How Reskilling Can Soften the Economic Blow of Covid-19

During any economic contraction, there will be some industries that actually expand and require more workers. So a key to softening the social impact of a downturn is to quickly reskill workers so they can move to new industries. In the early months of 2020, millions of workers worldwide were laid off as the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered entire industries. Yet not all industries suffered contractions: the healthcare sector, for instance, saw demand grow, as did schools, in some parts of the world, and online retail.  In Sweden, a consortium of private companies and organizations in the public sector made this challenging labor shift happen in a matter of a few weeks. Airlines reskilled flight attendants as nurses and service workers from restaurants and hotels were trained to work in nursing homes. All countries should consider such rapid reskilling programs to soften the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic.