Mastercard and Bayes Impact partner to launch Future of Work initiative in France
November 24, 2020 | ParisProgram will focus on providing digital lifelong learning resources to underserved workers
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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Note to editors
To date, Bayes Impact technology is primarily used to provide such advice to unemployed jobseekers in France. Over 250,000 jobseekers have benefited from Bob’s coaching, with 90% of beneficiaries finding the coaching ‘useful’ and 40% of those successfully securing a job, suggesting Bob’s help was crucial to their achievements.
The project’s primary objective is to build on Bayes Impact’s demonstrable success in the jobseeker segment of the French labour market and expand its focus to the broader population, especially low wage and low mobility workers, via a new online career coaching platform for lifelong learning.
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About the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs and empower a community of thinkers, leaders and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on Twitter, @CNTR4growth, LinkedIn and subscribe to its newsletter.
About Bayes Impact
Bayes Impact is an NGO founded in the Silicon Valley in 2014. Its mission is to empower people at scale by building citizen-led public services.
Bayes Impact has led multiple projects throughout the world, ranging from helping micro-finance institutions operating in Africa, to launching an online platform in partnership with the Department of Justice in California to collect police use-of-force data from more than 800 police agencies. To slow down COVID-19 infection rate, Bayes Impact also recently worked with French Health Administration to build a “private by design” and user centric solution to ease the process of manual contact-tracing.
It was the first NGO to be allowed access to the data from Pôle Emploi, the French national employment agency, to create Bob, an AI employability coach. Bob was launched in November 2016 and has helped 250 000 jobseekers to date.
About RSA
The RSA (the royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce) is an independent charity, committed to a future that works for everyone. A future where we can all participate in its creation.
The RSA has been at the forefront of significant social impact for over 260 years. Our proven change process, rigorous research, innovative ideas platform and diverse global community of more than 30,000 problem solvers, deliver solutions for lasting change.
Legally, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (‘RSA’) is a Royal Charter Company and registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 212424) and in Scotland (charity number SC037784).
About Mastercard (UK)
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.
