--- title: "Meet Workforce Development's Secret Ingredient: The Avatar - skillsgapp" description: "The sooner that kids can \"see themselves\" in manufacturing and cyber careers, the sooner we can close the workforce skills gap." image: https://skillionairehq.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/avatars-1.jpeg --- [![web\_skillionaire\_logo](https://skillionairehq.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2026%20Homepage/web_skillionaire_logo.png?width=420&height=108&name=web_skillionaire_logo.png)](https://skillionairehq.com) - [Partner With Us](https://skillionairehq.com/partner) - [About](https://skillionairehq.com/about) - [Blog](https://skillionairehq.com/blog) - [Press](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/tag/news) - [Contact Us](https://skillionairehq.com/contact) - [Visit Skillionaire Games](https://www.skillionairegames.com/) gaming # Meet Workforce Development’s Secret Ingredient: The Avatar The sooner that kids can "see themselves" in manufacturing and cyber careers, the sooner we can close the workforce skills gap. [skillsgapp](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/author/skillsgapp) Nov 21, 2022 [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://skillionairehq.com/blog/workforce-avatars&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://skillionairehq.com/blog/workforce-avatars&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://skillionairehq.com/blog/workforce-avatars&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://skillionairehq.com/blog/workforce-avatars&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) [gaming](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/tag/gaming) [Gen Z](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/tag/gen-z) ![](https://skillionairehq.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/avatars-1.jpeg) Do you know one reason so many jobs continue to go unfilled? Kids can’t “see” themselves working in them. They don’t know what opportunities exist, as we discuss [here](https://skillsgapp.com/gen-z-talks-careers-1/), and even when they do, certain careers might feel unachievable, unreachable. When a student can insert a representation of themselves into environments that exemplify industries like[cybersecurity](https://www.wsbcss.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2353354&type=d&pREC_ID=2307134) or[the life sciences](https://www.scbio.org/programs/community-education/), they understand that they can have a place there. [Serita Acker](https://www.clemson.edu/cecas/departments/peer-wise/about/meet-our-staff/), an internationally recognized creator of academic programs to increase underrepresented students in the STEM fields believes it is imperative that we meet our youth where they are when it comes to career awareness, specifically in minority populations. “Where do our youth spend most of their time? Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, video games, anywhere their phone goes. However, do our youth realize that computer scientists develop the software for these platforms and that computer engineers create and design the electronics that they enjoy so much?” The overall lack of STEM role models of color in media and entertainment is in part to blame, according to Acker. “The last time I watched a movie or TV show about a person of color who was a scientist, engineer, or mathematician was ‘Hidden Figures’ and that came out in 2016. Students need to see people who look like them portrayed in these fields.” *Enter the Avatar* [The Proteus Effect](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227516065_The_Proteus_Effect_The_Effect_of_Transformed_Self-Representation_on_Behavior) describes a phenomenon in which the behavior of an individual, within virtual worlds, is changed by the characteristics of their [avatar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)). This change is due to the individual’s knowledge about the behaviors typically associated with those characteristics. Like the adjective protean (meaning versatile or mutable), the concept’s name is an allusion to the shape-changing abilities of the Greek god [Proteus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteus). The Proteus effect was [first introduced](https://stanfordvr.com/mm/2007/yee-proteus-effect.pdf) by researchers Nick Yee and Jeremy Bailens at Stanford University in June 2007, as an examination of the behavioral effects of changing a user’s embodied avatar. In another[study conducted this year](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-03232-6#Sec16), researchers “consistently found … high degrees of congruence between the respective characteristics of the avatar, the actual self, and the ideal self.” Similarly, a[2019 study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296318306301) found that “people balancing the motives of self-verification and self-enhancement design their avatars to be similar to their real selves.” The fact that digital avatars most often reflect the user is critical knowledge for [gamified technology](https://skillsgapp.com/games/) designed to connect kids to careers and pathways—provided with the chance to present themselves how they wish, players take on an active role and self-realize in the game, especially within a safe environment void of biases or judgment. This agency and expression is especially important for young players in minority groups who are often underrepresented in the workforce. Kids learn by watching and mimicking, so if they never see anyone who looks like them in a particular field, the possibility of that future is not easily imagined. Equipped with a DEI-minded avatar creator like in[Cyber Watchdog](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cyber-watchdog/id1620424893) or[Rad Lab](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rad-lab/id1627757977), though, students have the ability to visualize themselves in career environments, which puts them one step closer to attaining success and narrowing the skills gap. *When you play video games, do you customize your avatar to look like you, or someone different?* #### Related Posts workforce development ### [Rules for Engaging Underrepresented Youth in Workforce Development - 1 of 2](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/rules-for-engaging-underrepresented-youth-in-workforce-development-1-of-3) The first in a highly requested series, expert Serita Acker shares key strategies in engaging underrepresented youth in early talent recruitment. skillsgapp Jun 11, 2024 workforce development ### [Rules for Engaging Underrepresented Youth in Workforce Development - 2 of 3](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/rules-for-engaging-underrepresented-youth-in-workforce-development-2-of-3) Serita Acker shares key steps you can take to mentor underrepresented youth in workforce development, no matter what you look like. skillsgapp Aug 22, 2024 Gen Z ### [5 Steps in Supporting Underserved Talent in Career Pathways](https://skillionairehq.com/blog/supportingunderservedyouth) By Serita Acker, internationally recognized creator of academic programs to increase underrepresented students in the STEM fields and skillsgapp... skillsgapp Jan 10, 2024 ### Read our blogs before everybody else does. 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