The Lost Art of Appenticeships

Back in the day, a shoemaker, blacksmith, or carpenter would bring in a youth to shadow and learn the trade. The many techniques and lessons learned by the elder were passed on to to accelerate learning and avoid pitfalls, allowing each generation to be smarter faster and better in each generation.

Today, if you ask many kids what their parents do, you might hear, "Uhhh, I dunno, works at a desk? or, "he types things", "she talks on the phone" or "he works for Amazon?" There is little career information that is naturally passed along to youth today. Most expect that learning to come from an institution from someone "certified" or credentialed in some way.

What about Internships?

Internships, while helpful, are not the same as apprenticeships. Internships are short stints of time, usually in a support role for a department or company with few deep or individual interactions around the fine skills of the job. Interns are generally seen as affordable labor for some exposure to an industry where the youth is thrown into a scenario and are expected to figure out what to do. This is also learning, but nothing like apprenticeships where you are molded to learn the techniques.

Apprenticeships (mentoring) is long-term relationships between two people where the intention is to pass along years of learning to another.

Just Ask!

When I asked my daughter why she didn't ask her elders to teach her their ways, she said, "well, I didn't know you could, would that even be okay?" Of course! When someone reaches around the age of 50, their perspective shifts to teaching. There is an inherent need to pass on your knowledge. You won't live forever and you want your legacy to live on. What a gift to have a young person interested and curious in your passion.

Some people call this elder a Mentor. Personally, this title feels uncomfortable. If someone called me their Mentor, I would squirm a little. Is your curiosity in my trade worthy of a title? Not for me, but that's just personal preference.

It's pretty simple: Find someone you find interesting and has a lifestyle you admire and tell them you are curious about what they do. Let it evolve from there. You will probably find that the elder will GLADLY assist you in any and all ways possible!