Apprenticeship used to include long talks and job shadowing between a journeyperson mentor and apprentice, but times have changed. With today’s demanding production targets and changing demographics, companies have become more dependent on technical training to fulfill this mentoring role. Discussing and practicing mentorship in technical training ensures that all apprentices recognize their role as learners and their responsibility to share what they know with less experienced workers.
Technical training instructors can play an important role in contributing to the continued success of apprentice-mentor relationships. Including a mentorship component in technical training is one way to build relationships. Recommending your fourth-year apprentices take a mentoring course is another way. There are many mentorship programs that effectively teach these skills. Below is an example of one part of a mentorship program that experienced apprentices can use when passing on a new skill or set of skills to a beginning apprentice. The mentorship program consists of a series of six steps to follow to effectively convey the message and teach the skill that is introduced.
The Six Steps to Mentoring are:
The key is for mentors to learn and apply these steps until it becomes second nature. Applying a mentorship model, during or after technical training, is an effective approach to ensure that skills and knowledge are transferred to continue the tradition of a mentor and apprentice relationship.
For more information about the Six Steps to Mentoring Program featured in this blog: