GIG ECONOMY AND GIG WORKERS IN HIGH DEMAND!! – DR SHASHANK M HIREMATH

Dear Readers,

Greetings to everyone!! I would like to share an interesting development happening around us silently, and massively. It is about the 'GIG economy'. A gig is a job that lasts for a particular time duration, as long as the project life cycle exists, or as long as the company has a specific assignment. At the end of this article, I have mentioned the details of several Gig jobs available in India, cost of education, expected salaries etc. Just give 10 minutes of your time and read through this article which could change the lives of someone you know.

What are Gig Jobs?

In the 2000s, the digitalization of the economy and industry was carried out rapidly due to the development of information and communication technologies, such as the Internet and the popularization of smart phones. As a result, on-demand platforms (ODP) based on digital technology have created jobs and employment formats which are completely different from existing offline transactions by the level of accessibility, convenience and price competitiveness. Nearly, 36% of U.S. workers join in the gig economy through either their primary or secondary jobs.

 

Gig economy in India

In India, there are about 3 million (30 lakhs) gig workers. There are temporary workers including independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers and on-call workers. The number is certainly small if one were to compare it with India’s 500 million workers. However, the good part is that an estimated 56% of new employment is generated by the gig world.

 

Gig workers in India

Delivery boys, cleaners, consultants, bloggers, etc are part of the gig economy. For example: Uber, Ola, Zomato, Swiggy etc, are all part of this labour platform. As the work is job-specific, workers have the flexibility to work for more than one contractor and choose the hours of work. This has encouraged women in labour force participation.

Indian cities with highest number of blue-collar workers - related to 'Gig Economy' is shown below:

Projected gross volume of the Gig Economy is shown below:

Global Scenario of Gig Work

A global survey of platform companies found that there are about 180 platform companies valued at $4.5 trillion. For example: Uber not only provides taxi rental services, but also has Uber Eats, a food delivery service. There are other related benefits. People are using apps such as Google Pay and Amazon Pay for buying goods and services. Even in advanced economies like Singapore, studies show that the advent of the gig economy has led to an increase in credit card sales.

 

Benefits of Gig Economy

The lower price of service associated with the gig economy has generated consumer surplus, which can be spent on other sectors, with a multiplier effect on income and employment generation. Taxi services by, say, Uber and Ola, have reduced taxi fares in major cities in India. There has been a reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents and traffic congestion. Carpool and car-sharing have environmental benefits, as they contribute to a lower carbon footprint.

 

No Entry Barriers

Anyone and everyone can participate from anywhere. This has led to a demand for bloggers, researchers and consultants from developing countries such as India, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Their returns have gone up, as they are getting paid in dollars. There are also no barriers based on caste, religion, gender and location.

 

COVID-19 has impacted everybody

The beginning of the year 2020 saw the spread of COVID-19 pandemic across the world. India went into a nationwide lockdown from 24 March 2020 and a subsequent phase-wise unlocking from 1 June 2020. Among all the other sectors that were immensely impacted by the pandemic, even the platform economy and On-demand gig workers were impacted.

 

Future of Gig Economy

Companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are now investing in start-ups, and even training workers, to make the best use of the online market. Several gig workers are the ones who are displaced from their earlier occupation because of online competition. For instance, does a cab driver or a delivery boy who earlier used to run a retail shop, is now in this profession because their shops got closed because of the platform economy. During initial years when Uber was operating, there were stories of software professionals leaving their jobs and working as Uber drivers. However, these days, the men in this profession complain that the reward has gone down substantially. On an average every month close to 1 million Indians are entering the labour market. Wage rates for the low-skilled gig workers, like the delivery boys are likely to remain stagnant if not go down further.

Who can work as Gigs?

Students

Professionals

Homemakers

Jobs, Qualifications & Duration of the course:

1. Web Designers - B.Sc in Multimedia and Web Design (3 years), Diploma in Web Designing & Software Development (2 years), Certificate Course in Web Designing (18 months to 2 years)
2. Catalogue Specialists - Bachelor's / Master’s degree in Operations, Business, Project Management, Engineering (2 to 3 years)
3. Content Writers - Bachelor's / Master's degree in Journalism or Literature but degree holders in other specializations are also eligible (2 to 3 years)
4. Digital Research Specialists - Bachelor's Degree in business, marketing, or statistics preferred (2 to 3 years)
5. Digital Marketing Specialists – Bachelor’s / Master's Degree in Digital Marketing, BBA or MBA in Digital Marketing (2 to 3 years)
6. Machine Learning & AI Analysts - PG Diploma in Machine Learning and AI (12 months), PGP in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (1 to 2 years), M.Tech in Data Science and Machine Learning (2 years)
7. Coders - Bachelor's / Master’s degree in Coding & Programming (2 to 3 years)
8. App Developers - Certificate in Mobile App Development (12 months), PG Diploma in Mobile App Development (2 years)
9. Data Analysts – PG Diploma​ ​in​ ​Business Analytics​ (2 years), M.Sc Data Analytics (2 years)
10. Cyber Security Analysts – B.Tech / M.Tech. in Cyber Security (2 to 3 years), PG Diploma in Information System Security (2 years)

 

Cost of Education:

1. Web Designers – 2 to 5 lakhs p.a.
2. Catalogue Specialists – 1.5 to 2 lakhs p.a.
3. Content Writers – 10 thousand to 2 lakhs p.a.
4. Digital Research Specialists – 1.5 to 4 lakhs p.a.
5. Digital Marketing Specialists – 2 to 4 lakhs p.a.
6. Machine Learning & AI Analysts – 3 to 5 lakhs p.a.
7. Coders – 50 thousand to 2 lakhs p.a.
8. App Developers – 10 thousand to 1 lakh p.a.
9. Data Analysts – 3 to 5 lakhs p.a.
10. Cyber Security Analysts – 4 to 6 lakhs p.a.

 

Expected Salary:

1. Web Designers – 3 to 5 lakhs p.a.
2. Catalogue Specialists – 2 to 14 lakhs p.a.
3. Content Writers – 3 to 8 lakhs p.a.
4. Digital Research Specialists – 4 to 9 lakhs p.a.
5. Digital Marketing Specialists – 3 to 6 lakhs p.a.
6. Machine Learning & AI Analysts – 8 to 15 lakhs p.a.
7. Coders – 3 to 10 lakhs p.a.
8. App Developers – 4 to 10 lakhs p.a.
9. Data Analysts – 3 to 9 lakhs p.a.
10. Cyber Security Analysts – 5 to 11 lakhs p.a.

 

Useful Websites for finding Gig Jobs are as follows:

1. https://in.indeed.com/Gig-Jobs-jobs-in-Bangalore,-Karnataka 

2. https://www.snypjobs.com/gig-jobs-bangalore.html

3. https://www.shine.com/job-search/work-from-home-jobs-in-bangalore

4. https://www.naukri.com/gig-jobs?k=gig

5. https://www.monsterindia.com/srp/results?query=gig&searchId=442b7b0e-bca9-4145-b239-8b2fb88af0ab

Going forward gig economy is expected to expand and it would help many individuals to take up the jobs of their choice. Obviously, the probability of it's success or failure in future depends upon the global, national and regional market conditions.

Kindly share this article with your family and friends.

Thanks for your valuable time!!

Best regards, 

Dr. Shashank M Hiremath,

Associate Professor, Sindhi Institute of Management,

Kempapura, Hebbal, Bengaluru-24

Ph: 9845239036, Email: shashankmh2000@gmail.com

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Ydp53iTxiGnO-1rSAz-qA

DISCLAIMER:

I am NOT a SEBI registered advisor. Investment or Trading in Securities Market is subject to market risk, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. None of the content published on my YouTube Channel, Blogger site etc constitute a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.