Tips – Apprentice Learning

August 12, 2020

Having Open Conversations: Operationalizing Equity and Opportunity with Our Worksite Partners

After reflecting on the murders of Black and Brown people at the hands of the police, we realized that we could play a bigger role in combatting racial injustice by having open conversations with businesses in Boston around operationalizing equity and opportunity. Our work is rooted in a desire to build a workforce that is welcoming to young people from across Boston especially those who attend its public schools.

Dismantling exclusive networks and rebuilding inclusive, culturally competent networks requires that each of us re-evaluates the role we play in perpetuating injustice, even if it is seemingly innocuous. We must work intentionally to create organizational cultures that support individuals from a range of backgrounds. Our worksite partners are our allies in this mission — here are four strategies we shared with them for operationalizing equity, when working with our City Summer Interns. We are sharing them here in the hope that they are helpful for other businesses and programs involved in similar workforce development initiatives.

Acknowledge that First Impressions Matter.

When you are introduced to our interns, what are the messages you want to send? All of our City Summer Interns identify as female and are Black/African-diasporic, Latina, or Multi-ethnic.

Will any of the employees who interact with them be of the same ethnic or cultural background? Did any of your employees attend Boston Public Schools or grow up in a Boston neighborhood? It helps to make these connections. If not, it’s good to acknowledge the proverbial elephant in the room, because our collective silence can do unintended damage.

We discuss first impressions in our skills seminars because we know that our interns notice the race and background of the professionals they meet—and addressing it openly is the best approach. Apprentice Learning staff can help moderate these discussions. For example, “From first impressions, it appears we represent different racial backgrounds. During our time together, we hope to be able to learn more about one another and discover more about our individual experiences as well as qualities that we may have in common.”

Learn from One Another: Authentic Connection.

It’s clear what the interns hope to learn from you, but what do you hope to learn from them? We want to offer an exchange that’s a two-way street where all experiences have equal value.

How can you create connections with the interns that go beyond the surface? One way to deepen your engagement is by listening to discover shared interests and points of common ground. Often implicit biases hinder our ability to connect. What do you think you know already about the demographics of our interns? What is your evidence? Is it accurate? Are you open to knowing differently? Ask how interns spend their free time, what do they love to do? What are their future dreams? Who inspires them?

How People Change Policy.

What conversations are you having internally at your organization around diversity, equity, and belonging? How can you share some of those insights and experiences to demonstrate to our interns how change happens at an organizational level?

How did the events surrounding Black Lives Matter affect your organization in positive ways? What are your hopes for your organization?

Your Actions and Engagement Matter.

How can you promote your work with Apprentice Learning as an action that contributes to equity and opportunity in your organization? Please share your involvement with Apprentice Learning and our youth within your organization and promote organizations like Apprentice Learning. We firmly believe that building a diverse workforce starts early by giving young people a sense that they are welcomed and their skills are valued in an organization. This is what ignites purpose and career passions.

September 20, 2017

Host an Apprentice: 5 Tips for Success

Mentors and owners of Adi’s Bike World, Adi and Val, teaching Joxcel how to use tools.

As schools get underway, Apprentice Learning is preparing 50 students for apprenticeships throughout Boston in a wide variety of businesses. These worksite partners make time each week to create a hands-on learning experience that helps students understand a particular workplace and practice the professional skills Apprentice Learning staff introduce in our six preparatory classes. Our experienced worksite partners have learned the right menu of tasks. Here is what we’ve learned from our partners:

1. Plan age-appropriate tasks including a mix of work including tasks that require higher level thinking skills.
Nearly all simple tasks are things students enjoy doing: assembling packets, doing inventory, updating a database or straightening shelves. These tasks build confidence and independence. Activities such as customer service and managing money are more challenging although apprentices report that they love doing this work. The trick is to vary tasks enough so the apprentice has an opportunity to learn more about the business by talking with you, customers, colleagues or by seeing firsthand exactly how things work.

2. Don’t expect the apprentice to take the lead.
One of the primary benefits of an apprenticeship for students is learning how to engage with adults who are not their teachers or family members. These types of social interactions are extremely rare for most students and initially, can be complex and stressful. Help ease a student’s discomfort and ask lots of how or what questions. What might be a first step you would take to tackle this task? What do you think should happen next? How do you understand the task I presented to you? How do you think our business makes money?

3. Do know that students are enjoying their experience—even if they don’t tell you!
Universally, the apprenticeship is a weekly highlight for students. Apprentices are much more nervous and anxious then they will let on, or may be learning how their body language can be perceived. Don’t worry. It’s normal! Once in a while, an apprenticeship isn’t a good fit. If that is the case, we will be in touch with you immediately to discuss changes, even to place the student in another setting better suited to his/her skills and interests. We all share the same goal that a young person’s first work experience is positive.

4. Use the experts.
When Apprentice Learning staff stops by to check in—we are not just checking on the apprentice. This is an opportunity for you to share questions, concerns or ideas about working with a young person. Use us as a sounding board. We love to talk about young people at work.

5. Have fun. It’s the Wonder Years.
Eighth graders love Apprentice Learning because they want to spend time with you. Young people at this age are in the greatest growth period in the human life cycle. The ages of 13-15 are called the Wonder Years for this reason. Apprentices are curious and eager to exercise independence and demonstrate their competence. They have intellectual capabilities that are often untapped in traditional school settings. Our oldest apprentices can vividly recall their workplace experience from their eighth grade years. The experience you create matters more than you know.

February 7, 2016

Teach to the demands of real life

Front and center in our curriculum and practice is the idea of teaching ‘content and skills related to the demands of real life,’ a phrase from Donald Kagan. We use the experience of the workplace to bring this into clear focus and create opportunities to practice these skills:

Use self-presentation skills and non-verbal messages like eye contact, listening clues, posture, clothing to communicate with adults.
Understand one’s skills, interests, strengths and learning style to process information and advocate effectively.
Observe and understand a workplace culture’s expectations for success.

Apprentice Learning starts with explicit teaching and modeling in the classroom. Then students practice by videoing each other and offering critiques. Lastly, the workplace becomes the real world test where students have ample opportunities to practice in conscious and unconscious ways. To build learning, reflection is important. Watch one apprentice’s video here

February 7, 2016

4 Simple Signs: I am Listening.

Ready for work: are you listening?

Our eighth graders are truly excited to go to their first workplace but it may not always be immediately evident. Adolescent brains process information in wholly different ways than adults. Teachers know this but workplace supervisors may not. We teach our students a simple, effective strategy for interactions in the workplace to help them gain confidence speaking with adults they do not know.

Apprentices, show adults you are listening.

You are in school all day. Listening. It is crucial to learning. Throughout the day in the classroom, as you listen to the teacher, you look out the window, turn around in your seat or even close your eyes.

Still listening? Likely you are. Except when you switch to the workplace where communication is usually among adults, you want to be sure to give off a few signals. At work, unlike at school, communication typically occurs among one to four people. Showing them you are listening is especially important.

In a professional setting, when an adult gives you instructions, he or she will look for signals from you that you are listening and that you understand what is being said. That’s what adults expect of each other. Here’s how to Here are a few tips you can use:

Four simple signals.

Eye contact. Look at the person speaking.
Turn your body toward the person speaking. Imagine you are a putting a spotlight on them.
Nod your head. It means you are taking it all in. It could also mean you agree with what’s being said.
Ask questions! It means you get it. It’s the best way to make the conversation more than a one-way presentation. It shows you are listening and learning.

Try it.

Use these signals every 10-20 seconds with adult professionals. Take turns using each one. It will help the adults understand you better. And it helps you learn, too.

March 17, 2015

Skills That Matter

It goes without saying that the last few years have seen some of the greatest economic growth since the 2008 downturn. Just last week, it was announced that close to 295,000 new jobs were created in the month of February. But with the growing economy has come a growing problem.

New attention is now being paid to what has been coined the skills gap in our country. The skills gap is growing disconnect between the skills that employers deem important to the workplace and the skills that new workers bring with them.

A January 2015 article in the Washington Post entitled, “Why so many college students are failing to gain job skills before graduation” pointed out that employers find recent college graduates are “severely lacking in some basic skills, particularly problem solving, decision making, and the ability to prioritize tasks.” Research done into the skills gap shows that while many college students believe they are prepared with these skills, their employers disagree.

We’ve reached a point where many of the newly created jobs are going unfilled. Even with years of technical training and specialized education, workers are lacking some of the most foundational skills required to be successful in the workplace.

Here in Jamaica Plain we are taking the skills gap head on. Skills are at the core of what we do at Apprentice Learning. Last week I observed our Apprentices at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University learn more about nano-materials and DNA then most of the people in my college graduating class, and that was only the orientation. An apprenticeship at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering is a parallel work experience, meaning that the apprenticeship is designed to mimic the work experience of professionals in the field. After their orientation, the Apprentices get right to designing. With just a set of bottle caps and magnetic chips, the Apprentices lived through a typical Wyss project. With far less formal education or training, the 8^th graders used excellent communication skills and teamwork to accomplish their goal, the same kind of work skills that the highly trained scientists and engineers in the room use on a daily basis.

This kind of skills practice is true across all of our sites. An Apprentice at First Literacy practices organization while at the Game Engagement Lab at Emerson College they practice attention to detail. Helping customers at Boing Toy Shop entails good communication; while attentiveness and kindness is essential in the care of young children at Horizons for Homeless Children.

Employers in all fields believe these kinds of skills are essential employee success. I am proud to say that our 8^th grade Apprentices are getting a head start. When they are at work, the experience they gain may not be specialized training in game development or bioengineering. Instead, they practice skills most valuable to the workplace, communication, punctuality, teamwork, and reliability, skills that will matter for life.

May 29, 2014

Don’t Lollygag

At Apprentice Learning, our mission states that we, “give apprentice students authentic opportunities to learn good habits of work, gain a better understanding of what it takes to succeed, and learn how to measure success in one’s chosen field.”

Apprentices have completed Spring apprenticeships, giving me pause to think about these authentic moments. When did I see them? When did Apprentices notice them? Are they carefully planned, haphazard, or do they occur as an integral part of an apprenticeship?

So we interviewed students. Here’s what one Apprentice picked up during her workplace experience, “Make sure you are good at the job, don’t lollygag, don’t sit in the corner, don’t use your phone when you are not supposed to, make sure you have your eyes open and you are doing the job right. If you mess up, apologize, and hopefully they will understand. Don’t be rude to your boss, that’s the main person who will give you a recommendation.”

Observation is such an important part of the learning process. We don’t want to discount what young people learn from what happens around them. It’s one of the most important reasons for having Apprentices travel to a workplace. Placing Apprentices in work environments where they observe adults who don’t “lollygag” helps reinforce these basic lessons that begin at at home and are reinforced at school, in our program, and in the workplace.

September 8, 2013

What the Job Creators Want

I came across an article by Evan Burfield in the Huffington Post. It was written a year ago and it still resonates, especially as Apprentice Learning begins Year 2. This week I am reaching out to businesses and organizations to identify placements for Apprentices from two Boston Public Schools, the Mission Hill School and the Boston Teachers Union School.

In securing Apprentice placements, it has been the entrepreneurs who have been the most open to mentoring young adolescents and teaching them about the world of work. Many want to support the young people in the educational pathway. See our Partners Page for a full listing.

Burfield’s article explains another aspect of those willing to invest precious time with 8th graders. It is the future: as Byfield states, “Startups need people who are constantly figuring things out on their own, learning from their peers, and reaching out to mentors for guidance rather than rote instruction. It’s not about what they know, it’s how they learn, think, and communicate.” These are precisely the skills Apprentices practice beforehand and on the job. The newest jobs require flexible thinking and broader skill sets. And many of these skills are best learned and practiced outside of the classroom.

This skill set must be good for business. Entrepreneurs who launched within the last five years are leading the way, part of the fast growing job sector in our new economy. These folks are the job creators. And they are wisely investing in the next generation of people who can get things done.

Tag: Tips