The key to any large-scale human endeavor is collective intention and action; we are strongest when we work together. The challenges we face now — an aging population retiring from key jobs in manufacturing, electrical work, plumbing, construction, and other vital industries, coupled with decreased interest in the skilled trades — can’t be solved without first coming together.
It’s going to become increasingly difficult to find people with the skills and abilities that are needed for the open roles available today: The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 47,500 open machinist roles, Earlbeck.com reports there’ll be a shortage of 400,000 welders by 2024, and the US Department of Labor projects a nationwide deficit of 800,000 electricians by 2030!
Only by bringing together schools, government agencies, industry partners, and community organizations like Goodwill and The Boys & Girls Club can we hope to fill these roles and get people from pools of undiscovered talent into well-paying jobs in high-demand industries. That’s why, as 2023 dawns, we’ve made collective intention one of our core focus areas.
Collective intention — the key to changing lives with VR training
So, we know it takes a team to accomplish great things. Why focus on this now? Because for the past five years, we’ve been building something truly ambitious here at Transfr, a company dedicated not just to a product, but to an ideal. We want to put more people on their own personal pathways to prosperity and we know we can’t do that alone.
Our strength as a company is about so much more than just great hands-on VR simulations. It’s in our people.
Our strength as a company is about so much more than just great hands-on VR simulations. It’s in our people. Every day our workforce advisors, government relations experts, and customer success managers are out there, talking to real people. They’re not just helping them get the most they can out of Transfr VR training and career exploration, they’re helping them connect with other schools and agencies in their areas to help get more students and job seekers into the right training and open roles for them.
“There are a slew of barriers out there preventing people from getting onto pathways to high-paying, in demand careers — not just the skills gap,” says Research Analyst Kate Kimmer. “At Transfr, we never shy away from a challenge. For the past year, I have led the research on creating successful ecosystems of economic empowerment for youth and adults with justice involvement, a project that could not be closer to my heart. Collective intention fuels the success of our end-users, demanding a level of creativity, collaboration, and dynamism that Transfr. ”
The dedicated Product teams here at Transfr know all about collective intention as well, pooling their myriad skills to make some of the best hands-on learning simulations the industry’s ever seen. They weave the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of countless experts into complex simulations, together with VR experts from around the globe. All the while, our Creative and Marketing teams are liaising with our clients, sharing their stories with the world, helping more people see and understand that when we work together, we really can make a difference in the lives of job seekers and those entering the workforce.
There are countless employers out there looking to share opportunities with people and help them get on career paths. There are also people in need of jobs or just getting out of high school who are uncertain about the role of higher ed in their own pathway to prosperity. Not everyone will go to a four-year college — or needs to, in order to secure a well-paying job in a high-demand industry. By partnering with two-year colleges, CTE schools, employers, workforce development boards, and community organizations, we can better reach these uncertain job seekers and help everyone plot their own course through life.
“This is ultimately the way our Go-To-Market team operates every day,” says Hall Charter, Transfr Director of Sales. “Collective intention drives our efforts both internally and externally to build community partner ecosystems. We bring together organizations with one common goal: Helping people on a path to upward mobility. It’s extremely exciting to wake up everyday with the privilege of working with partners that share a common mission, and knowing that somebody somewhere is using Transfr to learn the skills they need to succeed.”
This is our moment to work together to change things for the next generation and help more people find their unique niches in society and pathways to prosperity. We’re committed to working together with every organization out there to get more people trained and into the right job for them, right away! If you’re reading this, we’re committed to working with you too!
Working together at Transfr and beyond!
Working together starts at home, so we’ve made 2023 our year to intensify how we mindfully work together across the organization to do more and spread our message that together, we can accomplish what no one has done before.
We started by looking internally at our organization as a whole, creating new ways to help our diverse departments work together. At Transfr, we unite unique pools of talent from different industries, from undiscovered talent pools, and from locations across the country, all offering different perspectives. Rather than see this as a challenge, we’ve always looked at this diversity in talent as an incredible opportunity to better understand our learners, who also come from diverse places in the world and in life.
“Transfr’s collective intention is reflected in the composition of our staff, as many of us have served as economic or workforce development professionals, educators, and nonprofit directors,” says Transfr Grants Director Faith Murphree. “Our collective knowledge and passions — when combined with our product and incredible partners — have the power to positively impact the workforce at-large.”
It may seem ambitious, but our mission is to connect all the dots internally and externally. We intend to walk the walk and lead the way. We know the only way to build robust classroom-to-career pathways is to unite stakeholders across education, government, and industry, which can only be done if we ourselves are a unified team.
Externally, this has already translated to us working with clients in all 50 states in an array of applications: Various industries, government agencies, schools, community organizations, and more. We serve adults and school-aged children, as well as marginalized groups. Whoever you are, if our simulations or our connections to other agencies could help you, we want to be there for you!
“The synergy created by Transfr’s collective intention is dynamic!” says Transfr Career Success Manager Suny McKaughan. “Collective intention motivates us as we collaborate internally and externally with every education, business, and government partner and potential partner we meet. As a company we know why we exist and we’re confident that our partnerships can help provide individuals with the opportunity for a better future.”
Building a better tomorrow, collectively
Transfr’s mission is to train pools of undiscovered talent to be the future of every industry. We aim to help every person we can get on a pathway to a well-paying job in a high-demand industry. We know we can’t do it alone, but do it we must.
By working together as a company and helping build connections between government agencies, community groups, schools, companies, and everyone else who shares our vision of the future, we hope to help build a better world. We want our collective future to be one of shared prosperity, where everyone has the skills and the chance to create the life they want to live.
Join us in making it a reality!
About the author
Bharani Rajakumar, Transfr founder and CEO, was also the co-founder of math tutoring software vendor LearnBop. In 2016, Bharani received the “Outstanding Leader of the Year” award from the US Distance Learning Association. He founded Transfr in 2017 using his understanding of how people learn, what gets them excited, and what skills they need to master in order to create their own pathways to career success.
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