Request for Proposal (RFP)
Immersive Multimedia Manufacturing Tour to Aid Workforce
Initiative Overview: The Greater FM EDC in partnership with Be More Colorful, LLC and Golden Path Solutions have been awarded a grant from the State of North Dakota in order to create an Immersive Multimedia Manufacturing Tour to aid workforce attraction.
The Goal: Create an industry-focused microsite with a library of immersive media tools and virtual reality video leveraging innovative new technologies to more effectively tell the story of manufacturing in Region Five. The microsite will serve as a hub for the manufacturing industry that includes detailed information about the region’s manufacturers including regional career opportunities, the sector diversity, size and industries served (biomedical, construction, agriculture, biotech, aerospace, etc.).
The Grant: The North Dakota Department of Commerce Workforce Innovation Grant (NDWIG) “provides grants to North Dakota companies to design and implement innovative plans to address their most demanding workforce challenges. The grant program must be used to address the negative impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on workforce and industries by encouraging companies and local partners to develop sustainable, innovative solutions to help businesses attract and retain workers and promote job security or wrap-around support for workers. The NDWIG is a competitive funding opportunity that aims to offset the cost of local, innovative solutions that permanently mitigate a workforce challenge in Manufacturing, Healthcare, Tourism, Energy, Transportation & Logistics, and Childcare.” (https://www.commerce.nd.gov/workforce/workforce-programs/workforce-innovation-grant)
Proposed Project: The project will focus on overcoming the lack of awareness that labor markets outside of North Dakota have about the robust manufacturing industry within Region 5. The project will center on the creation of an industry-focused microsite consisting of a library of immersive media tools, robust career profiles, and virtual reality video that leverages innovative new technologies to more effectively tell the story of manufacturing in Region 5. The hub will serve to direct people outside of the state to other online community resources being developed to attract workers to the region, some of which are being developed as part of a separate but complementary ND Regional Workforce Impact Program (NDRWIP) Grant Region 5 is currently implementing to support workforce recruitment.
Proposed Phase 1: The microsite, as currently proposed, will contain an overview of the manufacturing industry with pages highlighting each employer with third-party content including embedded virtual tours. Each manufacturer will be showcased with an overview of the company’s opportunities available.
The virtual tours and companion virtual reality videos will provide information on each company’s facilities, culture, two featured jobs, and several supporting roles (virtual tour content will be produced by Be More Colorful). An immersive and interactive field trip experience will allow site visitors to learn by exploring each manufacturing facility, discovering information about the industries each manufacturer serves, seeing actual workers in their roles and will include specific job posting information from within the virtual field trip experience. The company landing pages will also include traditional standard media such as photos and videos showcasing each company, and employee testimonials will provide relevant and relatable content to prospective employees from outside the market. Additionally, a companion virtual reality video will be produced for each facility allowing participating manufacturers to bring their facility experience with them to career fairs, college visits, and more.
In addition, Golden Path Solutions will supplement the company landing pages and VR career experiences with Golden Path career profiles. These profiles will enhance the project by explaining specific career paths, sponsorship opportunities, identifiable experiences and skills needed for success, and other company specific information that support the experiences. The Compass application will be made available through the manufacturing portal with the current assessment process used for students but with an additional assessment methodology developed for college and adult job seekers that will help make more targeted recommendations to specific VR experiences, companies, and careers, which will result in a higher likelihood of a new recruit. Additional profiles will be able to be used locally for career exploration and awareness through the ND CTE initiative around WBL and Career Exploration with RUReady. New matching algorithm will be used to extend the audiences Compass can serve, which has already been expressed as a goal with local higher-ed organizations (either supplementing tools like Handshake or providing new services to students) as well as Job Service and the adult populations they serve.
We are also requesting the website proposal include a login option to connect job seekers to an embedded assessment to support their job search. Having a login would allow us to retain the user’s information for future use. We are asking for this to be included within the website development proposals as an additional line item so we can determine if we can include it in phase one or if it needs to be held for a later iteration.
Your Role: If selected you will join a larger group working on one project. This RFP is intended to assemble the remaining necessary components to deliver a micro-site that will be complementary to the currently in development ND RWIP project. Bidders may provide quotes for one or more of the components which include:
An industry–focused microsite including a homepage to serve as a central hub promoting the manufacturing ecosystem in Region 5 and Indvidual landing pages for each participating manufacturer (up to 18 in this initial phase) that incorporate Be More Colorful virtual tours, Golden Path Solutions career profiles, and other related media assets provided by each manufacturer or produced as a result of this RFP
Video assets developed to communicate the depth and breadth of the manufacturing industry in Region 5
Strategy and creative which may include campaign strategy, graphic design, copywriting, analytics and reporting
Program marketing to include digital advertising, SEO, email marketing, social media, and content marketing
