Inform the apprentice of internal promotion and more training possibilities.

DO

Read

This section will explain the importance of informing the apprentice about the different career and training possibilities within the company, which is directly related to the apprentice’s overall motivation and to setting goals for the mentoring plan.

You might wonder why it is  important to inform the apprentice about internal promotion and further training possibilities, but just like the companies employees may be looking into the future for different career possibilities, this applies to  apprentices too. 

The path to the apprentice dream job during the apprenticeship could be like this: 

  • In the first discussion with the apprentice we have to ascertain whether they already have a dream job. If not, then you must find out, what the apprentice likes the most, for example some people love office jobs, other want to go out, meet clients, travel etc. 

  • When you have found out the apprentice’s possible dream position in your company, then give them some time to be within the appropriate  department/area of work. After a week you could have a feedback meeting to discuss their opinion about their experiences. When they feel that there is a lack of knowledge in some fields, like special software or language skills, provide some extra training to the mentoring-apprenticeship plan, to further support and motivate the apprentice. It is important, to ascertain the right time to increase the complexity of tasks, during the apprenticeship. This  must be an  organic step by step process.

The apprentice must have the opportunity  to give feedback not only about their achievements, but also about issues within the department. Listen to their input, to their ideas – for example on how to change some of the current work flows – and a good answer to this would be: “Let’s try!”

Watch

This video explains why it is important to inform the apprentice about possible future career and training possibilities within the company:

Mentortrain video 6.4  (duration: 4:53)

Do

  • To ensure a good overview about different departments and their tasks it’s essential to organise a tour of the organisation;
  • Undertake a consultation with the apprentice, to ascertain their interests;
  • Devise a plan on how to support the apprentice on the way to their dream position, e.g. through extra training, additional tasks etc;
  • Look at opportunities for the apprentice to undertake unfamiliar and new tasks, to enable access to new experiences to inform future preferences.

Additional Resources