The Client:
Charles B. Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative
The business challenge - How can RIWI increase their enrollment numbers?
Which of the following would discourage you from enrolling in a training or certificate program?
The majority of respondents were concerned that they would not make enough money.
Exploration and Discovery
Quantitative research objective: to determine people's attitude toward trade/vocational educational programs.
Qualitative research objective: to discover what motivates our audience to choose their career path.
What do you value most in a job/career?
Millennials and Gen Z respondents both ranked salary/benefits among their top priorities.
What motivates our audience to choose their career path?
"I'm not picky about the job I have, as long as I have enough money to pay for my lifestyle."
-Peter L., age 27
"What motivates me to work is financial stability and the ability to take care of my family."
- Alex L., age 30
Describe what you consider to be a low-level job.
"In terms of education, low-level jobs typically do not require advanced degrees or specialized knowledge. most often, a high school diploma or equivalent is sufficient."
- David L. age 31
"Low-level minimum wage cashier type of job - it wouldn't require any degree, you could be in high school still as a cashier."
- Emman K., age 23
Place the following professions in order from highest to lowest earning salary.
Most of the interviewees listed an electrician as one of the top three professions.
Implications and Values
People perceive high-level jobs to require a degree or some amount of higher education.
Although a degree is not required for a job as an electrician, that profession was listed as one of the top three professions in our interviews. This implies that people do not associate the term "low-level" with the amount of money that you make from a job, but rather with the amount of education that you need for that job.
Challengers or Defenders
From our research we identified one reason that people may be unmotivated to apply to RIWI. People are aware that they can make a decent living, or at least one that could support their lifestyle and family, with a career in infrastructure. However, because RIWI is not a traditional college program, people still consider this a funnel to low-level employment.
We decided to challenge this perspective.
Our goal is to challenge the belief that the status of your job is contingent upon your level of education.
Creative Executions
