A Learning Experience that Prepares Young People for the World of Work.

One of the most common complaints we hear from employers across any industry is how unprepared young people are for the world of work, particularly in their first job.?

This is the reason so many education-to-employment bridging solutions exist - such as Harambee, Afrika Tikkun, etc. They all recognise the need for young people to be ready and prepared for the workplace and thus aim to fill that gap.?

Often this gap is to do with a lack of real experience of how a workplace actually works, as well as a lack of the skills that help young people achieve success in the workplace: communication, teamwork, organisation, etc. - essentially, all of the soft skills.?

Even in traditional higher education models, this exists as a huge lack - time at university or other higher education institutions largely does not include any sort of preparation for the working world, and focuses only on subject matter expertise.?

The notable exception to this is of course vocational education which by its very nature blends learning in an education environment with learning on the job. Even in these environments, the question still remains - how do we ensure the education piece of this journey sets young people up for success??

When I joined BluLever, my education experience was all in the university sector - I had spent 4 years at Wits, and had become intimately acquainted with the workings of a university, having spent a good portion of that time on the SRC. Coming into an environment where I was firstly on the other side of the education equation - the person who had to design and deliver experiences that helped young people learn, rather than just the recipient of them - and secondly where we aimed to be deliberate about our connection to the world of work, was a revelatory experience.?

Traditional education experiences (as I write this I find myself questioning my use of the term traditional and how we position university vs other education), are primarily focused on education as purely content related, as well as being largely solitary experiences. What I mean by the former is that the quality or focus of a subject is measured and driven by the subject matter and content - whether within lectures or materials, and not the experience or connection to the real world. When I say it is a solitary experience what I mean is that, while of course there are social aspects to being at university, from a learning perspective the expectation is that you will do everything alone and drive your own experience - which is of course not how most workplaces work. On the contrary, most workplaces are deeply collaborative, with work being shared among different people and across different functions in the team.

Vocational education broadly and apprenticeships specifically, have to be integrated and connected to real workplaces. At BluLever we take this even further, we specifically design learning experiences in the classroom that are purpose-built to prepare young people for the workplace.

One of the things I quickly came to realise was the importance of this intentionality. Visiting other vocational education institutions, it is apparent that the majority of artisan training is treated like job skills training rather than a true education experience. What this means is that it is seen as a direct and straightforward path - you learn to install a geyser, and then you must go out and install geysers - rather than as a journey which is deliberately designed to help activate various sets of skills beyond the technicality of geyser installation. BluLever, on the other hand, aims to treat apprenticeships like a true education experience with time to grow, develop and mature built in, as well as complex environments which recognise the need for diverse skills. To bring this to life, let’s look at an example.?

A True Education Experience

Each year, apprentices spend 3 months on campus for a Learning Block, and 9 months with an employer for Employer-based Learning. While on campus, the Learning Blocks are divided into month-long units, which have 3 weeks of learning and culminate in a Summative Week.

Learning happens through a purpose-built learning model, which is predicated on the principles of experiential learning and Kolb’s Learning Cycle, tailored to a technical environment. This means that for each module each week, apprentices go through a 5 part learning cycle.

This cycle starts with Discover & Motivate: a class session designed to introduce a topic, expose knowledge gaps and build curiosity and a desire to learn. The second stage is Immerse: where students immerse themselves in content through Self Work on their phones, reading content, watching videos and answering questions to really get to grips with the topic. The third stage is Activate and Consolidate, where students learn socially in peer groups and teach each other. The fourth stage is Contextualise, a facilitated session which helps to fill any gaps, and gives students the opportunity to reflect. Finally we have the Apply and Transfer stage where students practice their learning in a “real world” setting through a project-based formative assessment.

Summative Week

At the end of the 3 weeks of new modules, apprentices go through what is called a Summative Week. This final Summative Week is the best example of our learning mirroring the real world, and perhaps the best example of our learning principles all coming to life together.

Summative Weeks are week-long project-based assessments where apprentices work on projects that integrate all subjects (soft skills and technical).

They require apprentices to manage their own deadlines, work in a team, and work around challenges that might occur between them as a team.

Often during Summative Week, the Apprentices struggle with working together, with some team members disagreeing on the direction the project should take and some not pulling their weight. Apprentices are left to resolve all of these issues themselves in order to simulate a real-life situation. Another very interesting thing that happens during Summative Week is that the Appies get to be very creative in how they solve problems as many of the assignments include many types of problems to resolve - technical, organisational, and operational problems - giving different types of Apprentices the opportunity to showcase their problem-solving skills.?

As an example in the first summative project of block one, apprentices encounter a scenario of a bathroom upgrade for Malume John. They need to prepare a project plan, risk assessment and budget for the renovation, making decisions along the way about ethical ways to source materials cheaply. They also need to prepare a drawing using the correct architectural symbols and notations for the project. As the project progresses they then need to craft a communication strategy, to explain what they are doing in a way even Malume John can understand, including advice on potential upgrades he could make and how they would impact the project. Finally, the apprentices cut and thread pipes to specific measurements for the project in the workshop. This project puts apprentices in a real-world scenario and has them exercise various skills - from communication, project management and budgeting, to understanding and preparing drawings and cutting and threading pipes. We have seen the value of such projects again and again when our apprentices start their employer-based learning and are immediately equipped to deal with difficult people and difficult situations.?

I was recently on a construction site where two of our apprentices were working. One of them, Mpho Mosia was one of the junior Safety Officers for the site. We went to go see them and we were not in the appropriate PPE for the site and before she even greeted us, she kicked us off the site and only once we were off the site did she speak to us. This admittedly awkward situation for me was a testament to the value of giving our Apprentices simulated experiences: it gives them the capability and confidence to be comfortable on site but also to own some of the functions of a construction site. The plumber in charge of the Apprentices even said that both our apprentices (Mpho and Mamogwane/Maria) are his designated drawings interpreters and he holds them to a very high standard. It is extremely encouraging to see that our Apprentices are not only excelling at what is expected from an Apprentice but are taking on bigger responsibilities that even some of the older plumbers are not taking up.

These two high-flying Apprentices are a concrete example of the benefit of ensuring that people are ready for the workplace. Work readiness not only makes them ready for the working world but rather is the springboard for excellence and leadership at the workplace.?

In traditional education environments, education tends to be very hands-off, without a lot of intervention, support, or feedback - this is sometimes seen as scaffolding for the world of work, where you don’t have teachers “spoon-feeding” you along in your journey. I would argue that in many ways this is actually counterintuitive, given that many workplaces involve collaboration, teamwork and various kinds of human interaction, and the best workplaces include supportive management and feedback that helps you grow. In this way, what can at first seem like an unnecessarily high touch experience - Summative Week includes several touch points with apprentices meeting facilitators in groups or one on one - actually can be said to mirror a great working environment, with a facilitator who helps you think through your planning, gives you feedback, and helps you analyse where you went wrong.? Additionally, it scaffolds you to be able to do this yourself in the future.

One of the core characteristics of a great artisan is a sense of pride in good quality work that is executed to a high standard.

In order to build this mindset or approach, one needs feedback and a critical eye. A key part of Summative Weeks is a set of check-in/feedback sessions that help guide apprentices in improving their work and reaching for higher standards.

Interpersonal skills, communication, teamwork & organisation are something that traditional education does not cultivate. However, in all the work experience I have had so far, these have been invaluable and consistent parts of my day. Our learning model takes this into account and prepares people specifically to be armed and ready to deploy all their newly learned skills in the real world. Of course, knowing your trade/subject of study is important and there is no doubt that subject knowledge is of immense value. However, many aspects of the world of work are not based on the subject matter itself but have to do with how well you communicate or how well you can run a project.? Therefore training young people in Soft Skills is a great way to empower them and ensure that they are ready for the challenge of a professional workplace.?

I can’t help reflecting on how grateful I would have been to have the opportunity to practise for some of the tougher situations I’ve faced in the workplace in a safe and controlled education environment. Summative Weeks create exactly that - a space for practice that pushes apprentices out of their comfort zone, won’t result in them getting fired if they mess it up, and provides them with invaluable experiences to take with them into the workplace.?

Thato Mokoena is a Soft Skills Facilitator at BluLever. He believes in the power of education to inspire change and give people a voice in the world. He is an experienced Facilitator with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. He joined BluLever because it gave him a chance to put his beliefs into action. And he is still getting used to describing himself in the third person.?