promote courses that use modular and digital formats, allowing tailored and flexible learning
opportunities that can fit around work and life commitments
Adult learning remains inaccessible for a variety of reasons, most notably due to cost, distance
and time constraints amid complex work and life commitments (see exhibit 11). In emerging
economies, the barriers cover a wider range, including cultural factors and under-education during
childhood, especially for older, low-income workers.
Exhibit 11 | Reasons for non-participation in adult learning (percentage of adults who wanted
to participate but did not)
30%
27%
25% 24%
20%
16%
15% 14%
15%
12%
10%
7%
5% 4%
3%
0%
Wanted to Shortage of Shortage of Lack of Inconvenient Lack of Unexpected Lack of Other
participate time – work time – family financial time or place employer’s events prerequisites
but didn’t related related resouces support
Source: Average of OECD countries participating in PIAAC. Figures refer to participation in formal and non-formal adult learning.
Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on the Survey of Adult Skills, PIAAC (2012, 2015, 2017). The bar “Wanted to participate but didn’t” refers
to the share of adults who responded that they did not take part in training over the previous 12 months but would have liked to”.
Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-potential-of-online-learning-for-adults-early-lessons-from-the-COVID-19-crisis-

ee040002/#figure-d1e206
72
In this context, it becomes essential to provide learning opportunities that are flexible, taking into
consideration the schedules and constraints of the learner. Workers need opportunities to upskill
while they work, with tailored learning paths. For example, modular courses can be designed to
allow flexibility in where, when and over what periods students learn. Digitally delivered courses
also allow greater flexibility in timing and location.
To increase accessibility to those workers most at risk of job displacement, lifelong learning systems
must be adapted to adult needs such as work, life and family commitments while leveraging
digital technologies. Governments should therefore ensure that training systems include flexible,
modular and digital formats and encourage businesses to implement flexible work arrangements
to support learning.
Design mechanisms to finance lifelong skill-building, including tax incentives to support VET
initiatives and financial instruments to support the portability of training benefits
Design mechanisms to finance lifelong skill-building, ensuring appropriate contributions from

government, business and workers
Lifelong learning and education have been heralded as a top priority by governments around the
world, yet this rhetoric is not matched by commensurate funding, nor by creative mechanisms to
help generate the necessary finances. The International Commission on Financing Global Education
Opportunity calculates that in order to achieve the targets agreed for SDG4 “ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, low- and middle-
income countries would need to increase spending on education from US$1.2 trillion per year in
2015, to US$3 trillion in 2030, representing a 7% increase in the annual growth of public education
spending.84 This degree of spending increase requires concerted efforts to convene stakeholders
from across government, business and society, in order to ensure consensus and collaboration
towards shared ambitions.
Beyond traditional domestic funding, the scale of the challenge demands more creative approaches
to financing learning systems. Analysis by the ILO finds that for countries relying more on the
public sector to drive education and training, the literature indicates trends towards greater
diversification of funding sources, such as cost sharing and training levies, funding public education
and training centres through objective funding formulae, encouraging more and higher-quality
enterprise training and developing private training markets. For countries that rely on the market
to deliver education and training outcomes, financial incentives such as subsidies, tax incentives
and subsidized loans to encourage individuals and employers to invest in more education and
training have been successful, (eg. Australia, Canada and the United States).85
As countries devise funding mechanisms that are relevant for their specific education and training
systems, a crucial consideration will be the fair and appropriate calculation of contributions from
84 International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity. 2016. The Learning Generation. Retrieved from: http://report.educationcommission.
org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Learning_Generation_Full_Report.pdf
85 Idem
73
government, business and workers; each stakeholder acts as both sponsor and beneficiary to
these crucial long-term investments.
Design financial instruments to support the portability of training benefits as workers transition
across jobs, sectors and ways of working
In contrast to traditional training benefits that are tied to an employer and a particular job, portable
benefits are tied to the worker and move with them throughout their career. Individual learning
schemes have increased in attractiveness as workers have begun to move more frequently between
different jobs, forms of work, contractual arrangements, and even careers. Connecting training
funds to the individual, rather than the job, also boosts the autonomy and responsibility of the
worker, as well as increasing competition among training providers.
France’s Compte Personnel de Formation (CPF) is frequently cited as an example of an interesting

new approach that can stimulate the design of similar approaches in other countries (see exhibit
12).
Exhibit 12 | The French Compte Personnel de Formation
The CPF was created in 2015 and is currently undergoing reforms in its implementation model.
In the CPF, training rights are accumulated over time. Initially, these rights were measured
through the number of hours in training but since January 2019, the unit of measure has
become monetary (Euros). Training rights are accumulated at two different rates, depending
on the initial level of education of the individual. Individuals with at least a lower secondary
degree accumulate EUR 500 per year, capped at a maximum of EUR 5,000. Individuals who do
not have a lower secondary qualification are credited with EUR 800 per year up to a maximum
of EUR 8,000. In addition, from 2020 onwards, a “CPF de transition“ will provide additional
support—including income support—for individuals requiring professional retraining.
The CPF was initially available to employees and jobseekers only. Since January 2018, the
self-employed are also covered. For jobseekers and employees, the scheme is financed
through a compulsory training levy on firms equivalent to 0.2% of gross wages. “Pôle Emploi“
(the French public employment service) and regional authorities can also complement
funding for training undertaken by jobseekers. Credits can be used to pay for training fees
of programmes that deliver a formal certificate (registered at the Répertoire National des
Certifications Professionnelles (RNCP) or at the Répertoire Spécifique). Credits can also go
towards skills assessments, skills certifications, driving licenses, and training to set up new
businesses. Participation in the CPF has increased continuously since its creation in 2015,
but it remains limited, at 2.1% of the labour force in 2018. The most popular programmes
are language courses, especially in business English.
OECD. 2019. Individual Learning Accounts: Design is key for success. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/individual-learning-accounts.
pdf
74
Policymakers can consider three broad forms of individual working schemes: first, Individual Learning
Accounts, like the CPF, where individual accounts are virtual and training rights are accumulated
over time; second, Individual Savings Accounts, with real, physical accounts in which individuals
accumulate resources over time for the purpose of training, (these schemes are extremely rare);
and third, vouchers providing individuals with direct subsidies to be used for training purposes,
often with co-financing from the individual, which do not allow for any accumulation of rights or
resources over time, (these schemes are the most frequently implemented).86
A pre-requisite to the success of such initiatives is the provision of sufficient funding to make
an impact at scale. Other important design considerations include the need to provide targeted
attention and supplemental guidance services to workers from under-represented sections of the
workforce, especially those with low educational attainment.87

• Improve the relevance and availability of adult learning systems through appropriate promotion,
targeting and alignment with labor-market needs
• Improve the quality and effectiveness of adult learning systems through experiential teaching
approaches, as well as modular and digital formats, to allow tailored and flexible learning
• Design mechanisms to finance lifelong skill-building, including tax incentives to support VET
initiatives and financial instruments to support the portability of training benefits
86 OECD. 2019. Individual Learning Accounts : Panacea or Pandora’s Box? Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/203b21a8-en/index.
html?itemId=/content/publication/203b21a8-en
87 Idem
75
Policy Action 2.3: Actively anticipate and support a smooth transition to future sectors and
jobs
Collaborate across stakeholders (including business associations and academia) to design and
implement policies that support work transition and investment toward sectors of the future.
Context on industry and workforce transition
Major transformations are afoot across industries, requiring collaboration across government,
business and learning institutions to achieve large-scale workforce transition.
The 4th Industrial Revolution is disrupting entire industries and economic systems. Millions of
new jobs will be created and millions of jobs will be displaced. Technological advances like
Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Web 3.0, and the Internet of Things are reshaping
fundamental economic drivers, like manufacturing and energy, and fast-tracking new sectors
like the Green Economy and Biotechnology. These developments are taking place across the
G20 and have accelerated during the pandemic. The World Economic Forum finds that 84%
of employers are accelerating digitalization of work processes in response to COVID and
50% are accelerating the automation of tasks.88 Therefore, planning for large-scale workforce
transition must also accelerate.
Consider, for example, the workforce implications of electric vehicles, in terms of vehicle
design, manufacture, infrastructure, battery design and charging, repair and maintenance
alone. In Norway, the market share of electric vehicles among new passenger cars jumped
from one fifth to around three-quarters in just five years, (with electric and hybrid vehicles
combined, market share reaches 90%).89 In fact, global electric vehicle sales are expected
88 World Economic Forum. 2020. Future of Jobs Survey 2020. Retrieved from: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf
89 OFV via Robbie Andrew. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1029979/newly-registered-plug-in-hybrid-and-battery-electric-lcvs-
in-norway/
76
to double in 2022, reaching around 15% market share.90 Another part of the Green Economy,
the Renewable Energy Industry is expected to see 18 to 38 million jobs by 2030, depending
on the progress of national climate policies.91
Macro-level trends like digitalization and the rise of renewable energy are unstoppable, helping
the task of anticipating which sectors will see growth. The greater challenge is to anticipate
the demand and supply of skills, and translate those into large-scale workforce transition
programs, which minimize the upheaval of economic systems and livelihoods.
New, fast-growing sectors are adding skilling challenges to a labor market already
characterized by skills gaps and mismatches. According to the ILO, only half of workers hold
jobs corresponding to their level of education; the remainder are either under-educated or
over-educated.
All these issues point to the same imperative: government, business and learning institutions
must align and collaborate to guide investment and talent to where they are needed. Key
areas for intervention include improved labor-market trend anticipation, work transition and
skills strategies, lifelong career management support, and skills certification and recognition
frameworks. The involvement of the private sector and technology will support the effectiveness
of all these efforts.
Exhibit 13 | Occupations most in demand across industries in a global energy sustainability

scenario, 2030
Source: IRENA. 2021. Renewal Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/
Publication/2021/Oct/IRENA_RE_Jobs_2021.pdf
90 Bloomberg, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-25/electric-car-sales-could-hit-10-million-globally-in-2022?sref=U0wOqcqE

91 IRENA. 2021. Renewal Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/
Oct/IRENA_RE_Jobs_2021.pdf
77
Build partnerships to inform work transition programs and skills strategies in response to
the changing industrial landscape.
Build partnerships across business, government, academia and relevant NGOs ensuring leading
representation from relevant ministries and employers’ organisations, to collaboratively assess and
anticipate the evolving skills landscape
Data and intelligence on current and future skills demand is essential to effectively match training
and jobs, reduce unemployment, and to improve employability, social mobility and inclusion.92 As
governments and their social partners design and implement plans for an efficient employment
recovery from the current crisis, there is an opportunity to establish cross-sector partnerships that
share accurate, real-time data about evolving needs in different sectors and types of job. This
effort can form the foundation of a sustainable, long term, systemic response to persistent skills
shortages. In a recent global survey, 87% of executives said they are experiencing skills gaps in
the workforce or expect them within a few years. But less than half of respondents have a clear
sense of how to address the problem.93 A high-quality, data-driven system of skills anticipation
and planning, leveraging artificial intelligence, would guide both employers and employees towards
better employment outcomes.
According to an inter-agency stakeholders’ survey conducted by the ILO across many G20
countries, ministries of labour usually take the lead in conducting skills needs assessments and
anticipation exercises, followed by sectoral skills councils and regional authorities. Other active
bodies include employers‘ organizations, public employment service offices and ministries of
education (see exhibit 14).
Exhibit 14 | Institutions taking the lead in skill needs assessments and anticipation
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Ministry of Labour 53%
Sector Skills Council 35%
Regional Governments 35%
Employer organisations 29%
Public Employment Services 29%
Ministry of Education 29%
Other Organisations 24%
Professional Associations 24%
Universities/Research organisations/Think Tanks 24%
Sub-Regional Govemments 18%
Regional Development Agencies 18%
Statistical Office 18%
Special Observatories 12%
Private Employment Agencies 12%
Other Sector Ministries 12%
Ministry in Charge of Migration 12%
Trade Unions 6%
The following G20 countries participated in the survey: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea,
Turkey, UK, US.
Source: Joint OECD-ILO-Cedefop-ETF stakeholders’ survey (ILO et al., 2017)
90 Bloomberg, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-25/electric-car-sales-could-hit-10-million-globally-in-2022?sref=U0wOqcqE

91 IRENA. 2021. Renewal Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/
Oct/IRENA_RE_Jobs_2021.pdf
78
However, according to the same survey, in most G20 countries, the work conducted by these
bodies, and many others, lacks cohesion, and is weak in providing forecasts. A collaborative effort
that offers a dependable and evolving view of future skills is currently lacking, both across public
and private sectors, and even across different parts of the public sector, such as ministries of
labour and education. As a first step, stakeholder engagement is essential, to bring together the
capabilities and institutions with relevant information, in a format and at a level that is consistent
with policy objectives, and that can feed into policy action.94
Moreover, the data and information related to changes and forecasts for skills, jobs and sectors
should be widely accessible. This would allow for better planning and would open opportunities
for innovative solutions from a variety of experts and stakeholders in the education and training
sectors.
The G20 should therefore encourage and establish formal collaborative initiatives across ministries,
government agencies, and other social partners, such as business associations and chambers of
commerce, to translate skills needs assessments into adequate “demand-led” policy responses.
Incorporate skills and workforce forecasts into relevant academic, vocational education, training
and work transitions systems, with the private sector playing a formal role in these mechanisms
Even those G20 economies that have developed skills assessment and anticipation systems struggle
to translate their output directly into tangible action by employment and education systems.
Employer’s organizations and other business associations should take on a stronger formal role
in order to ensure that trends in business demand effectively translate into academic, vocational
education, training and work transition systems. For example, the voice of business should be
clearly articulated in the governance of country- and regional-level VET systems. Experience in
China, such as the Shenzhen Technology University, reinforces the importance of designing locally-
relevant solutions, driven by local businesses and learning institutions, with local government
playing a central role.
The respondents to the ILO stakeholders’ survey mentioned above, reported that a key barrier to
translating trends into action is the ineffective communication of skills needs assessment data to
all stakeholders. They also pointed to the complexity of the information being shared with final
users, and the time lag between the production of results and their dissemination.
Canada’s Department of Employment and Social Development has developed an innovative approach
to addressing these issues, through centralized data collection and tailored dissemination. The
department holds all skills assessment data in a single platform called a Job Bank, which then
offers an interactive experience for users that is tailored to their needs.95
Improved collection and accessible dissemination of data is one part of the equation. This needs
to be matched by improvements in how employment and education institutions utilize the data
94 OECD, ILO. 2018. Approaches to anticipating skills for the future of work. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/-
--inst/documents/publication/wcms_646143.pdf
95 Joint OECD-ILO-Cedefop-ETF stakeholders’ survey (ILO et al., 2017)
79
and incorporate it into their own systems. The OECD lays out three important steps for how adult
learning systems can address this challenge: 1. put in place a clearly defined process for regularly
updating frameworks, standards and regulation of adult education, 2. use skills assessment
evidence regarding ongoing trends along with feedback from training participants and employers
to identify areas where updates are needed, and 3. foster a culture in which program updates
and refinements are embedded in the development of any education and training program.96
The pandemic stimulated creative approaches to accelerating work transition within the private
sector, such as firms actively moving employees from “at-risk” roles in one company into “in-
demand” roles in other firms. Going forward, government can play a crucial role in encouraging
and supporting the smooth flow of large-scale workforce restructuring programs, to ensure the
effective and efficient re-allocation of workers, including appropriate training, protections, and
work transition support.
In France, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery has used the crisis to test this concept,
through the Transco scheme. Launched in 2021, the initiative was co-designed with social partners
such as the CFDT union and MEDEF business association, as part of the country’s recovery plan;
but the scheme is intended to support work displacement and transition well beyond the pandemic.
The Transco model connects companies anticipating job losses with companies with growth
opportunities in “promising professions”. The system offers training that leads to certifications in
these professions, with no pause in salaries during the training period.
The private sector is ready to partner with governments on such initiatives. For example, the
Business for Inclusive Growth coalition of global corporations has developed a set of guidelines
to support businesses undertaking large-scale restructuring in a responsible and ethical way. A
major component of these efforts is to effectively partner with local and national governments
and other social partners.
G20 governments should actively convene stakeholders, develop effective systems for data
management and dissemination, and establish incentives and mechanisms to translate skills and
jobs data into effective and responsive public and private systems for learning and work transition.
Incentivize educational programs, training, and career guidance towards growth sectors
The massive re-employment and re-skilling challenge presented by today’s crisis offers a unique
opportunity to orient workers towards sectors that have high future-growth potential. This demands
dedicated and conscious adaptations within learning institutions and work transition systems to
guide people towards the jobs and skills of the future.
Collaboration across borders to boost innovation and growth in these sectors can facilitate these
efforts. For example, new plans by China to push its top 12 universities into the top 50 universities
globally will promote STEM and international partnerships, the latest being between the University
of Milan in Italy and Tsingiua University in Beijing.
96 OECD. 2019. Getting Skills Right: Creating responsive adult learning systems. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/adult-learning-
systems-2019.pdf
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These efforts must fundamentally be driven by the demands of the future. The World Economic
Forum highlights 7 emerging professional clusters, providing 2.4 million job opportunities globally
by 2022, for which skills need building. These clusters include jobs in the care economy, the
green economy, and new technology sectors.97 While their analysis highlights the growing demand
across these clusters, jobs related to emerging technologies are clearly currently seeing the most
explosive growth in demand, (see exhibit 15).
Exhibit 15 | Top 20 job roles in increasing and decreasing demand across industries
Increasing demand Decreasing demand
1 Data Analysts and Scientists 1 Data Entry Clerks
2 AI and Machine Learning Specialists 2 Administrative and Executive Secretaries
3 Big Data Specialists 3 Accounting, Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks
4 Digital Marketing and Strategy Specialists 4 Accountants and Auditors
5 Process Automation Specialists 5 Assembly and Factory Workers
6 Business Development Professionals 6 Business Services and Administration Managers
7 Digital Transformation Specialists 7 Client Information and Customer Service Workers
8 Information Security Analysts 8 General and Operations Managers
9 Software and Applications Developers 9 Mechanics and Machinery Repairers
10 Internet of Things Specialists 10 Material-Recording and Stock-Keeping Clerks
11 Project Managers 11 Financial Analysts
12 Business Services and Administration Managers 12 Postal Service Clerks
13 Database and Network Professionals 13 Sales Rep., Wholesale and Manufactory
14 Robotic Engineers 14 Relationship Managers
15 Strategic Advisors 15 Bank Tellers and Related Clerks
16 Management and Organisation Analysts 16 Door-To-Door Sales, News and Street Vendors
17 FinTech Engineers 17 Electronics and Telecoms Installers and Repairers
18 Mechanics and Machinery Repairers 18 Human Resources Specialists
19 Organizational Development Specialists 19 Training and Development Specialists
20 Risk Management Specialists 20 Construction Laborers
Source: World Economic Forum. 2020. Future of Jobs Survey. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020
Note 1: The same job role can both increase significantly in demand and decrease significantly in demand due to variations across industries and
countries. This analysis was conducted across 15 industries and 26 economies; country-level and industry-level analysis is available.
Note 2: This analysis also identifies 7 specific Job Clusters that present significant opportunities for transitions into growing jobs. These are: Care
Professions, Data and AI, Engineering and Cloud Computing, Green Professions, People and Culture, Product Development, Marketing, Sales and Content.
97 World Economic Forum. 2020. Jobs of Tomorrow Mapping Opportunity in the New Economy. Retrieved from: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/
WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2020.pdf
81
High-potential clusters can both create opportunities for income, jobs and growth, and at the same
time accelerate action on medium and long-term environmental and well-being goals. For example,
renewable energy (especially the photovoltaic solar sector), already employs more people per unit
of investment than fossil-fuel generation.98 Recovery efforts that target energy efficiency offer
significant opportunities for rapid job creation; up to 2.5 million new jobs per year, according to
the International Energy Agency.99 In the longer term, the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) estimates that the renewable energy sector could employ more than 40 million people by
2050, and that total energy-sector employment could reach 122 million by 2050, up from around
58 million today, should the international community utilise its full renewable energy potential.100
Moreover, recent geopolitical turmoil has further accelerated the transition to renewable energy
in many parts of the world, demanding yet faster workforce adaptation.
Economic sectors like the technology, green and care economies are comprised of multiple segments
with growth potential. For example, the green economy includes segments like renewable energy,
energy efficiency, recycling, repair and remanufacturing. New technologies include segments like
cloud computing, data and analytics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Yet, these emerging sectors also generate a significant layer of peripheral and ancillary segments,
creating entirely new jobs in related fields. For example, the green economy brings jobs in green
financing; and artificial intelligence brings new jobs such as AI data ethicists. Therefore, proactive
efforts to re-orient learning curricula and work transition systems towards these emerging sectors
can have a multiplicative spill-over effect, stimulating accelerated job growth.
Increased public awareness and concern over environmental issues during the pandemic have
spurred many governments to accelerate planned initiatives to build a greener, more sustainable,
technologically-advanced economy, directed at significant, future-focused job creation. For
instance, the European Union is moving beyond its already-ambitious European Green New Deal,
to enact a recovery plan called NextGenerationEU.101 At the heart of this plan, sits the Recovery
and Resilience Facility (RRF) which will make €806.9 billion in loans and grants to support
reforms and investments undertaken by Member States, made mainly on their green and digital
transitions.102 Current geopolitical events are spurring European, and other, governments to revisit
their energy policy plans, upgrading investment ambitions for renewables and instituting more
targeted programs and initiatives.
Invest in improving career management and support services, including a collaborative

framework between Private and Public Employment Services organizations.
Invest in improving career management and support services across all physical and online learning
institutions, including public-private collaboration
98 International Energy Agency. 2020. Sustainable Recovery. Retrieved from: https://www.iea.org/reports/sustainable-recovery

99 International Renewable Energy Agency. 2020. Global Renewables Outlook. Retrieved from: https://www.irena.org/publications/2020/Apr/Global-
Renewables-Outlook-2020
100 International Renewable Energy Agency. 2021. Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review 2021 https://irena.org/publications/2021/Oct/Renewable-
Energy-and-Jobs-Annual-Review-2021
101 European Union, 2021. NextGenerationEU, Retrieved from: https://europa.eu/next-generation-eu/make-it-green_en
102 European Union. 2021. Recovery Plan for Europe. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/recovery-plan-europe_en
82
An efficient way to promote lifelong learning and help workers navigate the rapid changes of the
labor market is through career management services. Career management primarily includes services
such as outplacement and career transition, redeployment and other services designed to help
organizations and individuals manage changes in the practices, processes, conditions and bases
of employment. The objective of these services is to minimize the adverse effects of such changes
and to benefit from any new opportunities that are created. Effective career management services
also help young people understand which skills to develop, improving their long-term relevance
and competitiveness in the labour market. Research shows that young people’s career aspirations
are often poorly aligned with actual labour market demand – and the unrealistic expectations of
teenagers can easily translate into long-term labour market penalties.103
The employment challenges facing G20 countries demand a pooling of capabilities from across
the public and private sectors in order to effectively and efficiently deliver career management
and support services at the speed and scale required. Public and Private Employment Service
organizations represent attractive complementary partners in addressing this challenge: For
private agencies, cooperation with Public Employment Services offers better access to labour
market information and other data at the disposal of public authorities, and for public agencies,
cooperation brings opportunities to optimize the use of public funds through cost savings and
greater efficiency in service delivery.
A successful example of public-private collaboration to deliver career management services is the

Career Transition Partnership (CTP), in the United Kingdom. The CTP brings together the workforce
expertise of Right Management with the British Ministry of Defence to provide transition support
to over 200,000 people leaving military service. The adjustment from military to the civilian world is
a common challenge to all Service leavers. The CTP resettlement process encompasses three main
streams; career transition, training and employment. The process offers workshops, one-to-one
support, the development of a personal plan, vocational training to enhance qualifications or retrain,
employment support through a dedicated job board, and a range of online tools and resources.
After completion, 93% of service leavers gained a new role within 6 months of discharge.104
More broadly, the G20 should consider the development of an international framework to enable
more effective partnerships across Public and Private Employment Services organizations. A
coordinated framework would facilitate effective implementation of labor-market policies and
initiatives through clear engagement mechanisms between Private Employment Services and Public
bodies at the national, regional and local levels.
Establish skills recognition frameworks and improve international recognition of skills

certifications
Establish skills recognition frameworks to support the portability of skills across occupations and
industries
103 OECD. 2018. Working it out: career guidance and employer engagement. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/
publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=EDU/WKP(2018)11&docLanguage=En
104 World Employment Confederation. 2019. Career Management. Retrieved from: https://wecglobal.org/uploads/2020/07/Career-Management-value-
story_FINAL.pdf
83
Skills recognition systems aim to facilitate the acknowledgment of skills that have been acquired
through different learning contexts. Recognition systems enable dialogue and common understanding
between individuals and employers, which in turn facilitates recruitment, wage growth and career
progress. They also support dialogue between individuals and education and training providers.
An effective skills recognition framework can open new learning pathways and make the learning
process more efficient.
For those with low or no formal qualifications, or those who obtained their qualification outside the
country where they work, recognition systems can make a critical difference in securing their first
job or using the skills they possess. Effective skills recognition also brings benefits to employers
who can more readily find the skilled personnel they need, and to the economy as a whole, by
addressing issues of unemployment, underemployment and social inclusion. A well-designed
framework represents an essential common language to make labour markets perform efficiently.
A significant issue is that many important skills that are in high demand by business are not
formally recognized or credentialized. This includes skills such as vocational, social, communication,
cognitive, learning and personal behavioral capabilities that are transferable or “portable”, in that
they can be used productively in different employment contexts, jobs and enterprises. These types
of skills are increasing in importance in a world with intelligent machines, and in a world where
people work for multiple employers, on a variety of contracts.
Recognition of micro-certifications can also make an important contribution to these efforts. For
example, credentials from bootcamp training, online courses from universities or other providers,
or even apprenticeships, can provide important signals to employers about the capabilities of
candidates beyond traditional qualifications (like degrees), as well as signalling their appetite
and capacity to take on learning opportunities. Micro-certifications, nano degrees and micro
badges are all similar concepts that address the rapid obsolescence of competences, and can
be especially important for subjects that cover a multitude of topics and evolve over time, like
engineering or information technology.
The design of effective skills recognition frameworks requires input, buy-in and support from a range
of stakeholders, such as employers’ representatives, networks of career counsellors, employment
services and trade unions. The frameworks would then be promoted, supported and managed
by public authorities.105 A pragmatic, common-sense approach to the design of frameworks is
important. For example, some sectors do not require highly formalized systems of qualifications
and skills certifications, such as clerical and administrative jobs where proof of recognized skills
is relatively simple.
Improve international recognition of skills certifications, including support of micro-certifications
Across the OECD, almost two out of three immigrants have obtained their qualifications abroad.
105 ILO. 2016. Strengthening Skills Recognition Systems: Recommendations for key stakeholders. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/
public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_541698.pdf
106 OECD. 2017. Making Integration Work Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. Retrieved from:
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/making-integration-work_25227726
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At the same time, a substantial body of research shows that immigrants with foreign qualifications
face significant barriers to demonstrating their skills potential.
Part of the observed lower return to foreign qualifications is due to differences in the performance
of education systems. For example, data from the OECD Survey on Adult Skills (PIAAC) shows
that there are large cross-country differences in skills at given education levels. However, recent
OECD work has shown that a discrepancy is observed even after accounting for such differences.107
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is a successful example of a common reference

system that allows qualifications from different countries to be compared easily. The EQF is closely
linked to national qualifications frameworks across Europe, and learning outcomes are used as a
basis to translate levels of knowledge, understanding and ability across those different frameworks.
The system therefore helps improve transparency, comparability and portability of qualifications
across countries and institutions.
G20 countries should strengthen the assessment of foreign qualifications. Assessment procedures
and criteria must be transparent; responsibilities of different assessment authorities should be well
coordinated; and the processing time for applications should be limited. These activities are more
effectively performed through a clear international skills framework that is actively coordinated
across regions.

• Build partnerships to inform work transition programs and skills strategies in response to the
changing industrial landscape.
• Invest in improving career management and support services, including a collaborative
framework between Private and Public Employment Services organizations.
• Establish skills recognition frameworks and improve international recognition of skills
certifications.
107 OECD. 2017. Making Integration Work Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. Retrieved from:
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/making-integration-work_25227726
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RECOMMENDATION 3
Ensuring that workforce inclusion accelerates after the pandemic
setback
The G20 should ensure that every part of society is included in
recovery and growth efforts, with special attention paid to the
vulnerable and to labor-market formalization.
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POLICY ACTIONS
Policy Actions 3.1 - Rebuild confidence, employability, and employment for the youth –
Promote partnerships across public and private sectors and relevant institutions to accelerate
training and job creation among young people, and to improve their mental health and engagement.
• The G20 should implement targeted policies to support youth employment, tailored to local
needs
• The G20 should support the expansion of youth-targeted, work-based learning systems, such
as VET, apprenticeships, internships and externships, aligned to growth sectors
• The G20 should support youth-targeted initiatives to improve mental health, build confidence
and engagement with work and society
Policy Actions 3.2 - Empower women across the workforce – Dismantle obstacles to female
employment, and accelerate and incentivize training opportunities and job creation for women at
all levels, including through strengthened family-care provisions.
• The G20 should promote entry-level job creation, access to work opportunities, graduate
schemes and training programs for women.
• The G20 should measure, incentivize and increase female participation in leadership positions.
• The G20 should strengthen long-term family care and care-leave provisions in order to limit
the disproportionate impact on women’s effective participation in the formal workforce.
• The G20 should collect gender-disaggregated data to facilitate evidence-based policymaking
and international comparability.
Policy Actions 3.3 - Target pandemic-recovery initiatives to support vulnerable sections of

the workforce – Promote work and learning opportunities (such as Community-Based Vocational
Training) and safeguards for vulnerable populations, including a focus on mental and physical
disability.
• The G20 should promote initiatives that target vulnerable workers who face significant barriers
to accessing work and learning opportunities, such as Community-Based Vocational Training.
• The G20 should improve social protection systems to provide access to adequate social
protection for all, including people with disabilities, women, youth, the self-employed, platform
and own-account workers.
• The G20 should support relevant work and learning opportunities for the physically disabled,
and inclusion of mental health programs at work, as well as enforcing international standards
and work practices on occupational health and safety.
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SDG IMPACT
Recommendation 3 is primarily aligned to SDG 10.2 on “empowering and promoting the social,
economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin,
religion or economic or other status”.
Furthermore, it resonates with SDG 5.1 on “ending all forms of discrimination against all women
and girls everywhere” and 5.5 to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal
opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”.
Recommendation 3 also supports SDG 1.3 on “implementing nationally appropriate social

protection systems and measures for all, and achieving substantial coverage of the poor and the
vulnerable”. It also supports SDG 3.8 on “achieving universal health coverage, including financial
risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective,
quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all”.
Finally, the policy actions within this recommendation contribute to the achievement of SDG 8.3,
which promotes development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job
creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth
of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services; it
also promotes SDG 8.5 to “achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women
and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of
equal value”. Finally, it also contributes to SDG 3.4 to “eliminate gender disparities in education
and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable.”
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Architecture through the imperative to ensure safe and healthy working environments, especially for
vulnerable workers (including the youth, women, disadvantaged workers, persons with disabilities
and those with poor mental health).
Recommendation 3 also highlights how Digital Transformation can support the enablement and
inclusion of vulnerable workers into the workforce, both through work and learning opportunities.
At the same time, the recommendation highlights the urgency of policies to actively shrink “Digital
Divides” as these disproportionately affect vulnerable workers.
Recommendation 3 also underlines the risks and opportunities that the climate crisis and Green
Economy bring to vulnerable workers. This includes ensuring that vulnerable workers are included
in work transition plans and special efforts are made to ensure that the growth of new sectors
include work opportunities for disadvantaged groups.
89
Policy Action 3.1: Rebuild confidence, employability, and employment for the youth
Promote partnerships across public and private sectors and relevant institutions to accelerate
training and job creation among young people, and to improve their mental health and engagement
Context on youth employment, employability and future prospects
Youth unemployment took a serious hit during the pandemic, due to the sectors and jobs
affected; the longer the recovery period, the deeper the impact on these generations.
Youth unemployment still hasn’t recovered since the global financial crisis, more than a decade
ago. Even before the pandemic, people aged 15-24 were around three times more likely to
be unemployed than those aged 25 and older. Youth unemployment already sat at 11.9%
(OECD average), with some countries seeing multiple times that. Since the pandemic, their
situation has deteriorated.108
During the pandemic, the hours worked by young people fell by more than 26%; 1.5 billion
students were locked out of their schools; and in most countries, the incidence of mental health
issues among the young doubled or more. Young people were consistently and significantly
more likely to feel left out of society compared to older age groups at every stage of the
pandemic109, as well as reporting higher rates of poor mental health.110 The youth employment
impact was aggravated because young people tend to work in less secure, unskilled jobs,
and are highly represented in industries most affected by the pandemic.111
108 OECD Data Insights. December 2020. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/en/data-insights/young-people-and-women-hit-hard-by-jobs-crisis

109 OECD website. Youth Employment. Retrieved on 11 February 2022. https://www.oecd.org/employment/youth/
110 Society for Human Resource Management. 2020. SHRM Study of Greater Mental Health Challenges, 2020.
111 OECD. June, 2020. Youth and COVID-19: Response, recovery and resilience.
90
The youth require dedicated support to emerge from this crisis. Young people typically
find it harder to find work after economic recessions, facing more competition for fewer
opportunities. Also, extended periods of unemployment during youth impacts lifelong career
opportunities. Empirical evidence shows that entering the labor market during a recession
can impact young people’s labor market outcomes for a decade or more.112 Young workers
also increasingly face significant challenges in finding jobs with decent pay and conditions.
The demoralization of the youth is a dangerous signal of their expectations and hopes for the
future: A 2021 OECD survey found that two in three 18 29 year olds think the government
should be doing more to ensure their economic and social security and well-being, and four
out of ten young people feel that the government does not incorporate their views when
designing or reforming public benefits and services.113
The consequences are costly to the entire economy and society. Failure to integrate young
people into the productive workforce pushes them from ‘generators’ of growth and productivity
into ‘drags’ on growth and productivity, with associated risks to social cohesion. For this reason,
it is essential that policymakers invest in youth employment and employability immediately,
as well as supporting their mental health and re-integration into society, to minimize long-
lasting harm. The supportive declarations and commitments of G20 ministers and leaders on
this topic are most welcome, but the emphasis must now turn to concrete action.
Exhibit 16 | Unemployment rate as % of labor force (OECD countries) by age group, 2021
Source: OECD. 2021. Unemployment rate by age group. Retrieved from: https://data.oecd.org/unemp/unemployment-rate-by-age-group.htm
112 ILO. 2020. Preventing exclusion from the labour market: Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis.
113 OECD. July 2021.Young people’s concerns during COVID-19: Results from risks that matter.
91
Implement targeted policies to support youth employment, tailored to local needs
Enact evidence-based youth policies, tailored and adapted to national and (where possible) local
contexts
Young people were disproportionately affected by the employment crisis unleashed by the pandemic,
as well as experiencing substantial financial pressures and mental health issues. The journey ahead
also seems bleak, with concerns over prospects and opportunities for work and learning in the
short term, and potential knock-on implications for the longer term. Action is required urgently,
but must be implemented in thoughtful and targeted ways.
Employment challenges facing the youth are multifaceted and complex. Some youths are forced
to enter the workforce too early, whilst others are never able to find stable employment, and
many find themselves stuck in low-productivity, low-paid jobs, increasingly under contractual
terms that feel precarious. The wide range of issues and circumstances facing young workers
means that policies must be targeted and tailored, with evidence-based design, to ensure that
resources are allocated efficiently.
Even before the pandemic, government agendas around the world were awakening to the need
for policies that explicitly target youth employment and employability, especially since the global
financial crisis. A common approach has been through active labour market policies (ALMPs) that
deal specifically with employment problems and include programs such as subsidized credits,
enterprise creation, training, wage subsidies and public works (see Policy Action 1.2). Often,
however, these programs target people registered as unemployed, mostly in urban areas, and not
necessarily youth, missing a majority of rural youth and those in informal employment. Youth-specific
ALMPs can play an important role in filling those gaps, but the impact tends to vary according
to the nature of the programs, design issues and country context114. This highlights the need for
evidence-based targeting and policy design.
The OECD has collected case studies of different types of programs that have undergone empirical
impact assessments, to ensure a successful effect on youth employment. These include employment
services, employment subsidies, entrepreneurship programs and skills training initiatives for youth
(see exhibit 17).
Exhibit 17 | Policy actions around the world to enhance youth employability
Employment services, BW Jobs 4 Graduates, Botswana

The main purpose of employment services is to match job offers with job seekers. Services
include job search and placement, labour intermediation services, labour information systems,
career counselling and mentoring services for people with difficulties in finding employment. An
114 OECD (2017), Evidence-based Policy Making for Youth Well-being: A Toolkit, OECD Development Policy Tools, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264283923-en
92
impact assessment of 26 employment services programmes in both developed and developing

countries concluded that 16 had positive employment effects, including 11 with positive
earnings effects, mostly in developed and transition countries. An example of a successful
employment programme is BW Jobs 4 Graduates, a youth-led organisation registered under
the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs of Botswana. The programme offers a variety of
services to assist youth in finding employment opportunities. Job search and training services
are offered free of charge to youth, while employers are charged a fee for advertising. A
short message service (SMS) enables youth to receive vacancy announcements and interview
reminders on their mobile phones. BW Jobs 4 Graduates organises workshops and career
fairs across the country to guide youth on tailored career paths, based on their profile and
current labour market conditions.
Employment subsidies, Youth Wage Subsidies and Tax Incentive Act, South Africa
Employment subsidies aim to encourage recruitment by reducing the cost to employers.
These programmes seek to increase employment opportunities for eligible young people by
temporarily subsidising employers’ wage costs. Subsidies are provided when hiring an entitled
unemployed worker for a specified period of time (usually six months in transition countries
or two years in developed countries). Employment subsidy schemes can consist of reductions
in an employer’s social security contributions, a reduction in labour and wage costs or direct
payment to the employee. Such programmes are particularly useful in helping to integrate
low-skilled youth or long-term unemployed youth, since employers are often reluctant to take
on young, inexperienced workers. The Youth Wage Subsidies and Tax Incentive Act, South
Africa is a success story. Launched in 2010, the Youth Wage Subsidies programme in South
Africa provided employment vouchers to unemployed young South Africans, reducing the
wage costs for firms. Vouchers were initially handed out to randomly selected unemployed
youths aged 20-24, entitling the holder to a subsidy with a total value of approximately US$
650, which could be claimed over a minimum of six months, until the total amount was used.
After this pilot phase, in 2014, the government launched the Employment Tax Incentive Act,
which introduced the wage subsidy nationwide. This new scheme offers tax incentives for up
to two years to employers who hire low- to mid-level wage earners aged 18-29. An impact
evaluation shows that young people who used the vouchers were significantly more likely to
remain in employment one and two years after the voucher had been exhausted than those
not benefiting from the vouchers.
Entrepreneurship programmes, Programa de Calificación de Jóvenes Creadores de

Microempresas, Peru
Entrepreneurship (or self-employment) programmes aim to equip people with the skills needed
to establish and manage profitable businesses that can become permanent jobs. Support can
be in the form of financial assistance (credits, allowances or grants) and/or other technical
112 ILO. 2020. Preventing exclusion from the labour market: Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis.
113 OECD. July 2021.Young people’s concerns during COVID-19: Results from risks that matter.
93
services, such as skills training, counselling, mentoring, business infrastructure, development

of a business plan, etc... Programa de Calificación de Jóvenes Creadores de Microempresas
(Young Micro Entrepreneurs’ Qualification Programme) is a success story from Peru. It started
in 1999 as an initiative of the Peruvian non-governmental organisation (NGO) Colectivo
Integral de Desarrollo to counteract the lack of entrepreneurial skills among young people.
A comprehensive package of training on developing business plans, individual counselling,
internships, credit, and services after business creation were provided. An evaluation of the
programme indicated an increase of almost 40 percentage points in the probability of a business
operating longer than a year and an increase in earnings of 40 percentage points compared to
the control group. An important secondary effect was the job creation. Beneficiaries employ
17.3% more workers than the control group.
Skills training programmes for youth, Jóvenes Programme (Youth Programme), Latin
America and the Caribbean
Skills training can be very useful in improving the employability and productivity of young people
experiencing difficulties in finding a job, especially under/unemployed and disadvantaged
young workers. The training is often directed at disadvantaged youths and young workers who
are already in the workforce but are under/unemployed. Impact evaluation was conducted
for 19 youth skills training programmes, including five in developing countries. All five
showed a positive impact on employability, with two having a positive impact on earnings.
Jóvenes Programme (Youth Programme) in Latin America and the Caribbean was successfully
implemented in eight Latin American countries, and adapted to the local context of each. The
programme offers a comprehensive package, including classroom and on-the-job training, basic
life-skills training, job search assistance and counselling services. It involves the private sector
in the design of the training content to ensure alignment between the skills taught and those
needed in the labour market. In most countries, a letter of intent from the firm is required,
specifying the number of interns they will hire and an acknowledgement that the content of
the training corresponds to their needs. Training and internships are organised and provided
by public and private institutions, which are contracted through public bidding mechanisms.
OECD (2017), Evidence-based Policy Making for Youth Well-being: A Toolkit, OECD Development Policy Tools, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264283923-en
The success of youth policies is highly dependent on adaptation to specific market needs, local
communities and local contexts. G20 governments should therefore ensure that their youth policies
are informed by timely and accurate data and evidence (both qualitative and quantitative) on the
circumstances of their target youth populations.
Incorporate direct input from the youth in target communities when designing youth policies
Robust and comprehensive policies and strategies recognize young people as active agents of
change and actors in their own and wider development. However, many polices with a direct
or indirect impact on young people are developed and delivered without youth consultation or
participation. This reflects a lack of recognition of the value young people can bring to decision-
making, and a disregard for the rights of youth to participate in matters that affect them.
94
Effective youth policies require direct youth input. The knowledge, experience and expertise
of young people should be integrated into the design, implementation and evaluation of youth
policies. Such input may be secured through the establishment of youth advisory bodies or
through cooperation with national youth councils, as well as research that draws directly on the
insights and experience of young people. Engagement with youth at all levels of government
and across different ministries and departments also contributes to the development of effective
youth policies.115
Support the expansion of youth-targeted, work-based learning systems, such as VET,

apprenticeships, internships, reverse mentoring, and externships, aligned to growth sectors
Work-based learning systems re-engage young people at risk with the labour market, and provide
them with a smoother transition into work, whilst also developing their skills. Work-based learning
provides young people with an alternative way to learn that is sometimes more appealing than
academic programs. It can provide a bridge into careers, equip young people with skills that are
in demand, and connect them to potential employers.116 Work-based learning systems include
VET, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, internships and externships.
Youth-targeted VET systems play a key role in ensuring lower school dropout rates and facilitate the
school-to-work transition. VET remains a significant route taken by many students and is responsible
for the provision of a comprehensive set of job-relevant skills in countries where these schemes
are prevalent. VET programs, by definition, build on an individual’s foundational skills by imparting
specialized technical knowledge and practical know-how. However, VET uptake remains low in
many countries. Despite the demonstrable benefits of these schemes, in many countries VET suffers
from the unfounded misperception that it is less valuable than traditional, academic qualifications.
VET programs should provide training that reflects both student preferences and employer needs,
tailored to each country’s specificities and labor-market characteristics. It is worth noting that
countries with strong existing VET systems have been relatively successful in tackling youth
unemployment, even during the recent pandemic period. These systems will take on even greater
importance in strengthening employment and employability during the recovery, and should target
all parts of the skill curve.
An example of youth-targeted, work-based learning systems is Germany’s Schulewirtschaft network,

a collaboration between schools and companies that designs and supports internships, company
visits, youth training, and information materials for schools, companies and parents (eg. brochures,
checklists, and work aids), as well as activities like simulations and competitions. The network is
housed at the national level by the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) and
the Institute of the German Economy (IW), and at the state level by employers’ organizations and
educational organizations in partnership with ministries.117
115 OECD (2017), Evidence-based Policy Making for Youth Well-being: A Toolkit, OECD Development Policy Tools, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264283923-en
116 OECD. 2016. Work-Based Learning For Youth At Risk: Getting Employers On Board. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-
school/Work-based_Learning_For_Youth_At_Risk-getting_Employers_On_Board.pdf
117 The Schulewirtschaft network, 2021. https://www.schulewirtschaft.de/unternehmen/
95
Apprenticeships and internships also provide valuable work experience, on-the-job training and skills
development to young people. Overall, countries with a high proportion of youth participation in
apprenticeships and/or internships have lower rates of youth dissatisfaction and youth experiencing
difficult transitions to employment.118
Exhibit 18 | The Global Apprenticeship Network – Work-based learning during and beyond
COVID-19
The Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) convenes public and private sector partners to
drive evidence-based action, focused on work-based learning initiatives. The COVID-19 crisis
has stimulated GAN Global to collaborate with policymakers and business leaders in order
to update approaches to work-based learning, making them more relevant and responsive
to urgent needs during the pandemic and beyond. For example, issues like digital skilling,
adaptive learning technologies, employee well-being and employment strategies have taken
centre stage.
GAN Global thereby acts as a useful source of initiatives and practices that can inform the
development of vocational education and work-based learning strategies that are fit for
the future. On 11 June 2021, GAN Global launched its 2020 Annual Report, featuring case
studies on adaptations and innovations to work-based learning. The organization’s latest news,
research, webinars and thought pieces can be found on their website (www.gan-global.org).
A new model of work-based learning that has been gaining traction in some countries, due
to its flexibility both for the employer and the young worker, is externships. An externship is a
short, unpaid, and informal internship where students spend anywhere from a single day to a few
weeks getting exposure to what it’s like to work at a company. The purpose of the externship
is to gain first-hand insight into a career or industry of interest for young people. Externships,
like internships, build specific skills and also help the individual to make more informed career
choices. The short-term, project-specific, informal nature of externships makes them especially
amenable to virtual models, where students can combine school projects with their contribution
to a specific company project without necessarily spending time at the company’s office. Such
virtual externships open even more flexible options to the benefit of both the company and the
“extern”.
“Reverse Mentoring” is an additional channel through which the youth can share their unique
technical knowledge and insights by mentoring older workers and even senior management to
narrow the skills gap between younger and older workers. Although the primary objective of this
approach is to strengthen the skills of older workers and make organizations more adaptive and
agile, the act of mentoring and coaching is a significant learning experience for the young mentors
themselves, building valuable skills in communication, empathy and leadership.
118 OECD. 2016. Work-Based Learning For Youth At Risk: Getting Employers On Board. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-
school/Work-based_Learning_For_Youth_At_Risk-getting_Employers_On_Board.pdf
96
G20 member countries must support the expansion of youth-targeted, work-based learning
systems, as a crucial part of their plans to stimulate employment and employability for accelerated
economic recovery.
Support youth-targeted initiatives to improve mental health, build confidence and engagement
with work and society
Over 2020-2021, the mental health of young people deteriorated significantly, with most countries
seeing its prevalence doubling, if not more. Symptoms of anxiety and depression among the youth
have also risen dramatically, up to 80% more than adults in a study from March 2021.119 Amid
this crisis, young people were cut off from access to traditional sources of support in schools,
universities and workplaces.
Youth employment was disproportionately affected by the pandemic and recovery prospects seem
similarly ominous, putting further pressure on mental health. Urgent action is required to support
these generations of future workers through this difficult period and to improve their prospects
for the future. In May 2021, the OECD published its report: “Supporting young people’s mental
health through the COVID-19 crisis”, offering specific actions and recommendations on this topic.
The report underlines the importance of taking an integrated approach that incorporates the
interlinkages of mental health with education and youth employment policies. This is underlined
through the following three priority areas:120
• Additional mental health support – through information dissemination, phone or online
services, and easier access to in-person services – should be a priority for young people,
and where mental health support services in schools and universities cannot be resumed,
alternatives must be found with urgency;
• Support for young people at risk of early school leaving, including young people with
experience of mental health issues, should be prioritized to avoid disruptions in learning having
a long-term impact on young people’s labor market outcomes and overall well-being;
• Unemployment is a major risk factor for poor mental health – supporting young people in
finding, keeping and staying in work must be an economic, social, and public health policy
priority. Training line managers in the workplace in mental health can also promote better
mental health among young adults already in work.

• Implement targeted policies to support youth employment, tailored to local needs
• Support the expansion of youth-targeted, work-based learning systems, such as VET,
apprenticeships, internships and externships, aligned to growth sectors
• Support youth-targeted initiatives to improve mental health, build confidence and engagement
with work and society
119 OECD, 2021. Supporting young people’s mental health through the COVID-19 crisis. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/
supporting-young-people-s-mental-health-through-the-COVID-19-crisis-84e143e5/#abstract-d1e26
120 Idem
97
Policy Action 3.2: Empower women across the workforce
Dismantle obstacles to female employment, and accelerate and incentivize training opportunities
and job creation for women at all levels, including through strengthened family-care provisions.
Context on women in the workforce
Amid persistent gender inequality at work, the pandemic has reversed years of what
progress had been achieved over recent decades, presenting serious long-term implications.
The pandemic has affected everything and everyone, but women have been disproportionately
disadvantaged. Their employment declined by 5% in 2020, compared to 3.9% for men.
A greater proportion of women also dropped out of the labor market entirely, becoming
inactive. The burden of additional domestic and care responsibilities during lockdowns was
also disproportionately placed on women, making employment yet harder, and reinforcing
outdated gender roles.121
There are structural reasons for the female disadvantage: women are overrepresented in many
of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19, such as food service, retail and entertainment.
For example, 40% of all employed women – 510 million women globally – work in hard-hit
sectors, compared to 36.6% of employed men.122 Globally, 70% of health workers and first
responders are women, and yet, they are not paid on a par with their male counterparts. At
28%, the gender pay gap in the health sector is higher than the overall gender pay gap (16%).
The pandemic-induced surge in global poverty will widen the gender poverty gap – meaning,
121 ILO. 2021. Slow jobs recovery and increased inequality risk long-term COVID-19 scarring. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-
ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_794834/lang--en/index.htm
122 UN Women. 2020. COVID-19 and its economic toll on women: The story behind the numbers. Retrieved from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/
news/stories/2020/9/feature-COVID-19-economic-impacts-on-women?gclid=Cj0KCQjwit_8BRCoARIsAIx3Rj7LgjqlSFtRtzkEH4LBE3IolbQngb1L4I
4WN4E4cx38Jlgy23s3LvgaAkKfEALw_wcB
98
more women will be pushed into extreme poverty than men. This is especially the case among
those aged 25 to 34, at the height of their productive and family formation period.123
The under-representation of women in the formal workforce is not new. In 2019, 31% of
young women worldwide were not in employment, education or training, compared with 14%
of young men. The effects can be felt at every level of the workplace. A study by the World
Bank (2018), found 104 economies with some form of legal restrictions on the work women
are allowed to perform.124 Beyond legal constraints, cultural obstacles persist, such as a bias
to privilege men over women for jobs in general. Leadership roles remain elusive for women:
only 9% of HR professionals describe their organization’s senior leaders as predominantly
women, compared to 50% as predominantly men.125 Additionally, research by the W20 and
Accenture found that the pandemic induced a drop in the proportion of young women who
feel fully included in their workplace, from 33% to 21%.126 And women hold only 16% of board
positions in the top 500 multinational enterprises.127
The setbacks in female workforce participation and income will persist well after the pandemic,
and the impact on pensions and savings will scar the economic security of women for decades
to come. Urgent and bold intervention is essential to regain the lost ground and to set a
positive trajectory.
Exhibit 19 | The gender unemployment gap remains persistently wider than pre-pandemic
levels
Source: OECD Employment rate by gender, available at https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/unemployment-rates-oecd-update-march-2021.htm Last

accessed on December 21st, 2021.
123 UN Women. 2020. COVID-19 and its economic toll on women: The story behind the numbers. Retrieved from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/
news/stories/2020/9/feature-COVID-19-economic-impacts-on-women?gclid=Cj0KCQjwit_8BRCoARIsAIx3Rj7LgjqlSFtRtzkEH4LBE3IolbQngb1L4I
4WN4E4cx38Jlgy23s3LvgaAkKfEALw_wcB
124 World Bank. 2018. Changing the laws that keep women out of work. Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2018/03/29/
changing-the-laws-that-keep-women-out-of-work
125 Society for Human Resource Management. 2022. SHRM Women and Leadership Pipeline, March 2022
126 W20 Saudi Arabia. (2020). Building Back Better for Women: Missing Voices
127 OECD. 2020. What big data can tell us about women on boards. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/what-big-data-can-tell-us-
about-women-on-boards.htm
99
As part of this Taskforce’s commitment to the broader goals and activities of the B20 Indonesia
Presidency, we wholeheartedly support the recommendations of the B20 Women in Business
Action Council, including their “One Global Women’s Empowerment” initiative, with its vision of
empowering every woman-led business in the global economy.
Specifically, we endorse the Action Council’s three recommendations to G20 governments, as

laid out in their policy paper, namely:
• Empowering women entrepreneurs
• Enabling women’s digital and leadership capabilities
• Promoting safe and equitable workplaces
Indeed, most of these issues are explicitly called for within the Policy Actions and Sub-Actions
of our own Taskforce Policy Paper.
We encourage all interested parties to explore the detailed Policy Actions that lie within these
recommendations by reading this year’s B20 Women in Business Action Council Policy Paper.
Promote entry-level job creation, access to work opportunities, graduate schemes, and
training programs for women
The G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Declaration of September 2020128 acknowledged
that more needs to be done to achieve the G20 Brisbane goal, which states that leaders are
committed to reducing the gender gap in labour force participation by 25 per cent by the year
2025, compared to 2012. They committed to ensuring that recent falls in women’s labour force
participation do not become structural, and to advancing gender equality and pay equity. These
commitments now require tangible action.
A starting point to achieving the Brisbane goal, is to step up the active support of entry-level
job creation, graduate schemes and training programmes for women. Ensuring that young women
are equipped with the skills to perform jobs in growth sectors is an important step; it requires
governments to identify those growth sectors, and to support local training initiatives that guide
young women towards those jobs. Governments can also play a decisive role in accelerating
progress toward parity in the workforce through legislation, fiscal measures, programmatic change,
and public–private partnerships.
It is also important to promote graduate schemes for women, especially in fields that have been
historically dominated by men, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
This can include competitive grant programmes, awareness raising for women, fairs and financial and
in-kind support for STEM programmes, summer camps to encourage female students to enrol in STEM
128 G20 Italy. Retrieved from: https://www.g20.org/
100
secondary and tertiary education, as well as supporting mentoring and employment opportunities
offered by private companies to female graduates of bachelor engineering programmes.129
Affordable and convenient access to education and training, including online learning, is another
crucial element to ensuring that women and girls are given fairer chances to thrive at work.
Learning should be geared towards skills that are relevant and applicable to current and future
job markets; for example, it is important to engage women in STEM education and training from
an early age. Special attention should be paid to technical and vocational education, digital skills,
and lifelong learning opportunities. Beyond learning systems and content, this requires appropriate
investments in social infrastructure and the design of flexible formats that respond to the complex
life commitments that women face.
Measure, incentivize and increase female participation in leadership positions130
Women are under-represented in leadership positions across the G20. They are less likely to hold
leadership positions than men, and are under-represented in boardrooms across all industries (see
exhibit 20). Indeed, women make up only 16% of board members in the top 500 multinational
enterprises (by market capital), according to the OECD.131 These disparities are rooted in inequalities
from an early age. Women are less likely to be in employment or looking for a job at all ages.
Social norms and gender stereotypes, which create a glass ceiling for women, coupled with
women’s shorter working hours, continue to be obstacles to more equal representation of women
in leadership positions. This contributes to a gender pay gap of 23%, meaning women earn on
average 77% of what their male counterparts do.132 Improving management and board diversity
is increasingly a requirement and an expectation.
Exhibit 20 | Percentage of female board members by industry (2019)

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
19%
18%
17%
17%
16%
15%
15%
14%
14%
12%
Source: OECD (2020). What big data can tell us about women on boards. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/what-big-data-can-tell-
us-about-women-on-boards.htm
https://ourworldindata.org/female-labor-supply
Note: Consumer Non-Cyclicals refers to companies producing household staples; consumer cyclicals refers to companies in industries such as automotive,
housing, entertainment, and retail, Basic Materials are companies that manufacture chemicals, building materials and paper products.
129 ILO. OECD. 2019. Women at Work in G20 countries: Progress and policy action. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---
dgreports/---cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_713373.pdf
130 This aligns with Recommendation 3 of the B20 Special Initiative on Women‘s Empowerment Policy Paper, 2021.
131 OECD 2020. What big data can tell us about women on boards. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/what-big-data-can-tell-us-
about-women-on-boards.htm
132 UN Women. 2018. Turning promises into action. Retrieved from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/2/gender-equality-
in-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018
101
Many G20 governments promote women’s access to management and leadership positions,
utilising a range of measures and tools. With a variety of measures being implemented in different
circumstances, G20 governments need to actively assess which instruments are most effective
in accelerating the advancement of women into leadership roles, and promote those within both
the public and private sectors.
Strengthen long-term family care and care-leave provisions in order to limit the disproportionate
impact on women’s effective participation in the formal workforce
The Brisbane goal touches an important aspect of gender inequality: long-term care provision.
Women are over-represented among the elderly population, in both developed and developing
countries, and are also critical providers of unpaid care—for ageing spouses and partners,
parents, friends and grandchildren. For instance, in regions such as South Asia, the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA), women’s share of unpaid care work is as high as 80 to 90 percent.133
Women are also more likely to report disabilities and difficulties with self-care than older men,
partly due to their greater longevity. In the Russian Federation, for example, 31 per cent of
women aged 50 and over reported difficulty with self-care compared to 21 per cent of men.134
At the same time, women’s increasing labour-force participation makes it difficult for them to
continue their care commitments whilst holding on to their jobs. The ILO estimates that women
around the world perform 265 minutes of unpaid care work per day, over three times more than
men.135 The pandemic lockdowns placed an enormous additional burden on women, who took on
disproportionate responsibility for care commitments, as well as home-schooling duties. Many
women have been forced to give up their work to cope with these lockdown burdens, and there
is a risk that a significant number will not return to work.
Long-term care always has costs, even if it is provided by family members on an unpaid basis.
Currently, the societal costs of policy inaction in both developed and developing countries are
borne disproportionately by women: the elderly women who do not receive the care they deserve,
and the women of all ages who are over-represented among those who provide care under
inadequate and often exploitative conditions. Finding ways to share these costs more equitably
across society is of paramount importance.
The G20 should explicitly support the United Nations (2017) recommendation of promoting Long-
Term-Care (LTC) systems aimed at promoting the well-being, dignity and rights of care-dependent
older people; reducing and redistributing the heavy responsibilities placed on unpaid family carers;
improving the accessibility, affordability and quality of LTC services (whether public, private for-
profit or not-for-profit); and respecting the rights of paid LTC workers.136
133 McKinsey (2020). COVID-19 and gender equality: Countering the regressive effects. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/
future-of-work/COVID-19-and-gender-equality-countering-the-regressive-effects
134 UN Women. 2017. Long-term care for older people: A new global gender priority. Retrieved from: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/library/publications/2017/un-women-policy-brief-09-long-term-care-for-older-people-en.pdf?la=en&vs=1608
135 ILO. 2020. How much time do women and men spend on unpaid care work. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/multimedia/
maps-and-charts/enhanced/WCMS_721348/lang--en/index.htm
136 UN Women. 2017. Long-term care for older people: A new global gender priority. Retrieved from: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/library/publications/2017/un-women-policy-brief-09-long-term-care-for-older-people-en.pdf?la=en&vs=1608
102
Collect gender-disaggregated data to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and international

comparability
Effective, evidence-based policies that improve the empowerment of women at work depend on
the availability and quality of gender-disaggregated and age-disaggregated data and information.
This data should cover several years of trends, and must form the basis of accurate mapping
of issues, targeted policy actions, and timely tracking of impact. Accurate and timely data also
allows for corrective interventions when policy actions have unintended consequences, as well
as guiding continuous improvements in policy design and implementation.
As companies collect data from across their supply chains and marketplace, there are opportunities
to tap into broader data sets, with a deeper pool of insights about gender impact, enabling more
transformational change. In addition, gender-disaggregated data that is further broken down
into age groups, can provide valuable data to analyse the progress of women through corporate
structures, allowing the design of institutional practices that incentivise retention and promotion
to leadership roles.
Civil society organisations, including NGOs and women’s groups, can be valuable allies in
gathering information about the potential or actual impact of government policies, and they should
be consulted regularly. Surveys, interviews, reviews, opinion polls and benchmarking are also
effective methods for obtaining and analysing data on diversity and inclusion policies, as well as
desk review, household interviews, and focus group discussions.137 The data-driven trends and
analysis should also inform and build broader public service awareness, expertise and intervention
to support female inclusion in policymaking across government departments.

• Promote entry-level job creation, access to work opportunities, graduate schemes and training
programs for women.
• Measure, incentivize and increase female participation in leadership positions.
• Strengthen long-term family care and care-leave provisions in order to limit the disproportionate
impact on women’s effective participation in the formal workforce.
• Collect gender-disaggregated data to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and international
comparability.
137 OECD. 2019. Toolkit for Mainstreaming and Implementing Gender Equality. https://www.oecd.org/gender/governance/toolkit/government/
assessment-of-gender-impact/disaggregated-data/
103
Policy Action 3.3: Target pandemic-recovery initiatives to support vulnerable sections of the
workforce
Promote work and learning opportunities (such as Community-Based Vocational Training) and
safeguards for vulnerable populations, including a focus on mental and physical disability
Context on worker vulnerability and protection
The pandemic brings overdue attention to the fundamentals of decent, healthy work for all.
Although the pandemic left no worker untouched, vulnerable sections of the workforce were
hardest hit. Beyond women and the youth (covered earlier), other vulnerable and marginalized
groups include workers in rural and disadvantaged communities, ethnic minorities, veterans
and the disabled. The pandemic-recovery period demands attention to support work and
learning opportunities for these already-disadvantaged workers whose life chances have been
set back yet further.
In this context, the G20 Employment Working Group’s (EWG) emphasis on implementing
Community-Based Vocation Training (CBVT) is welcomed by this taskforce. CBVT targets the
inclusion of disadvantaged groups into work through locally-relevant solutions. CBVT initiatives
typically focus on community participation, self advancement and empowerment, through local
economic opportunities, training and post-training support. We especially welcome the G20
EWG’s collaborative approach in working with the ILO and other relevant partners to ensure
that lessons can be shared and learned from across the world in designing and implementing
successful solutions across the G20.
The pandemic also highlighted the vulnerability of marginalized groups during economic crises.
Specifically, the inadequate state of social protection systems were laid bare, worldwide. 55%
of the world’s population—about 4 billion people—entirely lacks social protection, with many
104
countries relying on market-based solutions (which only some can afford) to fill the gaps.138 The
pandemic exposed the weak provision of health services, sickness benefits and unemployment
protection to vulnerable workers. Even in countries with well-developed social protection systems,
many workers are excluded from these safety nets. Reform is long overdue.
Both physical and mental health require greater attention in the post-pandemic world of work.
Persons with disabilities are a broad and heterogenous group, representing about 15% of the
world’s population, with an estimated 80% not employed. COVID-19 hit workers with disabilities
hard: the proportion confident in their job and their income security fell from 73% to 40% in the
six months prior to August 2020.139 We commend and support the G20 EWG’s prioritization of
action on disability this year, especially the focus on metrics to track progress, and the emphasis
on future-relevant job opportunities in the digital and green sectors.
Mental health was just beginning to be taken seriously by policymakers before the pandemic,
with the WHO estimating that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy US$ 1
trillion each year in lost productivity.140 The pandemic has given rise to a swathe of new concerns
around mental health at work, which need addressing through thoughtful policy formulation.
Exhibit 21 | SDG indicator 1.3.1: Effective social protection coverage, global and regional
estimates, by population group, 2020 or latest available year
Sources: ILO, World Social Protection Database, based on the SSI; ILOSTAT; national sources. Retrieved from: https://wspr.social-protection.org/
138 ILO. 2020. COVID-19: Social protection systems failing vulnerable groups. Retrieved from: ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/
WCMS_739678/lang--en/index.htm
139 Accenture. 2020. Enabling Change. https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-142/Accenture-Enabling-Change-Getting-Equal-2020-Disability-
Inclusion-Report.pdf
140 WHO. 2019. Mental health in the workplace. Retrieved September 23, 2020, from https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/en/
105
Promote initiatives that target vulnerable workers who face significant barriers to accessing
work and learning opportunities, such as Community-Based Vocational Training.
The greatest employment crisis in living memory hit workers of all types, but the inherent
disadvantage faced by vulnerable sections of the workforce (like older workers, veterans, rural
workers and people with disabilities) makes their prospects of re-entry into work extremely bleak,
with serious implications on their life chances.
These vulnerable workers require targeted initiatives to support their access to work and learning
opportunities. In this context, our taskforce welcomes the G20 Employment Working Group’s
championing of Community-Based Vocational Training (CBVT) as a priority for the Indonesian
G20 Presidency. The focus of CBVT on vulnerable, excluded and often isolated populations is an
appropriate opportunity to spotlight during the G20 Presidency of an emerging economy that is
sensitive to such issues that are experienced by many millions around the world.
CBVT targets the inclusion of disadvantaged groups into work through locally-relevant solutions.
Initiatives that focus on designing and implementing locally-relevant solutions have a far greater
chance of success. Local relevance can only come through the input of local actors into the
design and implementation of projects, making a bottom-up, decentralized approach a central
pillar for success.
Local relevance cannot only be seen as supporting the existing activities of the community. On
the contrary, local relevance is about raising the aspirations of the community to fulfil its maximum
potential. For example, training and work should be geared towards the future, including trends
like the Digital Economy, the Green Economy and the Care Economy, to help leapfrog these
communities towards the future of work. The G20 should deploy levers such as financial assistance
and digital skill-building to support vocational training institutions that improve the employability
of disadvantaged workers in these sectors of the future.
Another core feature of such initiatives must be empowerment. Empowerment of the individual
learners/workers, and also empowerment of the local institutions and local communities, with a
view to strengthening the entire local ecosystem. Therefore, collaboration and local-level social
dialogue are intertwined with empowerment. But policymakers must also ensure that the tools to
enable empowerment are available, for example through adequate access to digital infrastructure,
devices, content and skills, as well as high-quality learning and training materials and support.
In short, G20 governments possess a range of tools to support vocational training institutions in
their efforts to improve the employability of workers in informal sectors and under-represented
groups. Among the most powerful elements are financial assistance, future-relevant training
curricula (including digital and IT skills), and locally-relevant training models.
We especially welcome the G20 Employment Working Group’s collaborative approach in working with
the ILO and other relevant partners to ensure that lessons can be shared and learned from across the
world in designing and implementing successful solutions. We are grateful to be part of this process
and we signal and encourage the active support of the business community for such initiatives.
106
Improve social protection systems to provide access to adequate social protection for all,
including people with disabilities, women, youth, the self-employed, platform and own-
account workers.
While significant progress has been made worldwide in building social protection systems, many
informal workers, women, youth, the self-employed, and own-account workers remain excluded,
notably in developing countries. This became a clear issue during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the pandemic, an unprecedented number of social protection measures were

announced by countries worldwide. Policy adjustments and innovations include efforts to address
social protection gaps and to expand emergency support provision. China, for example, provided
temporary unemployment assistance for workers during the pandemic, meaning that unemployed
workers who do not normally meet the conditions for unemployment social insurance, such as
self-employed workers, could apply for unemployment assistance.141
The interventions made during the pandemic offer potential lessons to improve longer-term social
protection systems. The G20 can capitalize on this unique moment to share experiences across
countries, assess the performance of different policies, and draw up lessons for improved social
protection systems for the long term, and also in preparation for future employment shocks.
In light of the lessons learned from COVID-19, G20 member countries should develop sustainable
social protection systems in line with ILO recommendation 202.142
Support relevant work and learning opportunities for the physically disabled, and inclusion
of mental health programs at work, as well as enforcing international standards and work
practices on occupational health and safety.
Capitalize on the pandemic shock to ignite a new era of health, safety and disability inclusion
at work
Organizations that invest in occupational health and safety perform better, reduce turnover, and
help workers do their jobs more effectively. The COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to take
the health of their employees more seriously than ever before; reassessing the responsibilities of
employers to create a supportive and productive work experience, reassessing the importance of
employees supporting one another, and reassessing the role of workplace processes and cultures.
In this context, and with Long-COVID affecting millions of workers for the foreseeable future,
this taskforce applauds the G20 Employment Working Group’s focus on disability during the
Indonesian Presidency. We welcome the action-oriented intention to accelerate implementation of
the commitments made by the G20 Labor and Employment Ministers during the 2018 Argentinian
Presidency on this issue. Moreover, we keenly support and encourage the strong data-driven
approach brought by the OECD and other partners to this endeavour. Data and metrics will
141 ILO, OECD 2020. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on jobs and incomes in G20 economies. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/
groups/public/---dgreports/---cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_756331.pdf
142 ILO, 2012. R202 - Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202). Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLE
XPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:3065524
107
allow us to pinpoint urgent challenges and solutions, and to track the progress and effectiveness
of interventions. We also welcome the collaborative approach that has been taken, building on
the extensive work that the ILO and OECD have conducted on the topic of disability inclusion.
Data is all the more important due to the fact that persons with disabilities are a broad and
heterogenous group. Policy actions must be designed to take account of the diverse nature of
disabilities, across both physical and mental challenges, and the range of ways in which these
manifest themselves within individuals. Persons with disabilities face a number of intersectional
constraints and barriers to their integration into the workplace, from access to technologies,
skills and tools, to discrimination and a lack of representation. Moreover, the pandemic period
devastated the confidence and job security of the few disabled workers that were in employment,
compounding their exclusion from decent, good-quality jobs that can fully utilize their talents
and capabilities.
Looking ahead, many jobs held by the disabled are especially vulnerable to advances in automation
and robotics, increasing the urgency of focusing on skills development and jobs that are relevant
to the future, such as the Digital Economy, the Green Economy and the Care Economy. Therefore,
employment and industrial policies related to these sectors should include a disability lens; and
in turn, disability inclusion policies should include a future-jobs lens.
In government efforts to increase the hiring of persons with disabilities, it is important to explain
that there are strong business and economic arguments for doing so. Companies that ignore this
opportunity miss out on a hidden talent pool of tens of millions of workers (crucial in today’s
talent-starved markets), and research points to benefits through enhancements to innovation,
productivity and work environment. Increased hiring of the disabled leads to growth in employment,
income and consumption. For example, the GDP of the United States could get a boost of up to
US$25 billion if just 1 percent more persons with disabilities joined the US labor force.143 Clear
articulation of the benefits of disability inclusion can accelerate and multiply the realization of
those benefits and goals. Accenture’s analysis of US companies that excel in disability employment
and inclusion shows that these firms have superior financial performance than their less disability-
conscious peers; on average, they achieve 28% higher revenues, double the net income and 30
percent higher economic profit margins.144
Support the inclusion of mental health considerations into every organization’s workforce programs
Globally, an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression and anxiety, one of the leading
causes of disability. A 2019 WHO-led study estimates that depression and anxiety disorders
cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year in lost productivity.145 Unemployment is a well-
recognized risk factor for mental health problems, while finding work and returning to work have
the opposite effect.
143 Accenture, 2018. Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage. https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/pdf-89/accenture-disability-
inclusion-research-report.pdf
144 Idem
145 WHO. 2019. Mental health in the workplace. Retrieved September 23, 2020, from: https://www.who.int/men-tal_health/in_the_workplace/en/
108
Poor mental health is pervasive throughout society, and presents a barrier to employment. Large
numbers of talented, qualified people with mental health conditions are currently excluded from
workforces, often exacerbating their issues and depriving the economy and society of their
contributions.
Employment in a negative working environment can also lead to physical and mental health
problems, harmful use of substances or alcohol, absenteeism and lost productivity. In contrast,
workplaces that promote good mental health and support people with mental disorders are more
likely to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and benefit from associated economic gains.146
The mental health challenge has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. During the pandemic,
about 4 in 10 adults in the US reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder; a fourfold
rise from one in ten adults between January and June 2019.147 In Singapore, 20% of adults stated
that their mental health had deteriorated as of April 2020.148 We cannot yet know the degree to
which these COVID-related mental health issues will persist into the future, but the generally poor
levels of mental health treatment across G20 healthcare systems suggest that special efforts are
required to help the workfor¬ce return to pre-Covid mental health. Vulnerable groups and the
youth are at particular risk of long-term scarring effects. Without active intervention, effective
treatment and improved mental health practices, we can expect a significant and long-term blow
to overall workforce productivity and output.
G20 member countries must ensure that the recovery of post-pandemic mental health is prioritized,
and that both public and private organizations design supportive work environments that build
awareness of mental health issues among the broader workforce, and instil cultures and behaviors
that promote inclusion and integration of workers with mental health problems.
We propose capitalizing upon the Indonesian Presidency’s focus on disability inclusion to address
the specific issue of mental health as a priority for the G20, particularly in the aftermath of the
COVID-19 pandemic.

• Promote initiatives that target vulnerable workers who face significant barriers to accessing
work and learning opportunities, such as Community-Based Vocational Training.
• Improve social protection systems to provide access to adequate social protection for all,
including people with disabilities, women, youth, the self-employed, platform and own-account
workers.
• Support relevant work and learning opportunities for the physically disabled, and inclusion
of mental health programs at work, as well as enforcing international standards and work
practices on occupational health and safety.
146 WHO. 2020. Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/teams/mental-heal¬th-and-substance-use/mental-health-
in-the-workplace
147 United States Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey. 2020. Adults Reporting Symptoms of Anxiety or Depressive Disorder During COVID-19
Pandemic Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm
148 YouGov. 2020. Four in five Singaporeans prefer an isolation buddy. Retrieved from: https://sg.yougov.com/en-sg/news/2020/04/23/four-five-
singaporeans-prefer-isolation-buddy/
109
ANNEX
Acronyms
ALMPs Active Labor Market Policies

CBVT Community-Based Vocational Training
D&I Diversity and Inclusion
LTC Long-Term Care
VET Vocational Education and Training
Schedule of Taskforce Exchanges
# Date Event Location Theme

1 24 Feb 2022 Task Force Call 1 Virtual Review of 1st Draft
Policy Paper
2 31 Mar 2022 Task Force Call 2 Virtual Review of 2nd Draft
Policy Paper
3 27 Apr 2022 Task Force Call 3 Virtual Review of 3rd Draft
Policy Paper
4 25 May 2022 Task Force Call 4 Virtual Review of 4th Draft
Policy Paper
5 07 Jul 2022 Task Force Call 5 Virtual Review of last version
Draft Policy Paper
6 15 Aug 2022 B20-G20 Hybrid; Meeting with
Dialogue Yogyakarta Government
Stakeholders
7 13-14 Nov B20 Summit Hybrid; Bali Publication of TF
2022 Policy Paper
110
Distribution of Members
Country # Country # Country #

Argentina 5 Indonesia 49 Saudi Arabia 6
Australia 3 Italy 6 Singapore 1
Belgium 1 Japan 5 South Africa 1
Brazil 5 Malaysia 1 South Korea 2
Canada 3 Mexico 2 Spain 1
China 5 Netherlands 1 Sweden 1
Denmark 1 New Zealand 1 Switzerland 5
Egypt 1 Pakistan 1 Turkey 3
France 8 Poland 2 United Kingdom 5
Germany 2 Romania 1 United States 14
India 7 Russia 1 Total 150
Task Force Leadership
Name Company/Organization Country Deputy

Chair
Hamdhani PT Astra Otoparts, Tbk Indonesia Yusak
Dzulkarnaen Salim PT Astra International, Tbk Kristian
Solaeman
Deputy of the Chair
Yusak Kristian PT Astra Otoparts, Tbk Indonesia
Solaeman
Policy Manager
Tengku Dewi PT Astra International, Tbk Indonesia
Resmitasari
Co-Chairs
Ghadah Al-Arifi Princess Nourah University, Saudi Arabia Lama
Cella Professional Women Altoaimy
Network
Dan Bryant Walmart United States of Christian
America Gomez
Cas Coovadia Business Unity South South Africa
Africa (BUSA),
The Banking Association
South Africa
111
Renate International Organization Germany Paul Noll

Hornung-Draus of Employers (IOE),
International Labor
Organization (ILO)
Daniel Funes de Argentine Industrial Argentina Pablo
Rioja Employers Chamber (UIA), Dragun
Food Industry Chamber
(COPAL)
David Iakobachvili Russian Union of Russia Marina
Industrialists and Moskvina
Entrepreneurs, ORION
HERITAGE Co, Ltd
Michele Parmelee International Organization Switzerland Matthias
of Employers (IOE), Thorns
Deloitte
Zhu, Hongren China Enterprise China Niu,
Confederation Zhiqiang
Coordination Group
Function Name Company/Organization

Project Heliana Adiwinata PT Astra Otoparts, Tbk
Management
Office Hanna Carissa PT Astra Otoparts, Tbk
Armen Ovanessoff Accenture

Debby Alishinta Accenture
Knowledge Partner
Elena Ginting Accenture
Rina Puspita Accenture
International Organization of
Network Partner Matthias Thorns
Employers (IOE)
Taskforce Members
Name Company/Organization Title Country

Saudi
Abdullah Almojel GLOBAL DIMENSION President
Arabia
Astra NTN Driveshaft
Abun Gunawan President Director Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesian Embassy in
Adam Tugio Ambassador Indonesia
Pakistan
School of Business and
Ade Febransyah Economics, Universitas Associate Professor Indonesia
Prasetiya Mulya
112
Ade Tarya Hidayat ASPAKI Executive Director Indonesia

Public Policy and
Concordia Employers
Adelina Dabu International Affairs Romania
Confederation
Senior Advisors
PT Century Battery
Agus Baskoro President Director Indonesia
Indonesia
PT. Menara Terus Mak-
Agus Yarman President Director Indonesia
mur
Agustin Velazquez AVA Firm, SC Managing Partner Mexico
Agustinus Edhi PT. FSCM Manufacturing
President Director Indonesia
Sulistiyanto Indonesia
CEO Senior Saudi
Aisha Izzet Takamol
Executive Advisor Arabia
AK.Hadi Tan PT. GS Battery President Director Japan
Aloysius Budi PT Astra International Chief of Corporate
Indonesia
Santoso Tbk Human Capital Dev
Ambre Naija The Sparklink Agency Founder and Chair France
PT Suryaraya Rubberin-
Anang Nilanto President Director Indonesia
do Industries
Microsoft Corporation United
Anant Maheshwari President
India Pvt Ltd States
PT Astra Otopart Chief Operation
Andi Gunanto Indonesia
Nusametal Division Officer
Andi Tenriani CV. Menara Gunung Sari Director Indonesia
SHRM, the Society
Policy Engagement United
Andrew Aragon for Human Resource
Advisor States
Management
United
Andri Pratiwa PT Shell Indonesia Managing Director
Kingdom
Ángel Machado Argentine Chamber of
Director Argentina
Angel Commerce and Services
Managing Director
Annemarie Muntz Randstad Labor Market Netherlands
Strategy
Antonio Capaldo TrenDevice S.p.A. CEO Italy
Ardantya Syahreza Persada Medika Raya Deputy Director Indonesia
Arif Havas Kedutaan Besar Repub-
Duta Besar LBBP Indonesia
Oegroseno lik Indonesia
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PT Velasto Indonesia President Director Indonesia
Nugraha
Indian economic trade
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Behavioral Management Saudi

Basmah Omair Founder/CEO
Consulting Arabia
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International
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Dharma Karunia)
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David Barnes IBM Corporation Global Workforce
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Coatz Argentina
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Almojel Arabia
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Indonesia
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Elizabeth Yu Professor/Director China
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Erlan Krisnaring PT Astra Daihatsu Motor Vice President Indonesia
Isuzu Astra Motor Vice President
Ernando Demily Indonesia
Indonesia Director
114
Santa Farma
Pharmaceuticals Chairman & CEO /
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Organisation of IOE
Employers IOE
PT Garuda Metalindo
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Tbk
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ABIT - Associação
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as Apprenticeship
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publiques
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GA
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Head of United
Matthew Devlin Uber
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Manager
Michael Lee CreBiz Fsctory CEO South Korea
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Indonesian Outsourcing
Association (IOA)
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Humber Institute of Business
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New
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Zealand
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ADVANCING

FUTURE OF WORK AND

Recommendations: Executive Summary 07

G20 Implementation Progress 17

Recommendation 1: Supporting post-pandemic 19

Recommendation 2: Upgrading education and 55

Recommendation 3: Ensuring that workforce 86

FOREWORD BY THE TASK FORCE CHAIR

FOREWORDS BY THE TASK FORCE CO-CHAIRS

The B20 Future of Work and Education Task Force has

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated considerations

The importance of the B20 Future of Work and Education

FOREWORDS BY THE TASK FORCE CO-CHAIRS

Growth and employment are key for eradicating poverty,

The future of work in the face of new challenges, such as a

In times of great uncertainty, the B20 has a significant role

TASK FORCE COORDINATION GROUP

DEPUTY CHAIR POLICY MANAGER

Yusak Kristian Tengku Dewi

KNOWLEDGE PARTNER NETWORK PARTNER

Taking Responsibility to Support the Hardest Hit

Revitalizing Productivity for Sustainable, Resilient Growth

Keeping Pace with Technology

Keeping Pace with the Green Economy

Keeping Pace with New Ways of Working

Upgrading Education to Match Future Realities

Accelerating Lifelong Learning

Building a Future of Work that is People-Centred, and Supported by Enabling Technologies

Collaborating to Anticipate, Plan and Act

A Commitment to Action and Implementation

G20 IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS

Recommendation 1 is primarily aligned to SDG 8.3 on “promoting development-oriented policies

G20 INDONESIA PRIORITY IMPACT

Context on the need to enable growth, job creation and entrepreneurship

1 to 9 Employees 10 to 294 Employees 250+ Employees Unallocated by firm size

Source: OECD. 2021. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/97a5bbfe-en/1/3/1/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/97a5bbfe-en&_csp_=d1fc5ac

Exploration of Action Areas

Providing support to overcome entrepreneur and SME indebtedness

Providing incentives and support to operate internationally

10 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/dde13fd1-en/index.html?itemId=/content/

promotion strategy, and should therefore be prioritized for implementation by governments as

Exhibit 2 | SMEs lag in digital adoption, in all technology areas

Supplier-customer Customer relationship

E-commerce Cloud computing

Radio frequency identification

Small Medium Large

17 OECD. 2021. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2021. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/706b5701-en/index.html?itemId=/content/

Promoting the growth of SMEs and entrepreneurs through innovation resources

Administrative and legislative barriers that encumber the establishment of businesses

18 OECD. 2018. Oslo Manual. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/oslo-manual-2018-info.pdf

Exhibit 3 | Time required to start a business, number of days, 2019

21 The World Bank Doing Business 2020, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/32436/9781464814402.pdf

23 OECD. 2020. Entrepreneurship360: Skills for Entrepreneurship Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/entrepreneurship360-skills-

24 European Commission, Entrepreneurship in Education. 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/BGP_Entrepreneurship-in-Education.

Support entrepreneurship skill-building among under-represented groups

G20 member countries should therefore:

Context on changing ways of working

Context on changing ways of working

32 OECD, 2021. Teleworking in the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/teleworking-in-the-COVID-19-pandemic-

Exploration of Action Areas

Promote safe, productive online/hybrid work whilst mitigating associated risks

capability and resilience of the communications infrastructure, and contribute to bridge

2. Surmount Cultural and Legal Hurdles

3. Mitigate Potential Side Effects