A shortage of skilled manufacturing and healthcare workers exists that, if left unaddressed, will result in a reduction of operations and an eventual loss of employers. Several factors can be blamed for the lack of individuals entering these industries, including a negative perception among the labor pool that these careers are the old-fashioned, slow road to success. What was seen by a previous generation as a popular employment option has fallen out of favor with the current audience and is now seen as dead end, dirty, dangerous and often physically demanding. Trumpet was enlisted to create a workforce recruitment strategy and articulation for a coalition of companies in the manufacturing and healthcare industries — no small challenge given the desired employee’s perspective on the career offering and the fact that the labor pool was drastically reduced by the diaspora of Hurricane Katrina. Also consider that fast-food restaurants were offering $2000 signing bonuses during our recruitment period. Trumpet identified the best opportunity as positioning entry level, skills based employment within the manufacturing and healthcare industries as a path to a desireable lifestyle that would otherwise require a college education to achieve. We branded the effort “The Paycheck Project” and created connection messaging and tactics that convinced the desired audience that these industries offer the opportunity to earn relatively high wages quickly. Four months after launch, the Paycheck Project’s call center has received approximately 4,300 calls. Of those calls, 95% of callers expressed an interest in receiving career training for the manufacturing or healthcare industry.