Program will focus on providing digital lifelong learning resources to underserved workers
Paris, 24 November 2020. Today, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and Bayes Impact announced the creation and testing of an innovative and scalable digital lifelong learning program that will deliver career coaching opportunities to underserved workers.
The project builds on Bayes Impact’s digital coaching technology, ‘Bob,’ which uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalized advice to jobseekers, drawing on accurate and relevant local labour market data via a partnership with the French government. The new platform will be rolled-out through a robustly evaluated pilot that will target 100,000 users in total, drawing on pre-existing relationships with the French administration and government.
The Center is funding this work as part of its global commitment to support future of work initiatives that provide resources for low-income and low-mobility workers. Bayes Impact was identified by Mastercard France’s team and through RSA’s Economic Security Impact Accelerator, a Center backed initiative designed to support changemakers developing innovative solutions that tackle inclusive growth and the economic security of UK workers.
Not all workers are equally equipped to navigate and take advantage of the profound transformations that shape the future of work. In particular, low-wage and low-mobility workers are the most vulnerable to technological change and the current Covid-19 pandemic will only exacerbate challenges to finding and securing jobs that offer financial security and economic mobility. In France, the policy environment has recently shifted towards a more personalized approach to lifelong learning through the Compte Personnel de Formation.
Because the future of employment is everyone’s business, it is necessary to build a holistic ecosystem that involves diverse partners. That is why Mastercard, Bayes Impact and RSA invite players from all sectors to join this project to catalyze scalable and sustainable social impact.
“It’s critical that we recognize how the future of workers is evolving. While AI and automation could displace millions of workers, they also offer an opportunity to create tools that could empower workers with the support they need to navigate the changing labor market,” said Payal Dalal, Senior Vice President, Social Impact, International Markets, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “That’s why this partnership with RSA and Bayes Impact is so important. Together, we are creating assets for low-income and low-mobility workers to succeed in the digital economy.”
“Data has an important role to play in supporting job reconversion but is largely underused,” said Solveig Honoré Hatton, General Manager Mastercard France “It is a mine of information which, if used with the right tools and decency, can make a major contribution to employability and therefore to financial security. But we can’t succeed alone. Proximity is also one of the pillars of the project’s success since nothing will be feasible if a relationship of trust is not established. Because this is a very innovative and promising project in which we believe, we invite our partners in France from the financial sector to contribute to its success.”
This project is part of the Digital Country Partnership announced in January 2020 by Mastercard, committing to help 5 million French citizens fight economic insecurity by 2025.
“In the current economic context in France, and more broadly in Europe, providing upskilling tools and strategies to workers will be key to the economic recovery and sustainable prosperity of our societies in the upcoming decade,” Paul Duan, Founder and President of Bayes Impact. Bayes Impact is proud to work with Mastercard to launch this project and we hope that other financial organizations will join us to build the future of work.”
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