By / Mark Breslin
Hiring and retaining apprentices who have what it takes to succeed in the construction industry has never been easy. Now, however, the challenge is much harder: With an average turnover rate of 25%-30%, the competition for top talent—even just decent talent—is fierce, and many companies struggle to find and keep the apprentices they need to grow their businesses. One way to stand out from the crowd and attract more and better talent is to be the organization that shows a personal interest in developing apprentices and helping them launch their careers.
Apprenticeships are all about teaching: teaching the trade, teaching leadership, teamwork, safety, and more. But mentors create a personal connection that help people to shine: You may not remember everything about your apprenticeship, but you remember the people who took an interest and gave you the advice and opportunities that made a difference.
What do mentors do for apprentices? Here are a few important examples:
- A mentor can offer the guidance, support, and valuable industry insights to help apprentices navigate the challenges of the construction field and develop the skills they need to succeed. Sometimes it’s offering guidance on the technical aspects of the trade, but more often it’s about helping them understand and make their way through the complexities of the job and the workplace. A seasoned mentor can help an apprentice see the big picture, connect it to what they’re experiencing, and figure out what to do.
- Mentors help apprentices develop the soft skills they need to succeed in the industry. For example, mentors can teach apprentices how to communicate effectively with other team members and management. They teach how to problem solve and how to manage conflict. Most apprenticeship programs teach these skills too, but having an experienced mentor to help work through the apprentice’s own real-life challenges makes a big difference.
- Mentors can also provide apprentices with a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Construction can be a challenging and often a solitary profession. Mentors can provide apprentices with support and a sense of community that can help them through the tough times. In turn, apprentices help mentors stay connected to a younger generation that can often seem different and mysterious.
- Mentors can also provide apprentices with networking opportunities that can be crucial to their long-term career success. A mentor can introduce apprentices to other professionals in the industry, which can lead to valuable connections and opportunities.
- Last, mentors give apprentices someone to work harder for. Many of us had a teacher or family member along the way who believed that we could do better, and we did everything we could to prove them right. Having that personal and professional connection to someone who only wants the apprentice to succeed is a powerful motivator.
With all of this said, mentoring programs are not something you can make happen just like that. But it’s easy to start small and grow your program from there:
- Start by surveying apprentices and experienced Union members (as well as retirees) to see who would be interested in meeting once every week or two (in person/Zoom/phone, etc.) for an hour.
- If you can, allow prospective apprentices and professionals to have short “chemistry” meetings to see if they match up well before you formalize the relationships.
- Provide some simple ground rules on what kind of support mentors can and can’t offer.
- Offer some ideas on how to connect and get the mentoring relationship off the ground.
- Once the relationships are established, have brief check-ins every so often to make sure that meetings are happening and that both sides are finding them valuable.
To sum up, we believe that mentorship is a vital component of career development for construction apprentices – and we think that anyone who’s had a good mentor will agree. Apprentices who have access to mentoring programs are better equipped to meet the challenges of the construction industry and build a strong foundation for their careers. That means that they will stay on, catch on faster, and perform at a higher level than those without this kind of support. Just as importantly, maintaining a strong mentoring program will create a reputational difference that will help your organization become the choice instead of a choice when people are looking to start their careers. ■
