05 Sep Work-Based Learning: Three Big Mistakes Administrators Make When Implementing Work-Based Learning Programs
I have had the pleasure of speaking with and working alongside administrators from over 200 high schools in California. In doing so, I’ve noticed a trend. My work is primarily centered around implementing and improving work-based learning programs, and there are three big mistakes that I’ve noticed administrators make when doing this type of work. I wanted to share these, in hopes that we can learn from each other’s mistakes.
1. Mentor Match-Ups: one of the most common programs I have seen implemented in recent years to promote interest exploration. Everyone knows how important mentorships can be for both people, regardless of age. And more schools today are eager to introduce mentorships. Educators invest a ton of time and resources to build relationships with community professionals and bring them on as mentors for the local students. But the reality is, strong and effective mentorships are organic. They are also two-way. The mentor chooses to invest their time in their mentee, and a mentee chooses to trust a mentor’s perspective.
But when a mentor is matched up with a mentee, what happens when there is no real connection between the two? This is a common issue with mentor match-up programs. I have seen administrators create mentorships between people of the same gender, or in the same field of interest, hoping that these similarities will lead to a strong mentorship. Yet those same administrators have had to bring Skillify in because the previously implemented mentor programs were not effective.
As adults, we seek mentors by identifying people we look up to and respect, people that we can relate to and would value advice from, and then reach out to them for guidance. Mentorship is a natural result of conversations evolving and the relationship strengthening. Rarely can we go up to a stranger and say, “Hi, you’re going to be my mentor.” It just doesn’t work that way. Yet many mentor match-up programs are doing just that: linking strangers up with each other and hoping a mentorship results.
Instead, we need to educate students on the importance of mentorships. We need to teach them how to identify potential mentors for themselves. Whether it be choosing from a group of professionals an administrator has identified, or giving students access to local mentor organizations. Then, we need to help students reach out to those professionals and engage in the first conversation (typically the most nerve wracking one for students!) There are plenty of adults wishing to mentor the next generation; let’s make these mentorships enjoyable and fulfilling for both parties.
2. Overloading teachers with responsibilities that should be for students: a common complaint I hear from my wonderful and over-worked teachers. In addition to managing 120+ students and their learning, many teachers are being tasked with building relationships with local businesses to create internship or job shadow programs for their students. There are several reasons why this is a big mistake.
First of all, these teachers don’t need more on their plate. Some schools do have Career Development positions, where the person in this role does the above activities without also being responsible for their own classes. But the majority of teachers I’ve heard from are those that are teaching full-time OR balancing being a college counselor with a career counselor (not the same thing!). An educator cannot do their best job if they are overwhelmed or over-worked.
Secondly, teachers should not be doing their students’ work. Internships and job shadows are work-based learning opportunities for students to get exposure to their field(s) of interests, as well as experience to strengthen their employability. If doing our students’ homework assignments is frowned upon, then why isn’t securing them internships? This doesn’t help anyone. Students should be tasked with finding their own work-based learning opportunities. Yes, they’ll certainly need help along the way, but supporting a student versus handing them an opportunity are two very different things.
Lastly, work-based learning programs must be scalable and sustainable. There has been a huge push towards career readiness, because not enough students are graduating with the skills OR awareness required to thrive in today’s economy. Relying on teachers who cannot dedicate enough time to implementing effective programs is only going to make the job harder. As demand increases to develop career-ready students, so will the need for scalable and sustainable programs. I recently had an educator approach me on how she built an incredible career coaching program for 30 students, but now there is demand from 150 students. She simply doesn’t have the resources or bandwidth to scale her program to match those needs.
The schools that I’ve seen implement successful work-based learning programs have avoided overloading teachers with these responsibilities and have identified sustainable models for their interest exploration programs. They have a dedicated person to lead such programs, and are empowering their students to be independent, self-accountable young professionals.
3. Minimal Focus on Skill-Building: one of the primary reasons for student disengagement. A school that we support has a mandatory internship program, and they’ve done a good job at avoiding the first two mistakes. They leverage local mentor organizations and have dedicated full-time staff responsible for strengthening their alumni network and identifying local interest exploration opportunities. Plus, they hold students responsible for taking advantage of these resources. Every student at this school must independently secure and complete a mentorship and internship before graduating. So what’s the mistake?
Their data showed that students viewed internships and mentorships as negative, and of course, that went against their work-based learning program goals. They could not understand why, so they brought Skillify in for help. When we talked to the students, we found out that the majority felt pressured to find these opportunities (graduation was on the line!) but didn’t know how to actually do so. They felt like they were too young, didn’t have any experience to offer, or they didn’t know where to go or who to approach.
The majority felt too nervous to ask for help, and weren’t taking advantage of any resources. Why? Because there was no emphasis on skill-building. There was an amazing alumni network available but no networking classes. Students did not learn how to connect with the extensive network their school had to offer. The school hosted wonderful alumni panels and guest speaker series, but students didn’t know how to talk to those professionals or nurture those relationships long-term.
Students did have resumes, which they built in their English classes. But none were at the college-level that would make them competitive for internships. Many students shared how they felt discouraged after being rejected from so many companies. At the end, a lot of the students would resort to asking their parents for internships. Some of them even shared that their parents would simply sign off to show they had done an internship. Or students would share resources with each other and end up doing the same internships as other students. Sharing is caring, but a lot of these students ended up just taking any internship they could, and not one that engaged their interests.
Ultimately, the immense pressure without adequate support led students to view interest exploration as a chore. Some voiced that internships were a waste of time, because no one had taught them how to be active interns and develop transferable skills, regardless of the internship they were “stuck” in. There was no skill building available to promote self-efficacy and confidence. It is not enough to just hold students responsible for finding their own opportunities; we must equip them with the proper skills and awareness.
Seen similar programs being built at your school? Have any success or mistakes you’d like to share with fellow educators? Get in touch!
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Shireen Jaffer
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