Comparing Social Engagement Platforms for Engaging Gen Z in Career Discovery:  Gaming Takes the Lead.

As the younger cohort of Gen Z enters the workforce, their media and technology habits play a crucial role in how they connect to and engage with career options outside of traditional K12 or job fair settings. The following analysis is especially relevant to those engaging youth in workforce development and looking for innovative ways to promote skills-based careers, which are under-prioritized in schools. Here, we compare various social engagement platforms to uncover where Gen Z spends most of their time, and why “career” gaming is emerging as the frontrunner in skills-based career discovery, access and outcomes.

Gaming: The Leading Platform for Gen Z Engagement

Gaming has become synonymous with Gen Z's digital experience, offering a blend of entertainment, community, and social interaction. With in-game content proving more effective than traditional career discovery channels, like websites and job fairs, gaming environments present workforce boards, industry trade organizations, state economic development agencies, companies and colleges with highly immersive engagement opportunities.

Pros:

• Broad Reach: Mobile gaming represents the largest segment of the gaming market, with 79% of global gamers playing on mobile devices. This opens up significant opportunities to reach rural areas at scale, where mobile access is prevalent, even if traditional broadband is limited.
• Local Connectivity: Mobile games can offer content based on a player’s exact location. This means a player can engage in-game with career and pathway content right around them, including local apprenticeships, community colleges and job opportunities. This also means companies and colleges can engage right back.
• High Engagement = High Impact: Gen Z spends more time gaming than on any other form of entertainment, clocking in an average of over 6 hours each week. With their attention already here, career discovery and gamified skill-building can capture their interest in a way that traditional outreach (e.g., career days) may not.
• Mobile Frequency: 86% of gamers engage weekly, providing ongoing touchpoints to reinforce career pathways and local opportunities.
• Data Tracking: In-game player behavior can be tracked, including content engagement, badges earned, and skills mastered, as well out-of-game behavior, like clicks over to colleges, apprenticeships, GED programs and companies.

Cons:

• Game Genre Preferences: With varied genres and platforms, finding the right in-game content strategy for specific audiences is key.

YouTube

YouTube continues to be a major social platform for Gen Z, with a focus on entertainment and informational content. However, while it boasts high usage rates, it isn't primarily seen as a place for career discovery.

Pros:

• Wide Reach: Gen Z spends 1,500 minutes per month here, making it a popular platform for delivering bite-sized content.
• Low Barrier to Entry: Video content creation is easy to produce and/or outsource and distribute to large audiences. 

Cons:

• Crowded Marketplace: As the most frequented online platform among U.S. Gen Z adults, workforce boards, industry trade organizations, state economic development agencies, companies and colleges need to ensure content is engaging enough to break through the entertainment-heavy focus of YouTube.
• Regionally Unspecific: A user’s demographic and geographic location is one of over 10 ranking criteria in YouTube’s recommender algorithm. Unless someone is searching for you, locally-specific content is challenging to deliver to your target demographic.

TikTok: 

TikTok's short-form video content has made it a favorite among Gen Z, leading to the platform's rapid growth. Its focus on trends and creativity provides a unique space for companies and agencies to connect with younger audiences in innovative ways.

Pros:

• High Daily Engagement: Gen Z spends an average of 53.8 minutes per day on TikTok, providing numerous opportunities to introduce local career pathways in fun, engaging ways.
• Creativity-Driven: The platform's format encourages user-generated content, making it easier for companies and colleges to create viral campaigns.

Cons:

• Trend-Driven: Staying relevant on TikTok requires constant updates and an understanding of fast-moving trends.
• Short Attention Span: The quick-scroll nature can make it harder for brands to leave a lasting impact.

Instagram: 

Instagram remains popular among Gen Z, with its blend of visual storytelling, influencer content, and social interactions. Despite a steady user base, engagement on Instagram has slowed compared to newer platforms.

Pros:

• Strong Visual Engagement: Offering multiple formats for engagement, you can share reels, posts, or stories featuring local employees or job openings in a visually compelling way.
• Gen Z Presence: Though Gen Z is moving towards other platforms, many still use Instagram as part of their daily routine.

Cons:

• Lower Engagement: Average  time spent is significantly lower (512 minutes per month) compared to gaming (1,920 minutes/month) and YouTube (1,500 minutes/month).
• Decline in Younger Users: The growth in younger users has declined, with your next workforce generation shifting focus to alternative platforms.

Snapchat & Discord: 

While more niche, platforms like Snapchat (for quick, intimate interactions) and Discord (for community-building) can help workforce boards, industry organizations, companies and colleges create dedicated spaces for local career conversations.

Pros:

• Community-Building: These platforms could foster smaller, more dedicated groups (Discord) around career mentoring, skills training, and local job postings, leading to deeper engagement.
• Exclusive Content: Fleeting content (Snapchat) can create urgency around job openings or events, such as virtual job fairs or employer Q&A sessions.

Cons:

• Smaller Reach: Community platforms have more niche usage, so they should complement broader strategies like gaming or YouTube.
• Less Visibility: Private messaging and the short life (Snapchat) of posts limit the exposure time for content.

Conclusion: Gaming Amplifies Career Discovery

While there is no singular silver bullet for promoting our most needed skilled-based careers in industries like advanced manufacturing, healthcare, STEM and cybersecurity/IT, it is apparent that social platforms are eclipsing the traditional methods of K12 youth outreach, specifically in underserved areas. Workforce boards, industry trade organizations, state economic development agencies, companies and colleges would be wise to integrate social programming into their youth outreach mix. Mobile gaming, especially, provides the heaviest lift by integrating local career discovery, pathways and opportunities into immersive experiences that translate into real job opportunities, locally, to those who really need them.