Imagine you are working at your computer finalizing an OSHA report when suddenly a loud crash in the next room totally breaks your concentration. Jumping up from your desk to investigate, you find your newest employee standing amidst a pile of broken pieces. Although you left clear instructions, today they were apparently not clear enough. Nor were they yesterday, or the day before that. Is this entrepreneurial nightmare one you've experienced? Perhaps more than once?
"Many of today's applicants can't read, can't write, and can't follow basic instructions," laments a Los Angeles plant supervisor, and unfortunately, a large number of small business owners would agree with him.
Who is training the financial, manufacturing and technical artisans of tomorrow? Currently many school systems are not getting the job done when it comes to providing qualified labor. And who will be left to pick up the tab for these unskilled laborers entering the marketplace? You, the business owner.
According to the National Tooling and Machining Association, it will be a hefty sum, too. The cost of investing in an unskilled worker can be as much as $250,000 during the first four years of employment. "There is no question about it," asserts Nick Holtz of Valley Manufacturing and Engineering in Rancho Cordova, California. "The shortage of skilled labor in this country is a burden we'll all soon be painfully aware of."
There Is an Answer
Apprenticeship and other on-site training programs are helping turn this dispiriting tide by providing students with basic skills all too often lacking in today's labor force. These programs not only give small businesses the opportunity to find the qualified labor they so desperately need, but also afford them the chance to influence what students learn before they step through the front door.
Apprenticeship programs give high school students an intensive learning experience within an actual factory or office, sometimes with a mentor, providing them with specific, transferable skills. Some target manufacturing, while others focus on industries such as plumbing or masonry, although not all are manually oriented. Many programs focus on teaching technical know-how, from programming to basic computer use, to make students competitive in the information age.
Whatever your company's needs, there is very likely an organization training students whose skills could benefit you, and many of them are just a phone call away. Start with your local chamber of commerce or school district, and see your bottom line begin to benefit.
Advocating for the Future
Organizations such as Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national nonprofit located in Boston, are working to coordinate efforts between government, local school districts and businesses to promote school-to-work programs. According to Mary Ellen Bavaro, Communications Director, "JFF is a cross between a think tank and a consulting firm. Not only are we creating policy that will be useful to school districts and businesses, but we help communities implement that policy as well."
Educators have long asserted that students gain a much better grasp of classroom material when they have an opportunity to actually apply these concepts-a principle to which JFF strongly adheres. "We believe that 'learning by doing' will result in a more relevant education," says Bavaro, "and help students more successfully move from high school to the workplace."
Similar programs are underway in school districts all over the country, including Mississippi, Kentucky, Colorado, New York and California. Students are trained in a number of diverse job contexts from air conditioning to nursing, and from business resorts management to commercial photography.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is making huge strides in providing high school students with the opportunity to acquire actual job experience through its "Work-Based Learning" program. David Rattray, executive manager of the Urban Network for Improved Training and Education in Los Angeles (UNITE-LA), believes these efforts have been successful. "The program essentially funds the school-based and work-based learning activities. We also arrange outreach programs with small businesses. Last year 4,000 to 6,000 students were able to participate."
Allstate Agent Grooms Interns for Success
When Mike Baldwin hired high school sophomore Andrew Bricca in 1990 as a file clerk for his Allstate Insurance agency in Pleasant Hill, California, he had no idea how fortuitous a move it would prove to be. Today, Bricca has a B.A. in business marketing and is being groomed to take over the agency when Baldwin retires in only seven years. When Baldwin first brought Bricca into the office, he got in touch with his vice principal at De La Salle high school and told him that he would be happy to hire other De La Salle students, so long as it kept working out. This began what has become a legacy of high school interns at Baldwin's office-which is, incidentally, among the top 10 Allstate agencies in the state. "Some people think it isn't worth the trouble to hire high school students for anything more than food service or yard work," says Baldwin. "In actuality, their age is less important than how you actually go about recruiting. I've learned that the best way is to have present interns do the recruiting," he explains. As a further incentive to select good candidates, interns are responsible for training and supervising their successors-which makes the program virtually self-sustaining. "Their loyalty to De La Salle and awareness that they are part of a lineage makes a huge difference," Baldwin continues. He has also found that extracurricular activities often provide students with useful skills. One student, for example, maintained a paper route and refereed at a paint-ball facility on weekends. The dedication required to perform such activities served the student well in a professional office setting. According to Baldwin, "any high school student who consistently gets up at the crack of dawn, or can deal with unruly adults and keep them in line has got to have tremendous discipline, self-control and tact." Baldwin tells each intern in no uncertain terms that working in the professional world is not like being in school. There are no extensions for late work, and when it's not done right, it has to be done again. "Giving kids the big picture is essential to them doing a good job," he claims. "If they don't know how their duties fit in with what everyone else in the office does, work quality deteriorates quickly." Baldwin believes in using a reward system to help keep his interns motivated. Five- and 10-dollar bills are often used as perks for creative problem-solving. He learns what kind of candy his interns like and keeps bags of it on hand. He also tries to treat his interns just like his regular staff. During the holidays, interns are full participants in office festivities and receive holiday bonuses as well. For students saving for college, Baldwin may offer $50 for every $500 that interns put away. "It is absolutely imperative that you treat all employees with the utmost respect," insists Baldwin. "Every investment I have made in the training and affirmation of my employees has come back to me at the rate of at least two to one." For the most part, Baldwin's internship program has been a tremendous success, which is in no small way connected to his commitment to those who work for him."I tell all my interns that if they go off to college and get their degree, I'll give them a job back here," he says. "And if I don't have any openings, I'll talk to other agencies in the area to see what I can open up." Bricca was the first to take Baldwin up on his offer, continuing to work for the agency through college--part-time and during summer vacations. At present, he is head associate sales producer and general manager. "Mike took me under his wing, gave me a vision about what I could do with my career, and showed me how much fun that could be," says Bricca. "Thanks to what Mike has done for me, I'll have my own business at the age of 30." |
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Mike
Baldwin, shown on left, with heir apparent Andrew Bricca
and apprentice John Walters...
Excerpted with permission from Small Business Success, Volume XII, produced by Pacific Bell Directory in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration.