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Workforce Development
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FY20 Workforce Development Marketing Efforts
ICPI continues to partner successfully with Cue Career to continue promoting careers in the hardscape industry.
Development of a strategic alliance with the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) for promotion of careers in the hardscaping industry and promotion of a joint job board promoting hardscape industry job openings.
A strategic alliance with the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) for promotion of hardscaping careers. NCMA’s contribution of $25,000 to the workforce development effort helped produce the registration area panels at Hardscape North America (HNA) promoting the @Hardscapingis campaign, revise and print the career path brochures used by both organizations, revise the workforce development video to include segmental retaining walls, and increase the @Hardscapingis social media ad buys.
Contracting with Halstead Media Group to develop a social media campaign to reach 17-20 year-olds and their parents through Instagram and Facebook. The campaign handle is @Hardscapingis and is designed for industry professionals to tag the handle in posts promoting hardscaping careers and positive aspects of the industry. Halstead developed sample posts and memes to get the campaign launched, and staff have created additional memes to use.
The social media campaign kicked off at HNA. In addition to the registration panels promoting the campaign, ICPI and NCMA had @Hardscapingis branded pop sockets and post-it notes available for participants to take. Social media ad buys began after HNA on Facebook and Instagram and results are shown below. The campaign was suspended in April while people were more focused on immediate concerns and was resumed in May with a campaign of post boosts nationwide on Instagram and in selected markets on Facebook. The Facebook page has 1,033 followers, while the Instagram page has 6,860 followers.
Social Media Memes Grab Attention
In addition to the social media campaign, staff developed several materials promoting careers in hardscaping. The Parent Download Kit helps parents learn more about the industry and dispels common myths. The “What Kind of Hardscaping Professional Should You Be?” quiz is a fun, interactive way to get younger individuals thinking about how their skills would best fit the hardscaping industry.
Staff participated in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) conference in Indianapolis to help raise awareness about hardscaping as a career option. Students at the event provided hashtag ideas that we will be using in the social media campaign. ICPI member Engledow Estates provided support for the event by constructing a patio in the booth and providing additional staffing.
