The microwork study was initiated by Toronto Workforce Innovation Group (TWIG) in September 2019. TWIG is part of Workforce Planning Ontario, the network of 26 planning boards is funded by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. Each board is as individual as the community it serves. However, the network also works together to identify and plan for fast-growing sectors.

TWIG maintains a focus on the technology industry. In Toronto, new jobs are emerging through infotech and biotech advances. New forms of work are the result of globalization and socio-economic change. According to the City of Toronto, full-time employment grew more slowly than the city average, adding 31,930 jobs (2.8%) from 2018 to 2019. Part-time employment added 14,980 jobs (4.0%). Trends point to a long-term increase in part-time employment in Toronto. 

You might be familiar with gig-work and the sharing economy. Yet many people are unfamiliar with microwork. It is an outsourcing method that shifts jobs to many isolated tasks. A microworker takes on a variety of different HITs from many sources through an internet platform. Two of the leading microwork platforms are Figure Eight and Amazon Turk. They represent a marketplace where outsourcing clients post tasks for microworkers.

If you haven’t heard of microwork, try bringing it up in conversation. You are likely to find that you know someone – or someone who knows someone – who does.