🤖 Gen Z most concerned about AI jobs. Global data centre capacity rose. Independent worker pay regionally.

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Singapore is upskilling for a sustainable, tech-savvy workforce. Enginuity launches £80,000 funding programme to support excluded learners. West Coast Launches NZ’s First Fully Coordinated Rural Generalist Training Hub. USSH partners with GIZ in a regional AI training initiative.

India’s Union Budget 2026 prioritizes funding to expand technology education and strengthen digital skills capacity. Philippines BPOs upskill workers to combat AI. Pakistan and China signed an agreement to strengthen TVET in Pakistan and align it with global market needs.

In today's newsletter:

💼 Workforce. Independent worker pay varied by region
🤖 Artificial Intelligence. AI job loss anxiety highest among Gen Z
🏭 Advanced Manufacturing. Installed data centre capacity has increased in the past two decades

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💼 Independent worker pay varied by region

North America led in hourly pay for independent workers in 2023, with $56, nearly $30 ahead of Western Europe. While independent workers offer various specialised services ranging from food delivery to graphic designing and financial services, the demand for high-ticket independent services persists in North America, whilst regions such as Asia comprise more gig based service partners, such as delivery riders, denominated by lower pay, mainly via e-commerce platforms predominantly in India and China. However, this region is also showcasing growing demand for more freelance services in more technical areas such as IT, marketing and finance.

🤖 AI job loss anxiety highest among Gen Z

Respondents from the boomer generation claimed to fear AI replacing their jobs the least, in contrast to the Gen Z respondents, reflecting an interesting sentiment around AI taking over jobs. This could largely be due to the different occupational requirements within these generations. Prior generations were more focused on labour intensive and skill oriented occupations, riding the wave of the late industrial revolution. Meanwhile, current occupations are vastly connected to technology and the internet. While opinions on AI’s impact on remains diverged, the rapid rise in popularity of AI has prompted more upskilling for the modern workforce to keep up with the rapid growth and integration of the technology.

🏭 Installed data centre capacity has increased in the past two decades

Data centre capacity has grown nearly fivefold since 2005, reflecting the rise in the technological requirements of data processing as technology evolved exponentially in this period. While major investments by hyperscaling tech firms are being made to further expand capacity, concerns around the locations of these facilities have come under scrutiny. Since data centres consume large amounts of energy and water, while emitting large levels of industrial noise, has prompted growing concerns from residents of these neighbourhoods about the negative impact on their neighbourhoods due to unsupervised expansion.

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