Entertainment and Education

Nevada is currently experiencing growing pains while saying goodbye to how things used to be. Casinos cater to higher end consumers, other countries create and innovate guest experiences, and budget airlines stop flying. This all leads to layoffs and competition with not only experienced candidates, but new graduates all competing for fewer and fewer job opportunities.

Lower end service workers are facing tightening hours amid rising prices as small business owners are trying to stay open. The projected jobs report shows the only two in demand jobs making over $50,000 per year are nursing and general managers, which both require degrees or trade schools.

Meanwhile, colleges across the country are closing their doors, or are absorbed by university systems as extensions. Students are being priced out of education, so they find other ways to afford a degree. The lower enrollment leads to more closures and so on.

Entertainment is evolving at a breakneck pace, and is one of the few industries people still spend money on, regardless of economic uncertainty.

So, what do we do? We figure out some way to keep the colleges open while we diversify our entertainment offerings and bring in new employers across the state. We don't just keep raising tuition markedly higher than inflation.

We stave off tuition increases by generating passive income for our higher education system.

We create a system where classes can change semester to semester ... keeping up with industry demands, and placing Nevada at the forefront of job training and education.

For now, we focus on supporting and diversifying our entertainment community, helping them innovate and create an invested fan base, driving tourism to the state. We work together to drive tourism dollars around the state and provide higher paying jobs and career opportunities to our residents.

We help prospective students cut down on their overall tuition and help them join the workforce faster, making more money and paying off less debt. We offer new degrees and certifications. We provide new job training opportunities. We create programs that compliment the state's economy, and raise the overall standard income.

If we create a system with the ability to adjust to changing industry standards and expectations, provide instruction and mentorship from industry professionals, and provide proof of ability...we can attract more than just entertainment industry to the state.

But, we have to start somewhere. So, we start with the experiential economy, and we pull back what we lost.

We were a world leader in experiential entertainment, but we didn't embrace it. It's not too late to recover and move forward. Other states are silently targeting very specific sectors of entertainment, such as the video game education and studio migration happening in Arizona.

We can do the same, but loudly and with conviction. We're Nevada. We're not just Vegas. We're not just Reno. We provide an affordable education to our residents, and help them find a well paying job. We attract small studios and help them grow, providing them with the talent we need. We create and innovate, helping small entertainment businesses put down roots and become part of our communities.

We don't invest billions of dollars gambling on a big name like Warner Bros, because it can lead to a big fall. We spread a smaller investment, and grow our own big names from the ground up.

That's why entertainment and education need each other. If we don't act soon, we may lose it forever.

Higher Education Glossary

Entertainment Glossary

Experiential Glossary