Ivanka Trump Launches "Find Something New" Campaign For Unemployed Workforce, Faces Backlash

Whether it is the lack of creativity, ignorance of people's suffering, or plain incompetence, the Trump camp laughed a condescending campaign as a White House-backed initiative encouraging unemployed or unhappy people to start a new chapter. The campaign, spearheaded by Ivanka Trump and titled "Find Something New", has received quite a bit of backlash from thousands of people online, with some scoffing at the poor effort for a name while others complaining that finding jobs or switching careers is not as easy as a catchphrase especially in times of a global pandemic, reports CNN.

The campaign is coming out in the wake of rising joblessness in the country with as many as 18 million people currently out of work owing to the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. In the opening ad for the campaign which aired on Tuesday, we see ordinary people sharing their stories of how they have been impacted. The campaign also provides a website with links to training and other resources to help people make the switch. This comes as an extension of the administration's long-held idea to emphasize skills-based jobs and vocational training as an aside to college degree programs while stating that not every job needs a college degree.

However, with the pandemic striking the nation unexpectedly, the initiative has been pushed into the limelight as it is now forced facing an upgraded timeline in order to meet the demands of the growing jobless people. Besides this, the campaign has received various criticisms including one for tone-deafness as employment went past 12 million since February with June alone recording over 11.1% job losses, a slight reprieve from the 14.7% seen in April—the highest since the Great Recession. A CBS News report reveals that people could struggle to find employment even if they are looking forward to new opportunities as job listings have dropped by 6% in the last two weeks as companies have begun cutting job openings, as per Glassdoor.

In the video, people talk about their journey changing careers and handling the transitions. A fitness instructor talks about completing an apprenticeship program and becoming a welder as a gym closed down, a man who lost his job twice in a year takes certification courses and becomes a tech consultant."I got laid off twice, but you got to keep going," he says: "I'm now a consultant in the tech space." The website available with the campaign offers a variety of training and education options on an online and virtual learning basis. The campaign is expected to put our more similar ads which are set to air all over the country on TV, spring, and digital platforms donated by media companies. Funding for the project was given by over 20 organizations—including IBM, Apple, and the US Chamber of Commerce.

While people have largely criticized the campaign, some jumped in its defense. Nick Larson wrote: "Plenty of things to criticize Ivanka Trump on, but this is not one of them. People just have to stop picking apart absolutely everything that comes out of the other camp. Hillary suggested this for the coal industry a few years ago, so call it what you want and get on board." Others argued the idea behind the campaign in its is flawed as Ian pointed out. "That’s easy for her to say when she has a job and others don’t. Find something new, what is there to find out here when there’s nothing new to find.." Jen Gimlet wrote: "You know, 10 years ago in the recession, I tried something new by opening a small business. Now I'm wondering just how long I can keep it alive while we're allowing an incompetent "leadership" team to destroy America. So Ivanka can stuff it."