SpaceTEC Presentation06 May 2008

Meet Garret, Kristen, Aaron and Nick

Last fall we created a presentation that

sparked a conversation about strategic

communications at …

010010100100... it went viral, got people talking…

... and fostered a healthy discussion

about the aerospace workforce!

Today, we’re going to share with you some original content from the “Generation Y Perspectives” presentation, as well as some data and thoughts about the aerospace workforce.

When we talk to our friends about our careers in the aerospace industry

they think

that we are

rocket

scientists

and

astronauts

because we work here,

but truthfully, we tend to work just as much here.

Last week, we interacted with people from here …

… friends, family, classmates, colleagues, even strangers.

They all wanted to know more about

what we do at NASA.TM

So we got to thinking…

Why aren’t they connected to NASA?

Why isn’t an entire generation

connecting to NASA?

We are part of Generation Y.

This presentation is our perspective.

(But keep in mind that our generation will be asked to pay the majority of the tax bill for the vision for space exploration)

That’s $124B through the first lunar landing (FY06–FY18).

NASA has a brand and a message.

We don’t want to talk about that.

We want to talk about why our generation isn’t connecting to it.

Because we are not connecting to it…

…young

people, both

inside and

outside of

NASA.

And we think we SHOULD connect to it.

…to everyone.

Because what NASA does is important.

We are here because

of the pioneers before us

accomplished awe-inspiring

achievements and initiatives.

development.

operations.

science.human spaceflight.

research.their legacy is…

but a lot has changedin the world

since the inception ofNASA

Society is more

connectedand

collaborative

than ever before.

The world is connected today in ways

that are shattering traditional

communications concepts.

As we move

forward in human space exploration,

we believe it will take the

collaboration of all

collaboration

Experiences

Perspectives

Generations

to lead humanity

on new

explorations

into the

solar system.

And NASA is in a position to lead the world in exploring those new frontiers.

Engaging people in this exploration is not just an opportunity.

It is a responsibility.

01 Defining a Generation

Roughly speaking, Generation Y is defined as -

20001977

831

< Birth Date >

< Current Age >

There are over 70 million people in the U.S. belonging to Generation Y

And just like the Baby Boomers, Gen Y is a large group of people that is IMPACTING society

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Birt

hs (

in t

hous

ands

)

Birth Year

Baby Boomers

Gen YGen X

Is NASA ready?

47%and is projected to be 47% of the workforce by 2014.

25%Generation Y is currently 25% of the workforce

After giving the original presentation,

we noticed that this discussion is

bigger than just one generation.

It’s a “NextGen” workforce issue.

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Birt

hs (

in t

hous

ands

)

Birth Year

Baby Boomers

Next Gen

The younger workforce is at an all time low.

compared to 16% at NASA.

47% of the USworkforce is under age 40.

compared to 4% at NASA.

25% of the USworkforce is under age 30.

A hiring “freeze” resulted in an 8 year gap in the 1970’s (~1971-1979).We’re currently 15 years into what may be a 22 year gap (1993-2015).

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

45-54

55-64

# of

em

ploy

ees

For example, here’s the profile at NASA Johnson Space Center for the workforce ages 45-64…

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

30-3425-29

<24

# of

em

ploy

ees

… compare that with the profile of the younger workforce ages <34.

Gen Y starts entering work force

I ndustry Age Profiles

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69

Five-year Age Bands

Perc

enta

ge o

f C

oll

ege-E

duca

ted W

ork

forc

e

Total U.S. Workforce

NASA

Aerospace Industry

IT & Telecom

Finance and Financial Services

All Other Science and TechnologyIndustries

And NASA is Notably Different…The data is hard to break down by specific “hi-tech” industries, but available data does show that NASA is old by comparison

No NASA Center Breaks the TrendAll centers have nearly identical age profiles

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%2

0 t

o 2

4

25

to 2

9

30

to 3

4

35

to 3

9

40

to 4

4

45

to 4

9

50

to 5

4

55

to 5

9

60

to 6

4

65

to 6

9

70

or

old

er

Five-Year Age Band

Perc

en

tag

e o

f W

ork

forc

e(C

S F

TP

or

JPL W

YE)

JSC 23%

JPL 23%

SSC 23%

GSFC 20%

KSC 20%

DFRC 18%

HQ 16%

LARC 12%

MSFC 12%

ARC 11%

GRC 10%

NASA

Centers and their percentage workforce under age 40.

NASA is Hiring Older EmployeesDespite best efforts, is next-generation hiring actually a priority?

Average Age of NASA Hiring

25

30

35

40

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Fiscal Year

Avera

ge A

ge o

f H

ires

Full-time Permanent Hires

All Hires

Too Long for Management Experience?

Today’s workforce needs 10 years more time in NASA to get management experience (compared to the workforce just 15 years ago)

NASA S&E Supervisory Workforce

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64

Age

Civ

il S

erv

an

t F

TP

(F

TE

)

FY1994FY1996FY1998FY2000FY2002FY2004FY2006FY2008-Q2

Apollo generation retirement in mid-

1990's

Supervisory status as indicator of delayed growth in leadership

skillset

Are we engaging the NextGen?

We recognize that there is always the tyranny of the urgent.

NASA faces major challenges with the STS retirement, startup of the Constellation Program, and follow through with the Exploration Mission.

But we need to focus on strategic workforce issues.

The agency is facing a human spaceflight gap and we are heading into that gap with a young workforce that has it’s own experience gap.

Combined, these respected gaps constitute a unique coupling of problems; the 1970’s experience gap could pale in comparison to the impact of today’s gap.

02 Perspectives

As a whole, people of Generation Y are not

interested in space exploration.

This is a FACT.

A majority of Gen Y between 18 and 24

Are not aware or not engaged in NASA’s mission

40%Forty percent oppose NASA’s mission

39%Thirty Nine percent believe that nothing worthwhile has come out of NASA.

If our generation is asked to pay the majority of the tax bill for the vision for space exploration, we need to be engaged in NASA’s mission.

Characteristics that define our generation …

WiredMobileGlobal Multi-taskingExpecting Instant InformationEmpoweredLikes MentorsQuickly BoredInterdependentImpatient if delayed……but highly adaptableAttracted to large social movements

And there are a lot of things that made us the way we are.

We were the first generation to grow up

with cable in our homes

…Studies say this leads to

shorter attention spans

…And chronic boredom.

We are used to DIVERSITY

…after all, we grew up in diverse environments.

We grew up with

TALK SHOWS

And REALITY TV.

For our generation, TV is not passive entertainment

it is an interactive experience!

And our lives and outlooks have been shaped by this.

“Anyone can be a star …”

“Everyone deserves to have their say.”

“Getting heard and having a say are not only easy, they seem natural.”

Wait! You just described my generation.

Maybe there are some similarities. But there are very important differences.

Such as different formative experiences.

Civil Rights

The Feminist Movement

Gay Rights

Handicapped Rights

The Right to Privacy

And,

Vietnam

The Cold War

The “Big Three” TV networks

The Kennedy and King Assassinations

Baby Boomers were shaped by:

Rock Music

Generation Y has been shaped by:

Columbine

The 2000 Election Crisis

9-11

Cable

Reality TV

The Iraq War

Terrorism

Internet

Columbia Accident

Cell Phones

Gaming

Starbucks

And those life experiences made us:Lack trust in corporations and government

Focus on personal successHave a short-term career perspective

Gets easily boredExtremely independent

See no clear boundary between work and life Empowered and optimistic

Sacrifice economic rewards for work-life balanceExpect to work anytime, anyplace

Connect with people in new and distinctive waysComfortable with globalizationRacially and culturally diverse

03 Rules of Engagement

Our generation communicates in an entirely new way.

The traditional concept of

top-down, one-way communications strategy

is dead.

(It is NOT dying. It is dead.)

Our generation is not interested in the space industry because:

We don’t see the point.

We don’t understand the facts.

We can’t participate.

So how do you reach an

entire generation

with a brand and message?

First, better understand the audience

Then focus on getting us interested again

Instead of telling us what you want us to hear …

Facilitate a discussion and allow us to

participate in your organizations mission

Spark conversations

But please be timely

Share your compelling story’s

Touch our lives in ways

familiar to us.

Example: utilize “social media”

Finally, reclaim

your image as a

leader of

innovation.

04 The Challenge

By no means is this “the answer”

…after all, who are we anyway?

Just some NextGen’rs who got

hooked by the space bug and

want to help.

What does your local NextGen’r think about the future?

There isn’t one ultimate communications strategy to solve workforce issues once and for all.

…it’d be a lot easier if there was.

So the challenge is to take this and create new ideas.

Creative Collaborative

Open

Purposeful

Because the industry we want to work for and connect to is like us:

Participatory

Bold

Exciting

Innovative

Timely

Connected

And we – our generation – want to be a part of the solution.

And it is OUR future.

Because space exploration is the future.

Everyone’s future.