“Never waste a good crisis.” I once heard. And looks like COVID-19 could just be the nudge for getting late adopters of technology on their digitalization journey. Because despite hearing how the pandemic is killing off many businesses and jobs, there’s also job creation due to the virus. 

In Singapore, it started off with the government needing to hire thousands of safe distancing ambassadors to check on the safe distancing measures of the public and businesses. They enforce proper queue management, mask wearing and group gatherings that’s now been regulated due to COVID. Then, the healthcare system started to get weighed down by the thousands of infections from our migrant worker population. So massive hiring of test swabbers and swab assistants were needed. This was well paid as it carried the job and health hazards of being in daily interaction with COVID patients. 

And now the latest wave of new jobs are digital ambassadors, who are needed to impart digital skills to seniors and to hawkers. The pandemic had definitely marginalized folks who don’t have or don’t know how to access technology, like Zoom. The authorities are now hunkering down on ensuring these vulnerable groups are not left behind, with digital ambassadors who will teach seniors how to use smart phones and make video calls, and also help hawkers adopt digital payments for their business. For years, payment companies and the government had been trying to get our hawkers and seniors to adopt these technologies, but now, with COVID restricting contact, the need is not just good-to-have but dire and urgent.

That’s why the Chinese words for crisis contain the word for opportunity as well. Never waste a good crisis. Bad as it seems, this pandemic is also pushing what might be years or decades of slow tech adoption forward into today. 

Opportunities in crisis.