Getting the best out of your apprentice

Training an apprentice can be challenging – it’s hard to be patient when you’re busy, and there’s usually a generation gap with different work attitudes and expectations. Many people feel it’s hardly worthwhile when so many youngsters drop out of training, and there’s so much paperwork involved. If you persevere though, you’ll be rewarded with another qualified member of staff that wasn’t poached from someone else, and trained to do things your way. Experienced trainer Barry Paton, co-director of Auto Trade College in Queensland, advises on the top 10 do’s and don’ts to get the best out of your apprentice.
 
Do
1. Provide time for training/development. Most apprentices think they get very little training at work when the opposite is true. If they have regular times for training in specific skills, it will reinforce the importance of the training and application.
2. Give positive feedback. Usually we only hear when we do something wrong. Tell the apprentice when they have achieved the required standard. Be specific and encouraging.
3. Variety is essential. No-one likes doing the same work over and over. Enthusiasm wanes and lack of attention to detail swiftly follows.
4. Listen. Their opinion is as important to them as yours is to you. You don’t have to agree with them, just don’t argue with them. If you know something different, show them.
5. Allow them to make some decisions. Being responsible for our own decisions is something we all have to learn to do. We focus more when our own reputation is on the line.
6. Provide structure/incorporate the big picture. Be very specific about what is expected, how it’s to be done and when by. Link it to the bigger picture (completion of the job on time, etc).
7. Make instructions clear and precise. Be clear, precise and check for understanding. It’s worth getting them to repeat the task back to you to ensure they understood – you might not have explained it as clearly as you thought.
8. Give lots of small deadlines. When we are learning, it’s easier to plan to achieve the small goals rather than worry about how the heck we are going to do the whole job.
9. Show interest in them. Ask about future career goals, sport interests, anything that is important to them.
10. Challenge them. Allow them an opportunity to fail, give them a job that requires some thought and careful application, and give them a reputation to live up to.

Don’t
11. Treat them like cheap labour. If they feel like that they will behave like that until the day they leave.
12. Talk down to them. How will you help their self-esteem and encourage pride in their work with negative talk?
13. Ignore their concerns. Not validating the concerns of others leads to resentment.
14. Expect respect as a matter of course. We earn respect through our actions not because we are the boss, supervisor, tradesman, etc.
15. Tell them to ‘just do it!’ Demeaning statements damage the self-esteem of someone you expect to make you money.
16. Expect them to stay focused indefinitely. If you give a job to do, break it up into several tasks and check frequently. Leaving someone to work alone all day is a good way to create problems.
17. Be unfair. Make sure you act the same with all your apprentices. Don’t show favouritism.
18. Make fun of them in front of others. This is a self-esteem destroyer which won’t give you long-term, functioning employees.
19. Expect them to be like you. It’s best to assume they will not do as you would have. State exactly how you want it done.
20. Incentivise with money. Most apprentices want more money, but the results are short-lived. Long-term motivation comes from the way we feel about our achievements and how we are treated.