Key Expert - ETF - New Forms of Work and Platform Work in SEMED

Overall description of the service requested
The research will explore changing patterns of work triggered by enhanced digitalisation and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the 9 SEMED countries – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine2 and Israel, focusing particularly on online freelancing and platform work. Specific attention will be paid to the impact of the developments on school-to work-transition patterns of young people as well as job-to-job transitions for both youths and adults.
The project will focus on investigating:
■ The importance of new flexible working arrangements, in particular online freelancing and platform work, in the overall labour market, by analysing the scale and the nature of labour and skills demand, organisational models, profiles of online and platform jobs, profiles of online and platform workers and the career and in-work skills development options.
■ Opportunities and challenges driven by the new forms of employment and their implications for the regulatory and institutional setting, aiming at decent job creation, inclusiveness, and skills formation, development and utilisation, notably for youth and women.

The expected results of the service are the following:
■ Overview of the changing patterns of work triggered by enhanced digitalisation and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the new flexible working arrangements, in particular online freelancing and platform work, placed within wider economic and labour market trends in the region, together with an assessment of the relevance of the existing institutional and policy frameworks;
■ Stocktaking and analysis of relevant evidence on online demand for work, freelancing and platform work, including mapping current online platforms and other business models in the region (web-based and on-location) and their demand for labour and skills in SEMED region;
■ Reflection on the key policy developments and further implications of the new trends in the SEMED region, with particular focus on youth and women employment and skills development interventions.

Team/expertise required

The team composition should mobilise international and country-specific expertise relevant to the assignment in area of the labour market and skills research, impact of digitalisation and other trends on labour markets, new skills demand, skills development, online/platform work, and new/atypical forms of work, youth employment, etc. The team profiles will refer to reports, articles and research projects relevant for the contract.