Books and Papers
Platform-Led Upskilling: Marketplace Platforms as a Source of Livelihoods Training
With the support of
Platform-led upskilling is training that marketplace platforms provide to vendors and self-employed workers, outside of an employer-employee relationship. Based on expert interviews with 15 heterogenous platforms, this study identifies platform-led upskilling as a practice worthy of further programmatic and research attention from the technology and development community. It identifies three broad approaches to platform-led upskilling (face-to-face, online, and in-workflow training moments) and several content types (platform proficiencies, financial and digital literacies, vocation-specific skills, and soft skills). This kind of training is important to current debates about digitization and the future of work because some platform-led upskilling aims to teach portable, lifelong skills, bringing platforms into the broader education landscape and potentially strengthening the social contract between platforms and vendors/workers. However, the scale at which platform-led upskilling will impact individuals and markets remains undetermined and needs further research.
Areas of Expertise
