Cooperation and Consultation

Actively listening

Active listening means that the listener is fully concentrating on the message they receive and try to understand what speakers say. But active listening not only means focusing on the speaker but also showing that you hear, by using verbal and non-verbal signs.

In terms of a workplace environment, actively listening has many benefits and can improve communication among trainers and apprentices. More specifically, the benefits of active listening include (www.usergeneratededucation.com/):

• Positive educational environment
• Development of a healthy relationship between apprentice and trainers
• Learners become more interested and more active in the learning process
• Learners are able to express their feelings and their concerns, ask questions without being judged, and ask for help when needed
• Learners will feel more motivated to learn

When communicating with an apprentice, you can show them that you listen to them carefully by using both verbal and non-verbal signs (www.skillsyouneed.com).

Non-verbal signs

Body movements, such as hand gestures or nodding or shaking the head, are sings that you are actively listening.

Eye Contact can encourage the speaker to continue with their speech. However, eye contact can be intimidating for more introverted speakers, and as such, eye contact should be used accordingly.

Facial expressions, such as smiling, can be used to show that you are paying attention to what the apprentice says and also reflect your feeling about the message.

Posture, which can tell a lot about the receiver of the message. Use your posture in conjunction with your hand movements to express your attention to the trainee.  For example, you can lean slightly forward while sitting and look to the speaker.

Verbal Signs

Reflection is an essential skill for express understanding. Repeating or paraphrasing what you have heard can show that you pay attention to learners. Also, you can reflect on the thoughts and the feeling that you believe are hiding behind the message.

Summarisation of what has been said, it’s a useful technique for understanding if you have received the message correctly and also for giving a chance to speaker to correct something if needed.

Questioning to clarify things can be useful while communicating. By asking relevant questions, it shows that you are actively listening, and you can further discuss a specific topic, attractive to the learner.  But when making questions, make sure that the speakers have completed their speech so as to avoid interrupting them.

Other tips that can be useful are (Barnard, 2017):

1. Keep an open mind

Listen without judging or criticizing the things you hear. Avoid, jump into conclusions that may be biased by your expectations based on past experiences.

1. Avoid interruptions

When interrupting the speaker, they lose their flow and forget their thoughts. In case you want to ask a question, try to write it down and express your beliefs at the end of the speaker’s speech.

1. Pay attention to non-verbal cues

It’s important to provide the speaker with non-verbal cues to understand that you are listening to them, but it’s also vital to observe the speaker’s feelings. When face to face with a person, you can detect enthusiasm, boredom, or anxiety in the facial expressions or body movements. When listening, try to remember that words deliver only a part of the message.

 

Exercise: Real Life Scenario

Karla has been working for years as a trainer for apprenticeships. Even though she has managed to assist a lot of apprentices succeed in her workplace, sometimes she finds it difficult to follow the conversation with apprentices, because she interrupts them in order to express her thoughts. She eventually understood that this is a serious obstacle in communication, as after some point, apprentices communicated their thoughts and feelings less and less. She searched for some ways to eliminate her tendency to interrupt others, by first recognizing the reasons behind this habit. She realized that she tends to interrupt others, because she is afraid not only that she will forget her questions, but also, what have been already said by the speaker. So, she figured out that the best way to overcome this communication obstacle is to make notes. First of all, she informed the apprentices that she will write down some points on a notepad in order to remember what have been said and what she wants to ask. She tried to write some words, or some key points being spoken, in order to avoid losing her focus on the discussion. In order to boost trust, she kept her notes open for everyone to see. After a few days, apprentices started to express their opinions more and more, and Karla realized that the problem has been solved, while quality communication have been reinforced again.

Discussion topic

Apart from discussing the results of the previous exercise, other interesting points of discussion in this skill could be the following:

Why Karla used to interrupt others?

Which solution did she find to this problem?

Was this solution effective? How can you measure its impact?

Motivating the apprentice

Motivating the apprentice is critical for company’s overall performance and the achievement of its internationalization goals. Furthermore, motivation affects apprentice’s choices regarding their daily tasks and activities, and it can boost their productivity.

You can recognize the level of apprentices’ motivation, by their performance and behaviour (www.apprenticemakers.co.uk). More, specifically, motivated trainees:

• Have enthusiasm and energy
• Are willing to find solutions and overcome difficulties
• Are committed to their responsibilities
• Are willing to collaborate with others
• Are open-minded to changes

On the other hand, those who are not motivated:

• Show indifference to the job
• Are not willing to work for overcoming difficulties
• Show lack of co-operation
• Show resistance to changes

Some ways to Inspire motivation in the workplace, are the following:

Recognize achievements

Employee recognition can increase motivation when it is offered and implemented efficiently. There many ways for celebrating individual achievements such as providing apprentices with sort of small reward, sending a card or an official email, congratulating them for their achievements. There are also several online tools and platforms, that allow you to send rewards to employees, while they can also send their bonuses to each other in order to recognize everyday wins.

Create a positive work environment

When it comes to motivation, work environment is a very important factor. A positive work environment can encourage teamwork, idea-sharing and expression of feelings. As an in-company tutor, you should be available when the apprentice needs your assistance or your guidance, that should be provided to them without judgement in order to create positive environment. You can also use assessment tools, such as surveys or an open discussion with apprentices, in order to solve the issues that they may face and improve your communication methods and procedures (Heryati, 2019).

Help apprentices set goals

The first step for assisting apprentices setting goals is to learn what they want, and which are their long-term aspirations. By assisting them establish a goal and achieve it you will also help them become self-motivated. But it is important to make sure that the goals are reasonable and attainable, so the apprentice doesn’t get discouraged. While supporting apprentices setting their goals, you should also give them the freedom to work independently, so as to improve their self-esteem (Heathfield, n.d.).

Provide Positive Feedback

Positive feedback allows your apprentices know they’re valued by their team members, their trainers and by the company while it also contributes to the boost of their confidence in a new workplace. When providing positive feedback, there are some tips needed to be followed. First, you must be specific. Generic comments will not help apprentices understand which of their skills and decisions are most valued. Furthermore, timing is another important aspect. If you wait too long to share your feedback, both you and the apprentice might have forgotten the goal that the apprentice achieved (www.indeed.com).

Exercise: Real Life Scenario

George is responsible for train the apprentices coming to the company every year, as he has much experience in this field. This year, he was responsible for training four young apprentices. The three of them were very excited at the beginning of their apprenticeship, and they were also willing to undertake new responsibilities and tasks. One of them, Michael, not only hasn’t had the same enthusiasm as others, but he had also trouble being punctual. George had noticed all these traits about Michael, but he didn’t deal with it, since the other apprentices assisted the company successfully in its internationalization activities. One day George decided to give it a try with Michael and see if he will finally be engaged in company’s activities. They discussed together and set some small goals, simple enough to be achieved.   George tried to recognize his efforts in a daily basis, and to provide positive feedback. After a few weeks, Michael was asking to be involved in more tasks and to collaborate with the other apprentices in order to reach company’s internationalization ambitions.

Discussion topic

Apart from discussing the results of the previous exercise, other interesting points of discussion in this skill could be the following:

Which was Michael’s actions that made George understand that he is not motivated?

What George did in order to motivate him?

How Michael reacted after George’s approach?

Encouraging and supporting the apprentice

Young apprentices can be vital in the workplace, as they bring fresh perspectives and new skills into this. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that young people may not have had a formal job before and may need some additional support to fit in the workplace and reach their full potential.

Here you can find some ways to support the apprentice in the workplace (National Apprentice Service, n.d.).

Make sure that your colleagues can support the apprentice

Before an apprentice starts, make sure that your colleagues are confident and eager to support them in all the possible situations. It is important that your colleagues who will collaborate with the apprentice have realistic expectations of them, and provide them with achievable goals, so as to develop the necessary skills and gain useful experience.

Help apprentices develop work-appropriate behaviour and life skills

An apprentice, especially a young one, may need some additional support to understand work appropriate behaviour and develop the right employability skills. However, this could be achieved through mentoring and specific guidance on how to improve the competences and skills, that will help them thrive in their professional career.

Recognize their personal accomplishments

Except for their performance in the workplace, apprentices will appreciate it if their in-company tutor also recognizes their personal accomplishments. From being volunteer in a NGO, to getting a new car, all these achievements can be noticed and admired in the workplace. In this way, the trainee will feel appreciated and satisfied. However, the discussion of personal achievements can be seen as an interference in apprentices’ private lives, and as such, this technique may be used carefully (Heryati, 2018).

Allow apprentices to express their career goals

The expression of interest in apprentices’ professional development, it is essential for making them feel that they can be count on you for help. It is also essential to know trainees’ individual goals and supporting them in trying to achieve them. There are many ways to assist them in fulfilling their desires, form sharing your own experience, to sending them resources or courses relevant to their goals (Bonnici, 2018).

Create a community of apprentices

Young apprentices may feel lonely in the workplace, particularly if they are the only young person among the employees. By providing opportunities for social enrichment, both for apprentices to bond with each other and with other employees, can help them to feel comfortable in the workplace. Creating a community of young apprentices in the workplace also enables them to support each other and develop their communication and teamwork skills (National Apprentice Service, n.d.).

Exercise: Real Life Scenario

Monday was coming and Lisa was nervous about her beginning as an apprentice in a big company. As she is also an introvert person, a first work experience in a big company, where she has to meet many people from different socio-economic backgrounds and different ages, seems an intimidating experience.  Lisa was the only apprentice in her department, and as such she hadn’t developed any personal relationship with other employees, and after a while her performance wasn’t so good as it was at the beginning. When her trainer Conor noticed it, he contacted with her in order to understand what hinder her productivity. He noticed that she didn’t had many interactions with other employees, and therefore, he decided to organize some activities outside the workplace in order to help her to meet other apprentices. After a while, Lisa started to hang out with the other apprentices and her performance improved, because she started to enjoy their apprenticeship experience.

Discussion topic

Apart from discussing the results of the previous exercise, other interesting points of discussion in this skill could be the following:

Why Lisa’s performance was poor after a while?

What Conor noticed about Lisa?

What Conor did in order to support her?

Participate actively in the learning process

In apprenticeships, it is crucial to assist the apprentice, not only acquire knowledge in a specific field, but also use the knowledge they already have into practice. There are many ways that can be used for boosting the involvement of apprentices in the learning process and create an environment of active learning.

Some of those are the following:

Create a Culture of Learning 

To support personal development and involvement in educational opportunities outside the company, you should foster a “culture of learning.” When a strong learning culture is promoted by the company, apprentices are more possible to search for opportunities of continuous learning, outside the company and their training institute (Forbes Coaches Council, 2017).

Use Technology

Many platforms and tools are being used today in order to provide training of high quality to employees. For example, Learning Management System (LMS) can help you deliver an innovative training course, as consists a virtual space where apprentices can learn, collaborate, and assess their knowledge. Other solutions include web-conferencing tools, which can be used to train apprentices remotely, and knowledge Repositories, that include important information and resources (www.ispringsolutions.com).

Promote informal training

The learning process can take place outside the workplace as well. As a trainer you can create an “education club” where apprentices can meet and discuss the new methods and tools in their industry, and also find a way to implement them in the company, in order to improve its activities. In order to be easier for everyone to participate, you can also create a group in a social media platform in order to further discuss and share resources and ideas (Forbes Coaches Council, 2017).

Help Your Team Learn From Each Other

An effective option is to create learning groups where apprentices can share their experiences and discuss the difficulties they may face in their first work experience.  Another option is to help them to get in contact with other apprentices who had previously worked in the company, so as to learn how to capitalize on the knowledge and experience they will gain though their apprenticeship program (Forbes Coaches Council, 2017).

Set 30-Day Learning Goals 

Encourage the apprentices everyone to set and share with others a 30-day learning goal. When the 30 days come discuss with the apprentices if the learning goals have been attained and what things need to be changed in order to achieve them. Also, you can examine what apprentices have already learn and where you want to focus on for the next 30 days (Forbes Coaches Council, 2017).

Exercise: Real Life Scenario

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Anna’s company closed, and employees were working from home. As Anna was responsible for training the apprenticeship, at first, she found it difficult to continue their training. After searching on the internet for solutions, she came up with an idea. She used a web-conferencing tools, in order to create a virtual classroom, and organized training sessions for apprentices to attend. Moreover, Anna utilized a learning platform to promote collaboration among them and assess their knowledge and competences.

Discussion topic

Apart from discussing the results of the previous exercise, other interesting points of discussion in this skill could be the following:

What was the difficulty that Anna confronted?

What Anna did in order for the apprentices to continue their training?