Summary: the internet is a rich source of knowledge and opportunity, but most people use it mainly for leisure activities like communicating, shopping, checking news or social media. High quality online learning resources and productivity-enhancing software tools are in abundance, which can help people learn new skills and new ways of making a living. And many of these resources or platforms are free or very low-cost. But many people either do not know where to look or have not considered learning or making a living in this way.
Resources and online tools exist that teach people how to setup a basic website, how to code, setup an online shop, better serve customers, take online payment or create and sell manufactured products on-demand. These resources and tools are not just for technology-oriented businesses, they can also boost the productivity and prospects of tradespeople, home and vehicle service providers, personal care providers, clean energy providers, bricks-and-mortar retailers and more. Technology can enable and create opportunity across all parts of the economy if only people had the knowledge and the confidence to embrace it. COVID-19 has accelerated the decline of old industries and old opportunities. Technology is the way to accelerate the growth of new opportunities.
The proposal is that The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy curates the best online resources and tools into a simple website with links to third party content and then launches an awareness campaign to inspire young people to self-learn, self-start and thrive in the new economy like never before.
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Creating enough well-paid and high-quality jobs has been a long-term problem in the UK for the past few decades. It started with the decline of heavy industry and the shift to a service-led economy. While those in financial and professional services have generally thrived, many outside this sector and particularly outside urban centres like London have been left behind by the pace of change. Some argue that the UK has an over-supply of university graduates and a lack of focus on vocational training and apprenticeships while low levels of productivity and the growth of precarious zero-hours jobs have been of particular focus in the past decade.
Knowledge is a key long-term driver of human progress. But gaining knowledge is too often assumed to be something that only happens in schools or universities or is something that needs to cost a lot of money. While traditional education still has a role to play, we are still barely scratching the surface of the potential of online learning. What does this look like? Datacamp teaches people data science skills. Udemy offers online courses in coding, Excel, drawing and cloud computing. Twitter is much maligned, but contains vibrant communities of entrepreneurs, investors and ordinary people with websites, newsletters and Tweets packed with information and knowledge sharing.
And what about the software tools that are powering the new economy? Tools like Shopify enable people to setup a shop and sell online. Stripe enables people to easily collect payments and manage subscriptions. Amazon and Etsy provide marketplaces to sell goods. Patreon and Substack allow people to build online communities, e-magazines and newsletters. Mailchimp allows people to manage online email campaigns to communicate with customers and leads. WordPress enables people to build a website without code. TaskRabbit and Helpling find work for freelance handymen and cleaners while TopTal and 99Designs provides freelance job opportunities for developers, designers and accountants. Printify allows custom t-shirts and products to be created and sold with no expensive setup costs.
This isn’t just about technology-oriented businesses. Almost every business can benefit from applying technology to existing business processes. These things might seem minor but can lead to significant productivity gains for any small business, be it a dog walker, a window cleaner or a plumber. Many people still pay in cash, organise appointments over the phone, have complicated or paper-based application forms or don’t have basic customer databases. Businesses that make life easier for customers and reduce administrative work can thrive while the growth of more personalised products and services and the growth of independent retailers, cafes, bars and fitness centres can both reinvigorate our hollowed-out high streets and provide new opportunities for the young.
There is sometimes a stigma or perceived risk about entrepreneurship in the UK, but the internet is making it easier than ever to take the plunge and the collapse of old industries and jobs means the need for a change in mindset and a boom in high-quality, small-scale self-employment is greater than ever. This shift is already evident in the young. Growing up as digital natives, 54% of Generation Z want to start-up their own company based on research from Nielsen. Government should help point our young people in the right direction, help them to learn about the new economy and encourage them to thrive and seek out opportunity like no generation ever before.
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