The sector of the Knowledge Economy itches in point in employment, exports and international insertion. But keep on facing the lack of awareness of its relevance internally. That is why the Ministry of Knowledge Economy launched the first fair in the sector, the EconArfor bring these vanguard sectors closer to the population.
The activities included in the knowledge economy today represent the third exporting sector of Argentina, in addition to generating jobs with above-average paywith high international insertion and demand for qualified labor.
The sector has 450,000 registered jobs, as indicated by the Secretariat of Knowledge Economy, which represents almost a third of industrial employment. This also overlaps with the fact that these activities have relative Easy to enter the foreign market.
Rapier poses a problem for local businesses looking to employ workersoffers the latter the ease of sell your services abroad, which is a challenge for the government that promoted the so-called technological monotribute. This regime offers billing categories in dollars for those who sell their services abroad and emphasizes that it does not exclude technology sectors, but includes other knowledge-based activities, such as scriptwriters.
Argentina is also at the Vanguard in several of the activities included in the Knowledge Economy. In bio and nano technology it is among the 15 most relevant countries, is leader in technology applied to the field and generates exports for US$900 million.
However, from the Knowledge Economy Secretariat highlight that the knowledge about the activity is little. “The goal is for society to know what is being done,” says the secretary, Ariel Sujarchuk.
That is why the portfolio announced the launch of the fair EconArthe first Knowledge Economy fair to be held on Next March 17, 18 and 19 at the Rural property with free admission where about 100 companies will exhibit, software entrepreneurs and startups, bio and nanotechnology, aerospace and satellite, videogames, audiovisual and technology-enabled professional services from across the country will participate with interactive spaces, immersive experiences and collaborative workshops.
We understand that in general society does not quite know what is happening in this area. The sector yes, but the vast majority of people do not. Even the growth of the sector is below the radar. What the cameras were saying is that we need this to be known more,” added Sujarchuk.
The sector also presents its own characteristics that make it more flexible to become federalized and have a gender perspective. In Argentina Program 4.0, the training scheme promoted by the Ministry of Economy, 50% of those enrolled are women. This program was also adapted from the original meeting the demand of the private sector to orient training towards the labor market.
And also, especially due to its salary levels, the federalization of the activity stands out: “There has been a paradigm shift from the pandemic that is teleworking,” said the director of Argencon, Luis Galeazzi.
“Before, they had to move to the cities to work in large companies. Today you can work from small places in different areas. That has generated the interest of local governments because that generates local economy”.
Grace Ciccia, founder of the Argentine Chamber of Biotechnology, also highlighted the development of her sector and the proliferation of startups in the field: “We became fashionable due to Covid-19. Now we want to celebrate that there is a possibility of employment, of knowledge, there is an empowerment of women, 50% of the founders of startups are women”. She also added that the Chamber was joined by companies from Chile, Brazil and Uruguay.
Technological monotribute and employment
One of the central difficulties of the sector is that of retain laborwhich has the possibility of selling its services abroad and invoice in dollars and get salaries that the sector points out are difficult to achievemainly due to the exchange rate.
In response to professionals who sell services abroad and look for ways to bring dollars into the country avoiding going through the official exchange rate, The Government promoted the technology monotribute projecta measure that does not have broad support from the business sector but offers a possible solution for the independents.
“It is a necessary tool that some do not like. In the disagreements we have reached some consensus. The first is that the State has to give the citizen a legal billing tool. It’s not that we don’t know what’s going on. He comes to correct what is currently happening. Today workers are paid in the dark, in crypto or offshore. We provide a legal tool,” said Sujarchuk when asked about it.
The monotribute project is still pending to be dealt with in Congress, although it already has a commission opinion. The project proposes that those who invoice can have free availability of currency up to US$30,000 per year as long as they invoice in one of the following categories.
- Category 1: will include those taxpayers who export up to US$10,000 per year, that is, an average of US$833 per month, equivalent to US$295,000 at the MEP dollar price updated on Wednesday, January 25.
- Category 2: it will be for those who invoice up to US$20,000 per year, that is, an average of US$1,666 per month. In pesos at MEP value it would mean around $590,000.
- Category 3: will be the highest, enabled up to an annual billing of US$30,000, that is, US$2,500 per month or $885,000 at the MEP price.
Another of the possible solutions offered by the Government to companies is that of freely dispose of 30% of the surplus exported in dollars and 20% of new markets. Last year from the sector they announced that with these funds they would pay a bonus in dollars to the workers, but that it became impossible to translate it into salary due to the lack of continuity of income. The measure has been in force since January of this year and is calculated based on the difference with the previous quarter.
Sujarchuk, however, did not rule out advancing in new labor relations schemes given the dynamics expressed by this sector, although he stressed that all conversations will be carried out with the corresponding unions.
Source: Ambito
