Manpower To The Rescue!

Teach A Man To Design!

I read a lot of business magazines to stay aware of trends in my target groups.I was reading Forbes the other day and saw an ad from the temp agency, ManpowerGroup. I liked the graphics, so
I read the copy.I had a great laugh! It seems ManpowerGroup taught some fisherman from a village destroyed by a tsunami to be graphic designers.These fishermen lost their livelihood to a natural disaster! ManpowerGroup was invited in and they set up vocational training centers dedicated to,
" transforming the workforce".
I don't know how many fishermen there were in
the village, but as designers many are earning several times what they made as fishermen. Really?

The ad is based on the old saw,"Feed a man a fish and he's full for the day,Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." ManpowerGroup found the hidden talent in these fishermen. Graphic design is a tough job.
On scale, it would have been easier to open a fish processing plant compared to the individual cost of becoming a graphic designer,whether freelance or as an employee.I know that line of work would have been a better choice for a large number of unemployed fishermen.

Of all the vocations to choose from they offered graphic design! There are some urban centers near the village.A call center may have been another choice to offer more opportunity for the devastated fishermen.They chose graphic design! Graphic design today is the most competitive,cut throat business you can be in.Maybe they should have become lawyers?

Some days I think it would be easier to be a fisherman than a freelancer.I am happy for the "several fishermen" who are now designers.I can't help but wonder what happened to the families of all the others
who didn't get design.