As a national nonprofit at the forefront of changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures, American Student Assistance® (ASA) helps to increase equitable access to work-based learning opportunities that help young people understand the kinds of things they love and hate about work, uncover the way they like to work, and begin to build the social capital that is needed for long-term career success.
To that end, ASA supports and partners with mission-aligned youth-serving organizations including Apprentice Learning and the Boston Public Industry Council (PIC), to provide young people across Boston with first-hand experiences that empower them to make informed decisions about their education and career pathways.
Based on ASA’s new report, “Reimagining Work-Based Learning to Equip Youth with Durable Social-Emotional Skills,” here’s the first of a two-part series of articles detailing our experience working with young people as well as some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.
Job-Shadowing Opportunities for Middle Schoolers
Designing a program to engage and inform middle school students has been a challenge, but over time we’ve developed an approach that has been rewarding for all parties involved. ASA currently provides real-world learning experiences to 8th grade students at our headquarters in Boston, through our partnership with Apprentice Learning.
We start each job-shadowing program cycle with ice-breaking, relationship-building exercises to facilitate a more productive work environment. This gives teens the opportunity to interact with our employees in an informal setting and alleviates any concerns they may have about communicating with adults in a professional workplace.
We’ve discovered that students in this age group benefit more from a program that rotates them through various departments rather than one that assigns them to a specific functional area like Marketing or IT. This allows students to explore different careers and work on important durable skills, like critical thinking, collaboration, and communication.
With the growth of emerging technologies, durable skills are more in demand than ever. Research shows that 70 percent of executives think durable skills are more important to their organizations than highly technical AI skills, so they are a big focus of our youth work-based learning programs for students.
High School Internships
Our eight-week paid internship program for rising high school juniors and seniors also includes training in durable skills that students can use irrespective of their career paths. In addition, we partner with community organizations to provide interns with workshops on resume building and networking.
While our high school interns choose a department to work with (e.g. Marketing, IT, etc.), we intentionally developed a program that gives them a variety of learning experiences. ASA’s hybrid work environment allows them to work in-office (transportation subsidies are provided if needed) and virtually. Interestingly, our interns prefer working in the office, so we flexed the program to accommodate their request.
We also structure assignments to include both individual and group projects, giving interns the opportunity to experience working as an individual contributor or as a team. And we incorporate a presentation into final deliverables to develop students’ public speaking skills.
To enhance interns’ social capital, we include volunteer opportunities as part of our program. Working with organizations like Community Servings and The Greater Boston Food Bank expands interns’ networks of relationships, as well as give them insights into the nonprofit sector.
Lessons Learned
Based on our experiences working with middle and high school students, here are some lessons we learned that may benefit employers interested in developing a WBL program:
· Empower student choice. When possible, let students make their own decisions on departments, projects, deliverable formats, etc., to encourage a sense of ownership and investment. This is especially true for high school students who are further along in their career exploration journey than middle school students and may have already developed career aspirations.
· Assign both short and long-term projects. Short-term projects allow students to build subject knowledge and confidence throughout their WBL experience. Examples of short-term projects include reading a provided article; generating a series of several concise LinkedIn posts based on its content; designing and concepting ideas for TikTok videos (example); and reviewing ad concepts and providing feedback. Longer-term projects give teens the opportunity to demonstrate their accumulated knowledge and skills in a more complex deliverable. For instance, ask interns to evaluate social media channels to ensure messaging is tailored to Gen Z audiences.
· Be intentional about working environments. Balance flexibility with productivity by asking students what works for them and establishing clear schedules based on their preferences. For example, allocate specific times during their in-office days for face-to-face group work or use digital tools for daily check-ins or status reports on remote workdays.
· Provide opportunities for community building and networking. In our connected world, it’s essential that students understand the importance of social capital and how to develop mutually beneficial relationships. By incorporating volunteer work into internships, students have the opportunity to make connections and develop a sense of belonging.
· Meet teens where they are. Every student is unique and has different interests, skills, and experiences. Be prepared to adapt presentations, activities, and expectations based on student needs.
· Set rules and expectations at the outset. Teenagers have little to no experience in professional workplaces so they may not be aware of your organization’s expectations. It’s important to discuss acceptable technology use, behavior in meetings, dress code, etc. to avoid potential problems.
· Leverage teachers and mentors. It always helps to have expert advice when dealing with youth. If you have former teachers or others who have worked with teenagers on staff, or have connections at local schools or community organizations, ask their advice on how to engage and manage students.
· Think outside the box for scheduling. Most students attend classes during the weekdays and may be too tired after school to focus on work, so you may need to be creative in your scheduling. “Leaving to Learn” arrangements where part of a student’s school day is spent at a workplace may be a good solution.
· Re-think how you define success. After participating in an internship, some students may find a career they love or master a specific skill. But for others, the accomplishments can be smaller. For example, a win for a middle school student could be using public transportation by themselves for the first time or learning how to create a project schedule. Any accomplishment that helps a student become more independent is a successful step forward in their career journey.
To learn more about ASA’s WBL program, how to start one of your own, or ways to incorporate durable skills into your apprentice or internship experiences, download our report “Reimagining Work-Based Learning to Equip Youth with Durable Social-Emotional Skills.” My next article will detail steps that employers can take to create work-based learning experiences that teach durable, social emotional skills.
