My previous hypothesis testing was about the opportunity of implementing skill and trade classes into high schools. Many students never get the opportunity to learn essential trade and skills that are useful and utilized in the future. I am going to broaden my horizon during this exercise post as I identify the customers that lie outside this opportunity boundary.
Who: There are many businesses and people that do not have any interest or need to learn skills and trades because of what they do. For example, people like bankers and teachers don't need these skills to get their job done sufficiently.
What: I think the point of where these trade and skills taught in school differ from other needs like handling a bulldozer or other dangerous machinery that requires further schooling or licensing. I think the desire to learn these skills differs from developing a career vs finding a hobby that is useful and fun.
Why: I think the underlying cause of the outsider's needs differing from the inside is the person's interest and hobbies depending on what they like to do.
Interview #1: I interviewed my boss who is a financial advisor. He explicitly stated how he was never interested in learning these skills when he was younger and even had the opportunity to explore them when he was back in high school. He does believe that it is a good opportunity for some people but it was never for him.
Interview #2: I interviewed my sister who is very materialistic and loves shopping. She said that she would never be interested in this option and would pay someone to do that stuff for her.
Interview #3: I interviewed my roommate who is a psych major and she said that although she is crafty and hand on she prefers teaching herself these trades and has her own tools to do so.
Interview #4: I also got to interview my boyfriend's father who said that although these trades are useful that many of his employers have to go through similar training regardless so he doesn't see the need for it.
Interview #5: The last person I interviewed was my neighbor who is very outdoor person who loves to fish. He said that although he fits the type he has never really been interested in learning new trades and doesn't think he would enjoy these classes while he was in high school.
| Inside the Boundary | Outside the Boundary |
| Who is in? - people interested in learning new trades and skills - people who want an alternative to going to college - people who want the exposure to learning new skills | Who is not? - people who have no desire to learn new skills - people who don't have the interest or need to want to learn trades and skills -people financially independent to hire people to do these skills for them |
| What the need is - opportunity to learn new trades and skills while in high school that are useful and essential to the economy and businesses | What the need is not - it is not essential to those with no interest in learning these tools and or have access to these tools and/or have the money to financially afford someone to do the job for them |
| Why the need exist -many students don't have the access or exposure to learn new trades and skills that could be very interesting to them and help them develop a career path | Alternative Explanations - many students have no desire to learn new trades and skills and already have an idea of what their career path will be and know that these skills won't be important to them or utilized in the future |
I feel like many high school kids would be interested in this kind of opportunity. Many high schoolers in today's society feel like they have to go to college in order to be successful but many do not know that trade careers are just as lucrative. Perhaps also going over the financial pay off of trade careers will help others to see the potential of the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteKendall, I have enjoyed following along as your opportunity belief has progressed. I think this is a great option for students to branch out and increase the amount of career paths they can choose from. While some may say a program like this one is outdated, I know in my community we could always use more manual laborers and people with experience in trade work.
ReplyDeleteKendall,
ReplyDeleteI am surprised by the responses you received. Your proposal brings my friend to mind. He is an engineer by trade, but his hobbies include building furniture and working on his car. I will have to ask him if he would take these trades as elective in high school. But even someone with STEM interests may have other commitments in high school. It is unfortunate for your idea that your sample did not support your hypothesis, but it demonstrates the importance of speaking to your potential audience in the early stages.
I’m very surprised by your third interview! I understand that there comes great pride in learning on your own, but I would expect most people to desire training if it’s available!
ReplyDeleteI’m also very surprised by the fact that you had people tell you that they have no interest in everyday trade skills that they would need to pay someone to help them with if they couldn’t do themselves. I am a lover of DIY skills, but I would expect that most people at least see the value in these skills in case they were to be in a pinch with time or funds to pay a contractor.
Good job finding effective interviewees!