Helping Adults in Nevada Find Sustainable Careers
Client: Nevada Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation
Project Title: Nevada Education Qualitative Market Research Study
Background
In early 2022, S2 conducted a study for the Nevada State Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation on behalf of their advertising agency, The Abbi Agency. The study pertained to career changes and certification studies for displaced, underemployed, and adult students in Nevada. The state sought to help these displaced individuals with a grant called Project SANDI (Supporting and Advancing Nevada’s Dislocated Individuals) which covers tuition for career training in a variety of industries, such as HVAC, Healthcare, and IT.
The Problem
The SANDI grant was released during the Pandemic to help those who lost their jobs. However, not enough people were applying for the grant, and its funds were set to expire in 2023. The Nevada Governor’s Office wished to spread awareness so that more people would apply for the grant and improve the well-being of people throughout the state, but did not know how to position the grant, what challenges stood in the way of its audiences, or when and where the audience even sought this type of information.
Methodology
S2 developed a qualitative market research strategy to address the communication challenges surrounding the grant. We conducted in-depth interviews through Zoom with both English and Spanish speaking Nevada residents, all of whom expressed interest in career training. These interviews aimed to discover who they were, who they trust and what matters to them in relation to career advancement. Respondents were probed for their education and skills, along with their employment history and perception towards grants and the state government. Once interviews were completed, we extensively reviewed and analyzed each of the interviews, where we extracted insights and developed a ”profile dashboard” of the audience. A compilation of video snippets were also created based on categories to display the raw insights coming from the actual audience, using QR codes placed in the report for enhanced understanding and engagement with the data.
The Result
Thanks to this market research, we discovered that the overall audience was not happy with their jobs and yearned for better careers. However, they faced a multitude of challenges preventing them from pursuing a new career, such as lack of time, juggling responsibilities, cost, and even feeling too old to do so (dubbed the dinosaur effect in this study).
As a result of the research, the grant was inspired to create a more effective communications strategy. The distribution rate for the Project SANDI grant has since significantly increased, improving more lives and ultimately creating a stronger workforce in Nevada.