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Thu, 15 Mar 2012
Filed under: Planning Tools — Mark Breslin @ 7:09 PM
There are two days in the course of an apprenticeship program that are the most important.
Do you know what they are?
These are the first and last days that a student experiences. The reason that these are so important is that they serve as portals into the future. These days, more than any others, should serve to reinforce new levels of expectations, as they continue their journey of professional development.
 The first day of apprenticeship is the opportunity to set the bar of expectations for commitment, performance and accountability. It is not about the “rules” of the program. It is about the values and norms that the organization requires of its members. The first day should scare off at least one student. The first day should include journeymen and foremen telling the apprentices about their experiences and what is expected of a top craft professional. The first day should require every apprentice to write down why they are there, what they are committed to contributing and reading it out to everyone else in the class. The first day is when the class is split into crews and where the group’s performance will now become a part of the overall success engine of the program.
The first day sets the expectations for years to come.
On the other end of the experience is the last day. Thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars have now been spent on the development of the apprentice. His or her time for payback has come. The last day should focus on the pursuit of a legacy career. It should be heavy on the apprentices talking about what they are going to do to put a positive imprint on the industry and their peers. It should be about how they are going to integrate mentoring and coaching into their efforts with the next crop of apprentices. It should revisit the most difficult obstacles to success that have been overcome and the avenues of inspiration that were used to do so. Having spoken at many apprentice graduation programs, I have seen that the last day is also one of deep personal pride and self-esteem. It is an opportunity for reflection on personal potential, and the payoff for discipline and focus.
 The last day sets the expectations for a career, and the industry’s future.
These two days are about resetting the compass. The direction of an apprentice’s life is changing, whether they know it or not. The accelerating pace of change of the industry is one big challenge. The fierce challenge of the competition is the other. Apprentices, as the foundation of the future, must meet these head on.
On the first day, the last day, and every day in between.
What will you do?
Sat, 12 Nov 2011
Filed under: Lessons Learned,Planning Tools — Tags: apprentice, Breslin Strategies, changing labor union perception, college or apprenticeship, educational system, labor union, Mark Breslin, organized labor, registered apprenticeship, skilled workforce, union construction — Mark Breslin @ 6:34 AM
Graduation from a top performing union apprenticeship program is the equivalent of graduation from any junior college and many four year institutions. It melds technical and practical learning; provides payment for the duration and escalates the market worth of the student in visible and immediate ways. This preparation will lead to earnings over a 25 year career that will range between a million and two million dollars. In short, it is a hell of a deal. So how many apprentices really understand and appreciate the opportunity they have been given? Not many, I think.
These same students are being instructed by top craftsmen who otherwise could almost always make much more money if they decided to continue to work in the field; particularly those that would be in supervision. Selfless and dedicated, these instructors did not just wash up on the beach. They made a conscious choice to teach and help others at their own expense. How many apprentices understand the personal and financial commitment being made towards their success?
These are just a couple of examples of opportunities we have to both sell the value of apprenticeship and get the students to realize the opportunity that lays before them. It is a regular occurrence that apprentices write an email to me after one of my presentations exclaiming how they really never understood how they fit into the picture; or what was at risk or the true upside of their career opportunity. Beyond the students are the barriers of career counselors, parents and teachers who often still have a totally unrealistic view that everyone should be on the college track and that the trades are not suitable for a career destination. When people don’t get it, we lose. It seems more important than ever to tell our story effectively.
What are some ways to create a more comprehensive picture of apprenticeship and its benefits overall? Well here are a few:
- Host community events at the training center. Allow non-profits, schools and the community to utilize common areas during underutilized times. Seeing firsthand the training infrastructure will make a big impression.
- Review the career pyramid with first step apprentices. Show them the upward mobility of time, earning and opportunity in our industry. Right from the start we want to fire their ambitions.
- If your program provides college credits for apprentice courses, let everyone know that. Many programs now have the ability to sell a trade, a career and college credit – a very potent package that may attract a different profile of candidate.
- Utilize social media to tell your training story – especially You Tube. Right now do a search on your craft or Local Union on You Tube. See if what comes up promotes the best part of your organization – don’t be surprised if it alarms or dismays you instead. In today’s world your website should have streaming video, testimonials and all the key benefits of your training program, apprenticeship and the union.
Union apprenticeship is the best kept educational secret in North America. Let’s shine a light on it for what it is – for the student, the industry and the community.
The term “hitting the wall” is used in a lot of different situations. But mostly when it is used, the common reference point is that someone has given their all and is facing a physical or psychological barrier. It seems like it describes a barrier that tells them to quit. You hear it in sports all the time. But last month was the first time I heard it in reference to apprenticeship.
The training professional that used the term did so casually – like he had been using it for a long time. I asked him what he meant and he explained. “We teach the apprentices, support them, encourage them and do everything we can to make them successful. Then they go out to work with the journeymen and a good number of them hit the wall. Then that’s it.” I did not have to ask what he meant – I knew what he was talking about. Many apprentices will face some discouragement, interpersonal challenges, hazing, isolation, lack of support, lack of instruction, or even just indifference. Being low man on the jobsite food chain can be very uncomfortable. The field can sometimes be a tough proving ground. It can shake the conviction of even a strong young person; and make them ask if they made the right decision in becoming a professional tradesman or woman. It can also cause others to give up entirely.
But our training proving ground should not be one where our young talent is tossed to the lions – or placed on teams where he or she must sort out their own solutions. Theoretically the person best suited to help the apprentice navigate their initial years should not be the training staff, but the foremen. This is sometimes wishful thinking as most foremen don’t have either the time or inclination to be a “big brother” to the new kid on the jobsite. Therefore the responsible thing to do as training experts is prepare them for the real life challenges they are going to face in the field. And the best way to do that is to integrate “real life” role playing exercises into their training.
Of all the materials I have created for apprentices, the most positive reviews came from the role playing exercises provided in the Survival of the Fittest lesson plans. Students reported that when they could see, hear and discuss key issues that they might face on a jobsite it gave them more confidence and better coping strategies. It was also reported to be the most fun and interesting part of classroom training. What the role playing became for them was a ladder to scale the walls that otherwise might stand in the way of their personal or professional development.
What kinds of difficult situations might apprentices face that would be worthy of role playing and discussion? How about these as a starting place:
- How would you ask for help from an obviously busy journeyman?
- What would you do on a job where your journeyman co-worker told you to slow down to preserve the job?
- How would you handle someone giving you a bad time because you are the apprentice?
- What would you do if you saw someone at work putting company tools in their trunk?
- How would you handle seeing someone hassled because of their race or gender?
- What would you do if the guy you were assigned to work with was under the influence?
- What kinds of situations do you need to handle for yourself? When should you go to your foreman?
- How could you help resolve conflict between co-workers?
These are just a small sample of the kinds of issues that apprentices might likely face. Putting them in a group and having two students play the roles makes it real – real life. If they don’t have a strong foundation of “real life” knowledge to work from, they might just seek the path of least resistance – and learn lessons that are very difficult to undo.
Some old school guy’s think that “hitting the wall” is what is necessary to screen out the people who don’t belong in our industry. That you have to grind on the young people to see if they can hack it. While some of that may be true, it is a very expensive way to screen talent. If a program spends ten thousand dollars a year per apprentice, having 20-30% of those candidates drop out in the first couple of years ends up costing millions of dollars. Beyond this, if young talent is getting run off or their attitudes eroded, that also has a hidden cost that we can ill afford.
This industry is not for everyone. It is not for the weak. It is not for the lazy. It is not for the uncommitted. It is not for those without some backbone. But with all that, we deserve to give every apprentice every opportunity to succeed. And that includes helping them understand the dynamic and challenging environment they have chosen for their career. Hitting the wall may be the place that a man or woman finds out who they really are – but getting them ready for real life on the jobsite may be your greatest legacy as their teachers, mentors and guides.
Fri, 10 Jun 2011
Filed under: Leadership,Lessons Learned,Motivation — Mark Breslin @ 4:17 PM
As I reflect on the recent transgressions of Mr.Weiner and Mr. Schwarzenegger, and also ponder the misconduct of Mr. Woods, Clinton and Gingrich, there are a number of excellent leadership lessons to be gained. The primary lesson to learn (and often the most painful when learned the hard way) is, generally:
Authority + Rationalization = Personal and Professional Failure
Rationalization is a self-endorsed permission slip. I am often amazed at the ease in which individuals will justify their actions based on anything but logic or truth. Rationalization becomes the mental yoga that enables people to make poor decisions or delay acting on others. Without mental discipline, a moral center and full transparency, rationalization becomes a leader’s method of often acting in a manner that does not serve the circle that depends upon them – be it family, community, company or country.
Leaders must do the following three things to ensure that their moral default mode is not set to rationalization:
1. Solicit brutally honest friends, employees and opinions. In absence of the balance of voices and views that will temper one’s ambitions or desires, power and authority can easily become arrogance or disregard. Great leaders must seek out this honesty and implement it as part of the value system within their immediate circle. They have to ask hard questions that reflect upon them and listen to even more uncomfortable answers without becoming defensive.
2. Do not compare your actions with those of others. Benchmarking to others becomes a very easy method of rationalization. Compared to the worst in others, we become paragons of virtue in our own eyes. Using a low bar does not generate high performance. Just because watching Jerry Springer episodes makes me feel better about myself does not mean I should.
3. Leadership, power and authority must be seen primarily as a responsibility, not an opportunity. There is always a tribe depending on the chief’s actions. Opportunity-based leadership can be dynamic and rewarding, yet also selfish and myopic. Responsibility-based leadership tempers rationalization in the interests of those who are counting on the good result to improve their lives at home or work or both.
Everyone is flawed. Everyone lies. Everyone has a hidden corner in the shadows. Perfection is not sought or desired. Yet, the higher one rises in professional stature and influence, the greater the weight of self-discipline and reflection is required. Rationalization is the antithesis to responsibility and self accountability. A leader must rise above it, no matter how seductive the lure may otherwise be.
It is myopic and ridiculous that my 18 year old is going to finish high school and will lack the most important knowledge necessary to manage her life. She knows about the War of 1812, algebra and composition. She knows about photosynthesis and taking tests. What she has not been taught is how to save and manage money; how a loan works; how to select a credit card; how to balance a checkbook; why retirement funds are so important. Why is it that we cannot put financial management forward as a crucial element of education?
Why does this bother me so much? Because almost every week, I meet workers who earn incomes in the neighborhood of $50,000 up through $100,000 per year, and they are still broke. Hand to mouth. Check to check. What kind of society talks about education and job opportunity and then lets predatory credit card companies and payday loan firms hammer young people because they don’t know any better? Granted, sometimes it is self inflicted. For instance, consider the first year apprentice who gets a new F-150 with every option, then a Harley, then a boat . . . then a 1987 Toyota Corolla and a pile of unpaid bills, along with a credit score of 415. I wrote Million Dollar Blue Collar for them – and me. I was raised giving paper route money to my Mom. Mom, bless her heart, was always juggling and prioritizing bills that she could pay, sometimes even getting a little help from the parish priest. I remember the electricity being turned off from time to time, when it came down to a choice between electricity and putting food on the table.
My upbringing is certainly not unique, and I’m not saying that my childhood was any harder than anyone else’s. But I did learn my lesson. I pay cash. Not because I can, but the shadow of the past lies hard upon memory. I hope if you’re reading this, you will put time into financial education for you, your family members and those you care about, including employees. The gift that keeps on giving is knowledge, and whether she likes it or not, my 18 year old will be attending summer school this year – dad’s crash course in financial management. I won’t be able to make her decisions for her, but I can give her the tools she needs to make smart ones.
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