Did you know that Gen Z constitutes over one-quarter of the total population of the world? This means 2 billion people are Gen Zers! Many of whom are about to join, or are already entering, the workforce.
In HRchat episode 490, we consider ways to engage with Gen Zers. My guests today are Tina Zwolinski and Cynthia Jenkins, the Co-founders of skillsgapp, the first company to offer customized, location-based gaming apps focused on helping Generation Z gain career and pathway awareness along with the middle and soft skills necessary to participate in the skills-based jobs sector that includes manufacturing and other technical industries.
Questions For Tina and Cynthia Include:
- Can you give an overview of skillsgapp?
- How do these games help students prepare for possible careers?
- In terms of engaging with Gen Zers – what’s so unique about their generation?
- Why should the HR community take an interest in the games that skillsgapp is creating?
- How can skillsgapp help HR departments with recruiting and building their workforce pipelines?
- Let’s say you are working with a company and students are playing a game specifically designed for their industry, what kind of data is available to the HR and recruiting departments? How should they interpret the data and what would the steps be in reaching out to players they might be interested in?
More About Tina Zwolinski
Tina is the CEO and Co-founder of skillsgapp. Prior to founding skillsgapp, Tina launched and led ZWO, a branding and marketing firm focused on economic and workforce development and generational consumer brands. Tina serves on the national board for Fostering Great Ideas, a non-profit working to improve the experience for every teen and child in foster care. She also serves on the Academic Advisory Council for the national Skilled Trades Alliance, on the South Carolina Association of Continuing Higher Education board, and on the board of Greenville Professional Women’s Forum. Tina also mentors middle and high school youth.
More About Cynthia Jenkins
Cynthia is the CMO and Co-founder of skillsgapp. Prior to skillsgapp, Cynthia forged a decades-long career in marketing and creative development for several global brands with ZWO, Firebrand Media, and as the CEO of her own Advertising PR firm, CPJ & CO among other well-established organizations. Over her career, Cynthia gained in-depth experience within a range of industries, including workforce, manufacturing, talent recruitment, colleges/universities, student and senior housing, apps/services, and economic development agencies.