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Ivanka Trump, Big Tech Companies Plan Marketing Campaign Targeting Teens' Perceptions of Tech Jobs 130

Posted by BeauHD from the controversial-speakers dept.
theodp writes: Dismissing questions of whether Ivanka Trump's Tuesday CES keynote appearance on The Path to the Future of Work should have gone to somebody else who's had more to do with tech in the administration, CES Chief Gary Shapiro informed the BBC: "Ivanka Trump actually co-chairs the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, whose members include companies like Apple, Walmart and IBM." On that point, it's worth noting that signed minutes and slides from a Sept. 2019 meeting of the Ivanka-led American Workforce Policy Advisory Board discussed plans for a possible January launch of a private sector-led "big" national ad campaign, including an "influencer marketing plan," that will target "Youth aged 16 to 20, and importantly, their parents" with the goal of realizing the untapped potential of what IBM calls "new collar" workers -- "people who don't have a 4-year degree [young people and mid-career], but who have built the skills and credentials to contribute to areas like the cloud and the cyber sector." The marketing campaign is the product of a working group co-chaired by IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

In the slides, a screenshot from a "Landing Experience Prototype" for an accompanying website displays logos of some of America's biggest tech companies -- e.g. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, IBM -- and encourages visitors to: "Find an employer who understands. America's biggest employers know there's a huge skill shortage. They also know that today's top talent doesn't always come from traditional four-year universities. That's why we've asked them to sign a pledge to de-prioritize college degrees in their hiring processes."

Meeting minutes show that the Board -- pressed by IBM's Rometty -- approved her working group's proposal to "develop a private sector-led national campaign to raise awareness of and promote multiple pathways to well-paying jobs for all Americans" through a voice vote. Prior to the vote, IBM VP of Corporate Marketing Ann Gould Rubin explained that "advertising can be a compelling way to change even deep-seated perceptions," adding that "it could both change perceptions and cause people to act." Rubin noted that -- on its own -- IBM has initiated some research to gain insights into how to reach the target audiences, looking at motivations, drivers, interests, barriers, and reactions to descriptions of pathways.

Hey, like voters, those poor 16-year-old kids won't even know what hit 'em!
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Ivanka Trump, Big Tech Companies Plan Marketing Campaign Targeting Teens' Perceptions of Tech Jobs More

Ivanka Trump, Big Tech Companies Plan Marketing Campaign Targeting Teens' Perceptions of Tech Jobs

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  • You misspelled "Tim Apple" (Score:3, Funny)

    by spun ( 1352 ) <loverevolutionary&yahoo,com> on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @07:08PM (#59597296) Journal

    I mean, sure, I bet he does cook but why call him that?

  • I strongly doubt IBM's motives here (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I think it is far more likely that IBM is considering how to lock USA natives into H1B-style indentured relationships.

    If this came out as a statement from IBM, I'd believe it in a heartbeat: "Hey, this is perfect! We pick up a kid who has some small amount of skill, manipulate them so that they think that this is the best job they might ever get, underpay their wages but they won't dare question it, and we can still charge our customers PhD-level expertise rates!"
  • I'm sure any of us who work in tech have known our share of people who haven't completed a 4 year university degree and are none the less entirely competent. You don't have to be a freak genius. Still the concerning part here is that big tech might think they can get these people to work on the cheap, because they are younger and don't have the formal credentials. That absolutely should not be the case. The whole point should be that you are paid based on what you are capable of doing and if a 16 year old k

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      It's like none of them have sat through computer 101. It nothing to do with exsposure, those that do really well in that class, 'enjoy', using computers. Those who do not do well at that class, do not 'enjoy' using computers, they will do it and not do it that well and because they do not enjoy it, they like the gabfest style jobs and hate staring at computer screens for hours on end and are smart enough learn how to do gabfest jobs. People to people jobs, doctors, dentists, nurses, teachers, managers etc.

  • What are they smoking? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @07:40PM (#59597402) Homepage

    Land a good job (I'm assuming this means a livable wage, not Best Buy Geek Squad pay) in tech with minimal work experience and no 4 year degree? Pardon me while I die laughing.

    Shit, I wish that really existed. I set up and ran my own dial-up BBS at 13 years old. Taught myself how to program (no one really called it "coding" back then) around that time, too. I grew so tired of hearing easily-impressed adults blather on about what a great career I'd surely have as an adult. Turns out, college and me didn't see eye-to-eye (damn attention deficit disorder) and instead, I ended up going into a trade. Every day, I wake up slightly miffed at the knowledge that people who managed to suffer through all that shitty college math (or were lucky enough it came easy to them) get to sit in a nice air-conditioned office - while I make 1/3 the pay working on air conditioners.

    But hey, the judge in Caddyshack summed it up pretty well. [youtube.com]

    • Did you go into a trade because you tried to get work in the tech industry and got knocked back? there are plenty of companies out there who will hire people based on their skills, not what it says on their college transcript. I don't doubt that you would have found it harder that most but it's not impossible.

      • Perhaps it’s different in other areas, but here in central FL the only tech companies that don’t require college for tasks more complicated than changing lightbulbs, are call centers (such as the infamous Convergys - or whatever they’re calling themselves this week), or the previously mentioned Best Buy hellhole.

        Being a licensed trade contractor pays somewhat better than that, and for the most part isn’t as stressful. Most people assume trades pay well because they call the first co

      • Did you go into a trade because you tried to get work in the tech industry and got knocked back? there are plenty of companies out there who will hire people based on their skills, not what it says on their college transcript

        Not that many, not anymore. It was true and common place 30 years ago (hell, I started my career with only a AA degree). But I saw the writing on the wall and kept working on my 4-year degree while working. *Now*? Fuggedaboutit.

        I don't doubt that you would have found it harder that most but it's not impossible.

        Yes, it is not impossible, but why risk it. I mean, if a person is already in that situation (no degree, but skills), well, there's no much option but to push interviews till something happens.

        But it is truly not a good opening proposition.

        I for one would like to see the old time

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by bblb ( 5508872 )

      No 4 year degree, no 2 year degree... been working tech for nearly 20 years and making well into six figures for the majority of those years.

      Work ethic, intelligence, and ability go far... or you can just sit on your ass and blame your ADD while being pissed off at the world because you failed yourself.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        That _can_ happen. But for most people, it is entirely out of reach. If they do not have that degree, they are just very easy to exploit.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by bblb ( 5508872 )

          That's funny... because among the five regional directors, department director, and CTO at my current company, only the CTO had a degree when he was hired. The Department director just recently finished his bachelors, in philosophy, because he wanted to go back to school in his 50's. Myself and all four other IT directors have no degrees... and the huge majority of those under us have no degrees. I honestly don't even really spend much time looking at the education section of a resume unless they have zero

          • The idea of an exploitable workforce is just something people with no marketable skills invent to make themselves feel better about being unmarketable.

            The world needs some people to say "fuck this" to college because someone's gotta pick up the garbage, pave the roads, fix your air conditioner, unclog your toilet, cook your hamburger (hopefully they washed their hands first), and upsell you on that high mileage engine flush at the oil change depot, etc.

            As I said in my original post - Caddyshack nailed it: "The world needs ditch diggers, too."

            Hell, I probably wouldn't be bitching about making a lousy living if the state contractor's exam was more difficult

            • Comment removed based on user account deletion

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by bblb ( 5508872 )

              Or you'd be on here complaining about a different occupation because your ADD didn't agree with the contractors exam...

              Yes, the world absolutely needs ditch diggers too and I have nothing against trades at all. Hell, I'm the son of a mechanic and there's been plenty of days I've wondered if I wouldn't be happier making half as much working with my hands tuning cars instead of sitting in an office. The fact remains though, if the day comes that I decide that's the case then it's up to me to make the changes

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by gweihir ( 88907 )

            The idea of an exploitable workforce is just something people with no marketable skills invent to make themselves feel better about being unmarketable.

            Bullshit. Also, invalid AdHominem is invalid.

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by bblb ( 5508872 )

              Come back and try again when you learn what an ad hom is...

              You're not exploitable, you're just unemployable.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by dcw3 ( 649211 )

            8570? Seriously? Any moron can get that cert.

            • 8570? Seriously? Any moron can get that cert.

              Reading between the lines, the company is a government contractor and he doesn't understand who sets the hiring standards, or why they are set that way, but he has learned how to hire people that will be approved by HR.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by gweihir ( 88907 )

                Sounds like a pretty accurate analysis. If the work can be crap (governments cannot judge quality), you can hire low-skill people that somehow make the cut on some unrelated formal criteria.

              • Re: (Score:1)

                by bblb ( 5508872 )

                Actually no, we're not a government contractor... we're in the medical industry and certifications aren't an HR requirement, that was just my example. Outside of legal eligibility to work, HR has zero say over who I can hire so, since I'm the one who sets my hiring standards, I understand very well who sets them. A dozen years of hiring people has proven time and again that the kids with no degrees but with a couple certs outperform the kids with degrees and no certs.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by dcw3 ( 649211 )

                  If that's the case, then you're working for a small firm. Certainly nothing where shareholders have a say.

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by bblb ( 5508872 )

              Just like any moron can get a bachelors... the difference is relevance and effort. My hiring experience has proven that a kid with no degree but a CCNA Security and a Security+ CE is more ready to work than some kid with a CS degree and no experience.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by dcw3 ( 649211 )

                I have a CS and Sec+. Apples/Oranges. So, your positions don't require the skills that a CS learns in school, maybe you should have said so.

        • But teh unemployment iz so low!!!1 If you're not earning a high 6 figure income and driving a brand new Tesla, you must be a deadbeat looser.

          Somehow I imagine these people watching videos of starving children in 3rd world countries and thinking to themselves "They wouldn't be starving if they got jobs and built a Walmart", completely oblivious to all the various facets of our society which made that level of progress possible in the first place.
           

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dcw3 ( 649211 )

        You were lucky to get in during the Y2k and Internet Bubbles. It's not so easy now. As a recently retired hiring manager, I would have loved to hire people based just on their skills, but at any company with shareholders (that I'm aware of), you're outta luck trying to get that by HR at less than an entry level lackey spot unless you can show a lot of experience.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Hodr ( 219920 )

        Sure, you CAN make it without the credentials. But you need likely need to be significantly better than the average schooled applicant to get a foot in the door.

        Rock stars don't need to go the traditional path, got it. But not everyone is a rock star.

        What if a person is just "pretty good" at the required work, has a "decent" work ethic and is "moderately" intelligent? They would be like be a great employee and an asset to the company, but they won't stand out enough to be hired without the education or ex

    • Of the half dozen programmers Iâ(TM)ve hired, surprisingly none of them have had a 4 year degree. Lots of programmers with degrees applied but they got pushed out by more qualified candidates. Being a small company with less than 3 dozen employees, Iâ(TM)m free to hire the best candidate and ignore the degree or lack of degree if needed. The people with masters degrees are the worst. Iâ(TM)ve yet to have one make it past the first round of interviews. I know their are good programmers wi

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by t0rkm3 ( 666910 )

      I feel your pain brother. I didn't get any college credits other than through CLEP until I was 30+.

      It wasn't your experience that bumped you out of tech. I've been working in the industry for 25 yrs, and I prefer to hire non-collegiate folks as usually their work ethic is closer to the craftsman ethic that I think fits the tech world. (It turns out that this is also the case in DE, it's more of a technical specialty than a Uni driven credentialist specialty.)

      So, if you want to get into tech, figure out what

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Bigbutt ( 65939 )

      I can’t speak for how it works now but it sounds like you were around back when I was starting out as well, 1980 or so. I ran BBSs, learned to program on a Color Computer, and no, no college. I had a family to raise. I got a part time job maintaining programs, going out on surveying jobs, and chasing cows. I got permission to take computers home from work and hacked code even more.

      Now I’ve hit golden handcuff levels twice in my career and yes, 6 figure incomes for the past 20 years. I’m a

    • If you're a career HVAC worker you should be making about the same money as if you were an average career tech worker, and if your disability actually makes college math difficult then it may be that you have a higher pay ceiling in HVAC.

      The air-conditioned office part, yeah, that's the real difference. OTOH, offices have PHBs.

      Running a BBS at 13 just tells us you were so privileged you were given control of a phone line to run it over. Also, the same adults said the same things about the future to every ki

  • Trump plans to loot teens in evil plan not yet fleshed out, by same gang who just told Iraq our troops are bugging out before we got them to safety.

    Chaos at 11.

  • Now with more data mining!
  • Annoying ads, that’s the ticket.
  • without a 4 year degree. You won't make it past the HR filters. Why hire an American you have to train 3-6 months when you can make a 4 year degree mandatory and get all the H1-Bs you can eat for one low price when there's not enough CS grads to hire.

    Why anyone, and I mean _anyone_ would go into IT (and I mean IT, not math) it beyond me. Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be code monkeys, let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Or accountants.

    • Something about out-of-work coal miners fighting fresh out of high school Gen-Zers over nonexistent IT jobs, sounds like the makings of a mildly entertaining reality show.

      Now all we need is someone with reality TV experience to host it...

      • Winner gets $250k in student loan debt, and the loser whines on the internet about having to work HVAC.

        No, I wouldn't watch that. I'm a little disappointed I spent the time to read the screenplay.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Yet here I am, working from home in software development, living in a very low CoL place near family and making a darn good salary. Self taught. How about that.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by k6mfw ( 1182893 )

      Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be code monkeys, let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Or accountants.

      damn, good one there. hey you comedians here's a line for you. But give credit to rsilvergun.

  • Talking about his experiences [crooksandliars.com] with her and her father.

  • What's she known for again? Isn't she the girl that sells sweatshop clothes?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dcw3 ( 649211 )

      Cum laude from Warton is nothing to sneeze at. You may not like/agree with her, but she's no idiot.

      • Cum laude from Warton is nothing to sneeze at

        Undergrad at Warton is definitely something to sneeze at.

  • We better get em thinking they don't need it anymore or they might catch onto the scam without the crippling student loan yoke to keep em in line.

    After all, if they all get themselves educated, who's gonna be left to fight all the lucrative wars we've got planned?

  • Ivanka Confirms "Massive Campaign" is Coming (Score:4, Informative)

    by theodp ( 442580 ) on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @10:16PM (#59597808)

    Ivanka Trump says she's 'a big believer in innovation' at CES 2020 amid controversy [cnet.com]: A four-year college is not for everyone, Trump added, and the administration wants to "celebrate the other pathways that exist," such as apprenticeships. "We're going to launch this massive campaign that celebrates other pathways that don't require four-year college."

    • Ivanka Trump says she's 'a big believer in innovation' at CES 2020 amid controversy [cnet.com]: A four-year college is not for everyone, Trump added, and the administration wants to "celebrate the other pathways that exist," such as apprenticeships. "We're going to launch this massive campaign that celebrates other pathways that don't require four-year college."

      Not seeing the problem (am I supposed to be outraged because Trump?).

      Worship of four year college for all has been a big problem for decades now, in so many ways. About time some big names and effort got behind correcting this imbalance.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by leonbev ( 111395 )

      This kinda sounds like Joe Biden's "Coal miners can learn to code!" campaign stump speech all over again. While I love the idea, some people just don't have the proper skillset to be a good programmer. Unless they want to swap parts at their local Apple Store, there are probably better fields for them to work in besides tech.

  • fine - less competition for me (Score:4)

    by hdyoung ( 5182939 ) on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @01:52AM (#59598154)
    Yes! Yes! Yes! I want everyone to listen to this. Everyone please listen to these stable, brilliant geniuses. We should ALL be doing the bidding of a family that got rich by inheriting 500 million big ones from daddy, engaging in blatant fraud to avoid inheritance taxes, and then managing their wealth so poorly that it only grows by 50% over two frikkin' decades. In a nutshell, that's the overall performance of the Trump family - they would have done better putting their fortune in a money market account and then doing nothing. These people OBVIOUSLY know what's best for EVERYONE in terms of life planning, education, and technology. MAGA!

    In all seriousness..... You want to skip formal education? Be my guest, but you should understand what's likely to happen. There are, indeed, very small numbers of uneducated people who make good, but they're the exception to the rule. You go this route, what you're really doing is volunteering to stay on the lower rungs of the ladder. Fine. Someone has to be there. Better you than me.

    Meanwhile, I'm gonna do the exact opposite. I'm gonna push my kids to get as much education as they can possibly stomach, then I'm gonna push them to grit their teeth and get even more. I'm gonna make them push their minds beyond what they think is possible. I'm going to help pay for their education as much as I can, and then pay more until it hurts. Why? Guess what.... I've only got a few more decades on this planet and I don't get to take it with me when I keel over. I'll leave behind my professional accomplishments and any small impact I might make while volunteering, but the biggest thing I leave behind, by FAR, is my offspring and the investments in their abilities.

    Ironically, the Trump family knows this. They might be telling other people "don't worry about formal education" but meanwhile daddy made damn sure that they went to the best universities money could buy. To the Trump-lovers reading this, you might want to WATCH WHAT THEY DO, NOT WHAT THEY SAY.

    "New-collar"..... translation: a blue-collar worker that works in an office environment. This is not new. This is not innovative. This is not "2.0" in any way, shape or form. Businesses have employed people like this for centuries. To all the people in this category that did well: you have my respect for your success, intellect, drive and skills, but you are the EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. Most of you wind up lower-middle-class at best.

    • Meanwhile, I'm gonna do the exact opposite. I'm gonna push my kids to get as much education as they can possibly stomach, then I'm gonna push them to grit their teeth and get even more. I'm gonna make them push their minds beyond what they think is possible. I'm going to help pay for their education as much as I can, and then pay more until it hurts.

      Push their "minds"?

      I went from the military to tech writing to web development and programming. Too busy for college. Never unemployed a day since I've been an adult, ever upward career path.

      Meanwhile, millions were majoring in drinking, diversity, and couch burning. They are automatically better than me? And their minds are? Well, think what you like. .

      • You didn’t read my entire post. If you’ve made good without formal education, you have my genuine respect. You’re a high quality individual and you’ve earned the rewards that come with that. The fact you did it without formal credentials makes it even more impressive. However, you are the exception to the rule. Congratulations are due, but your model isn’t going to work for millions of workers. For most people in your shoes, the result is lower-middle-class at best.
  • I have a BS and MS in Computer Science, and have worked in software/IT now for what, 28 years (shudder). I feel like I am the weird one...I can count the number of people with whom I have worked that actually have CS degrees on one hand. Lots of scientists -- physicists, biologists, ecologists -- plus IT folks that have degrees from places like College of America. Just like every other field, there have been good and bad ones, but I'd say the vast majority of folks just wind up doing software and IT work, t
  • Before I got my degree I was a junior Oracle DBA. It was made clear to me that no further progress could be expected in my career without a degree. Of course there are exceptions, but keep your anecdotes.

    Got my degree, then doubled my salary still being a junior Oracle DBA. This sounds like some big companies coming around about relaxing some degree requirements. It would probably end up increasing the size of a middle ground, and if people want to maximize income and opportunities they'll still want
  • Instead of having an actual expert, they got a know-nothing silver spoon Fascist. About time to form a tech conference that matters.

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