3DE 9^th grade students participated in their first case challenge and cumulating event to MetroPower on September 12, 2019, located 5243 Royal Woods Pkwy Suite 300, Tucker, GA 30084. Students toured the facility, conducted hands on activities related to electrical work, such as conduit bending, assemblage of lighting, and basic wiring training. They also met representatives from Workforce Development, Branch Managers, and a Vice President.

MetroPower is a premier electrical contractor serving the greater southeastern U.S., providing the highest quality electrical services to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout South Georgia and the Florida panhandle. Its goal is to deliver the highest quality products and services the first time, every time, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to safety and customer satisfaction. MetroPower specializes primarily in the needs of the Industrial, Healthcare, Department of Defense and Premier Commercial market segments, recognizing that job is more than just doing the work – it’s about creating a relationship, serving with unfailing dedication, and earning the opportunity for future business

THE CHALLENGE

The average age of a licensed electrician is 55 and the average age of an electrician apprentice is 27. Electricians are retiring in record numbers, and there are not enough electricians in the talent pipeline to fill the vacancies. MetroPower must act or they will continue to lose ground in attracting candidates interested in having a career in electrical construction. MetroPower offers a four-year electrical apprenticeship program, at no cost. Apprentices are paid to work 40 hours per week while completing on-the-job training and are required to attend class one night/week to learn about electrical theory, safety, equipment, tools, and how to troubleshoot electrical systems. Upon completion, students receive a Certificate of Completion as an “Electrician” from the Federal Department of Labor which can be used throughout the United States.

As part of MetroPower’s Human Resource team, 3DE students were challenged to develop a 2-3 minute pitch with ways the company could generate interest in 18- to 24-year-olds to enter the electrical service workforce.

THE WINNING PITCH

The winning team suggested that MetroPower create animated ads and utilize social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. They believed this would be an effective medium because MetroPower could sponsor famous YouTubers and social media influencers to promote their business. They could also create accounts on these platforms and showcase interesting videos of their work and develop fun employee challenges to encourage potential apprentices. Finally, they proposed social gatherings at high schools, such as ice cream socials and after-school activities to promote awareness of the company itself. They believe that having students create clubs that attend the headquarters and teachers providing extra credit or points added to their grades would attract more students and give MetroPower a positive reputation. They felt confident that spreading to more relevant social media platforms and creating more activities for the students to have hands-on experience was key to gaining more people to come to MetroPower and consider it a future career.

10th Grade: ReliaQuest

COMPETENCY: Engaging Communication

Students effectively articulated a position to influence progress toward a desired outcome through knowledge, diversity of experiences, confidence, and compassion.

CHALLENGE THEME: Building A Brand

Students gained knowledge and/or experience with a product or service to develop a strategy that would initiate a desired action from a target audience.

3DE 10^th grade students participated in their first case challenge and cumulating event at Parkview High School on September18, 2019. Students had the opportunity to experience analysist training, receive information about careers in cyber security, and to become educated on hacking software.

Founded in 2007, ReliaQuest has grown to become a leading cyber security company providing support for enterprise companies. It has worked to reshape the cybersecurity industry by helping enterprise security teams to rethink their reliance on any one technology, automate security outcomes, and elevate the security team(s) within their enterprise. ReliaQuest leverages a discipline called Security Model Management to help organizations configure consistent security models. By combining existing tools and technologies with ReliaQuest’s proprietary technology, people, and process, ReliaQuest transforms organizations into their own security platforms. The result is unmatched visibility and optimized security. They have nearly 200 enterprise clients, operates 24 hours a day/7 day a week, has over 300+ employees, and his headquartered in Tampa, FL.

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing industries; it is ever-evolving as we become a more interconnected and digital-reliant economy. To keep up with the rapid rate of growth and sophistication, businesses need more talent entering the field with the fundamental knowledge and skills in information security and computing. The number of security-related jobs continues to outpace the number of people qualified to fill them. Today there are more than 300,000 available jobs in the industry, with the demand growing rapidly (source: Cyberseek).

ReliaQuest has developed an innovative solution for this skills-gap. Its cyber-simulator was developed to better prepare post-secondary students pursuing careers in the dynamic field of cybersecurity. The University of South Florida opened the first ReliaQuest Cybersecurity Lab in October 2018, offering this four-week training simulation to students in the College of Business. With the success of this partnership, ReliaQuest is now looking to expand the reach of the simulator by integrating the technology into more course offerings on additional post-secondary campuses.

THE CHALLENGE

To expand the computing and information security talent pipeline, what strategic brand message and identity package can ReliaQuest use to get its Cyber Simulator Lab product in more post-secondary training programs?