The public sector includes services and jobs provided by federal, state, and local governments. In the following activities, you will design a job recruitment commercial and social media post to influence others to pursue careers in the public sector.
The public sector is the part of the United States economy that is owned and operated by federal, state, and local governments. It includes governmental agencies, police and fire departments, public schools and colleges, the military, and other agencies and departments. The U.S. Post Office, National Parks, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are all part of the public sector.
State and local governments are currently experiencing enormous challenges in recruiting workers for public sector jobs. An ongoing “silver tsunami” (the steady retirement of older baby boom-age workers) combined with a decline in job applications due to the COVID-19 pandemic has created a significant number of public sector employment openings throughout the country. And, the public sector is facing increasingly stiff competition from the private sector organizations for highly talented professional, managerial, and technical workers, especially those with two- and four-year college degrees.
Activity 1: Design a Public Sector Job Recruitment Commercial
Imagine you work for a state government that has a significant shortage of workers in a certain public service sector (education, agriculture, postal service, transportation, etc...). In this activity you will create a TV or online commercial to recruit adults to pursue careers in that public sector area.
Start by curating a Wakelet, Padlet, or Google slides collection of TV and online (e.g., YouTube, social media) commercials for public sector and private sector jobs.
Explain the importance of public service and identify career and other opportunities in public service at the local, state and national levels. (Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Studies) [8.T4.9]