Improve outcomes for DC youth and young adults of color by mobilizing 'grasstops' community leaders to build a local, diverse talent pipeline
Narrative
LandscapeMapping the Narrative Landscape
CityWorks DC audited news coverage of career pathways and talent pipelines. While some stories acknowledged the need for multiple pathways, within education media, “college for all” was the dominant narrative.
CityWorks DC audited news coverage of career pathways and talent pipelines. While some stories acknowledged the need for multiple pathways, within education media, “college for all” was the dominant narrative.
Policymakers
MindsetUnderstanding Audience Mindset
Through community discussions and interviews with grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC witnessed discomfort with framing postsecondary pathways as a forced binary between college and everything else. Additionally, leaders want to persuade employers to hire local residents, but may not always share the same view on what an equitable, local, employer-driven talent pipeline is. Defining that goal had to be the first step.
Through community discussions and interviews with grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC witnessed discomfort with framing postsecondary pathways as a forced binary between college and everything else. Additionally, leaders want to persuade employers to hire local residents, but may not always share the same view on what an equitable, local, employer-driven talent pipeline is. Defining that goal had to be the first step.
PersuasionTesting Persuasive Messages
CityWorksDC developed a narrative framework to describe the local talent pipeline, and pressure-tested it through stakeholder interviews. They learned that their audience values hearing from young people and employers — and they would need to show employers taking the lead to build the pipeline through programs, partnerships, and systems changes.
CityWorksDC developed a narrative framework to describe the local talent pipeline, and pressure-tested it through stakeholder interviews. They learned that their audience values hearing from young people and employers — and they would need to show employers taking the lead to build the pipeline through programs, partnerships, and systems changes.
ActionPutting Messaging Into Action
CityWorksDC used its new narrative framework in organizational communications about a resource promoting work-based learning programs with local employers. They gave grasstops leaders talking points about work-based learning to use at a convening of city leaders and employers, which was met with excitement by business leaders eager to build a local talent pipeline.
CityWorksDC used its new narrative framework in organizational communications about a resource promoting work-based learning programs with local employers. They gave grasstops leaders talking points about work-based learning to use at a convening of city leaders and employers, which was met with excitement by business leaders eager to build a local talent pipeline.
Creating
ChangeCreating Change
By creating narrative alignment among grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC furthered its goals to ensure DC businesses hire local residents, including young people of color. It will continue to pressure-test narratives among larger groups, especially employers, and share its narrative insights as they emerge.
By creating narrative alignment among grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC furthered its goals to ensure DC businesses hire local residents, including young people of color. It will continue to pressure-test narratives among larger groups, especially employers, and share its narrative insights as they emerge.
Creating ChangeCreating Change
By creating narrative alignment among grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC furthered its goals to ensure DC businesses hire local residents, including young people of color. It will continue to pressure-test narratives among larger groups, especially employers, and share its narrative insights as they emerge.
By creating narrative alignment among grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC furthered its goals to ensure DC businesses hire local residents, including young people of color. It will continue to pressure-test narratives among larger groups, especially employers, and share its narrative insights as they emerge.
Mindset
What is the audience's mindset?
Key Takeaway
Through community discussions and interviews with grasstops leaders, CityWorks DC witnessed discomfort with framing postsecondary pathways as a forced binary between college and everything else. Additionally, leaders want to persuade employers to hire local residents, but may not always share the same view on what an equitable, local, employer-driven talent pipeline is. Defining that goal had to be the first step.
Insights
- Grasstops leaders are not aligned around what an equitable, local, employer-driven talent pipeline is
- Grasstops leaders struggle to articulate a bold and ambitious vision
- Grasstops leaders perceive the need to persuade employers about advantages of hiring local
- There is discomfort with framing postsecondary pathways as a forced binary between college and everything else
- Grasstops leaders who are Black or grew up in low-income households believe strongly in the value of a college degree, not only for economic reasons
- Messages promoting postsecondary pathways other than a 4-year college degree may trigger implicit racial bias
- Advocating for a 4-year college pathway is fraught with concerns about affordability and college completion rates, particularly for students from low-income families
- Community leaders of color will be important messengers about pathways
For Example:
Grasstops leaders are not aligned around what an equitable, local, employer-driven talent pipeline is
In Their Own Words
“How do we talk about this…what resonates with people? And it, how many outside this group who I think are totally bought into building an equitable local thriving talent pipeline are just as committed and without our prompting, how could they talk about it? How would they talk about it?”
White policymaker/grasstops leader, Washington, DC
For Example:
Messages promoting postsecondary pathways other than a 4-year college degree may trigger implicit racial bias
In Their Own Words
“You can't…tell a community of people that have been not only disenfranchised, but college access has been kept away from them so much so that we've had to create colleges just for our own communities, and [say] that now it's okay not to go [to college]....It could be troubling, it could be traumatic and it could be not well received. And so the language and the narrative has to be thoughtful.”
Black policymaker/grasstops leader, Washington, DC
“There are not a lot of conversations about whether or not a white young person or students should or shouldn't go to college. I never have conversations about the white students going to college. I only have conversations about Black and brown children and whether or not they should go to college and what they should be doing after graduation. We don't ever have targeted discussions about non communities of color and what's gonna happen with them after graduation.”
Black policymaker/grasstops leader, Washington, DC
Persuasion
What messages are most persuasive to the target audience?
Key Takeaway
CityWorksDC developed a narrative framework to describe the local talent pipeline, and pressure-tested it through stakeholder interviews. They learned that their audience values hearing from young people and employers — and they would need to show employers taking the lead to build the pipeline through programs, partnerships, and systems changes.
Narrative Framework
Connection
We want to see DC’s Black and Brown youth succeed and we want businesses in our local economy to thrive.
It’s good business for our city to invest in Black and Brown young people being prepared for good jobs in our city.
We want young people in our city to pursue their interests, reach their full potential, and achieve their goals. to see DC’s Black and Brown youth succeed and we want businesses in our local economy to thrive.
It’s good business for our city to invest inBlack and Brown young people being prepared for good jobs in our city, which will strengthen our local economy.
We want young people in our city to pursue their interests, reach their full potential, and achieve their goals.
It’s good business for our city to invest in young people being prepared for good jobs in our city, which will strengthen our local economy.
Problem
Black and Brown youth from DC aren’t being employed at high rates in our good jobs in DC’s local economy. And yet, local employers aren’t able to fill those good jobs.
Employers, educators, and our city’s civic leaders have not aligned around the solutions that will address this problem, at scale.
Employers in DC need to find talent. At the same time, we have local residents who grew up in DC who are looking for good jobs but aren’t getting hired.
This is particularly important for Black and Hispanic young people in DC who, historically, have not had access to good jobs in DC.
Black and Brown youth from DC aren’t being employed at high rates in our good jobs in DC’s local economy. And yet, local employers aren’t able to fill those good jobs.
Employers, educators, and our city’s civic leaders have not aligned around the solutions that will address this problem, at scale.
Employers in DC need to find talent. At the same time, we have local residents who grew up in DC who are looking for good jobs but aren’t getting hired.
This is particularly important for Black and Hispanic young people in DC who, historically, have not had access to good jobs in DC.
Solution
Employers, educators and workforce systems need to co-create impactful solutions, at scale, that lead to the training, recruiting, hiring and retaining of local DC Black and Brown youth into good jobs.
Employers, Educators and workforce government agencies systems are creating innovative partnerships with employers to need to co-create impactful solutions, at scale, that lead to the training, recruiting, hireing and retaining of local hometown talent, especially DC's Black and HispanicBrown youth into good jobs. We now have an opportunity to take these solutions to scale.
Educators and workforce government agencies are creating innovative partnerships with employers to train, recruit, hire and retain hometown talent, especially DC’s Black and Hispanic youth, into good jobs. We now have an opportunity to take these solutions to scale.
Vision
If we are successful, Black and Brown young people growing up in DC will be prepared for and hired into good jobs that will enable them to live and prosper in DC, and our local businesses will thrive.
If we are successful, all Black and Brown young people growing up in DC, including Black and Hispanic young people, will be prepared for and hired into good jobs that will enable them to live and prosper in DC, and our local businesses will thrive.
If we are successful, all young people growing up in DC, including Black and Hispanic young people, will be prepared for and hired into good jobs that will enable them to live and prosper in DC, and our local businesses will thrive.
Insights
- Education and government partners see employers as essential to building a local talent pipeline, and employers feel they can't do it without education and government partners
- The phrase "employer-driven, equitable, local talent pipeline" is abstract jargon that audiences may misinterpret
- Grasstops advocates and policymakers in DC value hearing from both students and employers
- Audiences value hearing from Black and white employers
- Some audiences value more universalist messaging and bristle over targeted messaging referring only to "Black and Brown young people"
For Example:
Education and government partners see employers as essential to building a local talent pipeline, and employers feel they can't do it without education and government partners
In Their Own Words
“In practicality, this has been tried for years and years and generations. And it almost seems like I have kind of lost faith in government agencies and others, the education system, to solve this problem on their own. So I strongly agree in [partnering with employers]. They need to be part of the solution, but I don't think they can solve the problem on their own.”
Latino/a grasstops leader, DC
For Example:
Grasstops advocates and policymakers in DC value hearing from both students and employers
In Their Own Words
"People wanna hear from a student and they wanna hear from an employer. And I don't know that people take that seriously what we, as government employees, say. I spend basically all day talking to other government people…so if I was looking at this resource, students and employers would be more interesting to me.”
White grasstops leader, DC
“Kids are so underrated, it’s unbelievable. You can put them in front of a crowd and they'll blow your mind. They can talk and they can express themselves incredibly well. And I'd rather hear from them than from [any adult]. I just wanna hear from the kid. Cause that's what's gonna inspire people is if you hear from this kid and you hear, ‘look, I got this one opportunity and now I'm doing this and that, and now I wanna, I thought I was gonna be this, and now I'm gonna be that. And I have this idea of what I'm gonna be in life.’ I think it's really powerful. We're listening to everybody but the kids, which doesn't make any sense to me. You know, it's like, I just think it's, it's fascinating to me that we wanna listen to all the educators and directors and the government, but how about the kids?”
Latino/a grasstops leader, DC
Action
How were the messages put into action?
Key Takeaway
CityWorksDC used its new narrative framework in organizational communications about a resource promoting work-based learning programs with local employers. They gave grasstops leaders talking points about work-based learning to use at a convening of city leaders and employers, which was met with excitement by business leaders eager to build a local talent pipeline.
Impact
CityWorks DC successfully equipped grasstops leaders and employers with talking points based on their tested messaging about developing a local talent pipeline in DC for a construction-focused panel hosted by CityWorks DC and the Federal City Council in June 2023. In reaction, numerous business leaders expressed excitement about implementing work-based learning in their companies and were encouraged by the collective effort to organize employers that CityWorks DC is building with the Federal City Council.
Insights
- Employers reacted positively to new messaging about work-based learning and developing a local talent pipeline in DC
- Email campaigns generated interest among grasstops leaders for programs such as apprenticeships that enhance early career outcomes for young people
- Governmental and business leaders engaged positively with communications materials and talking points
- Grasstops advocates and business leaders engaged with employer impact profiles across social media
For Example:
Employers reacted positively to new messaging about work-based learning and developing a local talent pipeline in DC
In Their Own Words
"...this is unlike anything that I've seen in the past where there's been a long-term, well-coordinated effort."
Neil Stablow, Executive Vice President of Donohue Construction
"[CityWorks DC has] done a lot of hard work to make sure young people are employable and give them the support that when they show up on the job, they are ready for it."
Bernadette Harvey, CEO of BConstrux