The Importance of Hands-On Learning for Marginalized Youth

Maybe you or your clients can relate to this quote from a young person hired through a work placement program: “I can’t take anything most formal training managers say seriously because I can’t relate to them. I just automatically in my mind shut people out if they talk to me in a way of knowing more than I do or better than I do, because they don’t know more. They might have a different understanding and different experiences than what I have but that doesn’t necessarily make them more intelligent. Not that I don’t take advice from people but it really depends on how you approach youth. I think that being able to relate to them and seeing them as equal is important.”

It just may be the case that most youth gain a great deal of skills and knowledge, whether in school or at work, through hands-on experience rather than formal learning. This finding was brought to light in the Following the Success (FTS) project, which First Work and Hire Prospects worked on in 2008. The project reports on original interview research carried out with employers and marginalized youth in Canada.

Youth and employers from 29 workplaces were interviewed and most agreed that informal learning experiences are an important ingredient for a successful workplace experience. When youth were asked about their opinions on the importance of hands-on training, 100% of them agreed that it is a vital element in the learning process at work. This across-the-boards finding demonstrates the value of educating youth outside of the box of more traditional, class-room forms of training.

The project findings pointed towards informal learning as being the principal channel through which solid on-the-job performance is cultivated. Another benefit is organizational and broader cultural learning which, in turn, forms both employer and employee understandings of expectations from one another. This form of learning in the workplace is also a significant process through which the youth shape their employment networks for the future.

When asked if he had any informal training experience, one 20 year old garage technician said “I have [informal training] every day! It’s all about problem solving as a group. It’s hands-on, and [the owner] doesn’t teach us directly but gives me the tools to continue learning from other sources. It really gives you a sense of growing on your own.” Another youth noted that informal learning is all about “learning the ins and outs of the business, through fellow-employees.”

Many youth feel that structured or formal training at the workplace is not as important to their hands-on learning experience. When asked about the importance of formal learning, one 26 year old manufacturing assembler stated “For myself, no, it’s not too important...I feel better working and learning hands-on.”

So what does informal learning mean to youth? One young skilled worker noted that “We get along with everyone like a team. For example, if another guy was here before me, he would give me hints. And then when you start moving up, you get to know how to do the job well.”

It’s not only managers and supervisors who play a part in shaping the informal learning environment; it’s co-workers too. The means by which employers engage co-workers in providing this type of training to new employees is both significant to the overall process and the cost effectiveness of the company. One manager of a demolition company explained “What we call our informal training programs, is putting somebody new with an experienced worker. A lot of times, when a guy comes in and he’s new, regardless of his age, he comes in and is put on a crew. Somebody will be informally assigned to that person to show him the ropes.”

So how do employers learn, themselves, about the best training practices? Who is responsible for ‘training the trainer’, so to speak? Employers require access to information and tools in order to find out more about creating efficient training processes in the workplace. And who better to collaborate on this task than employment counselors and work specialists in the field who already possess the role of connecting the said managers with employees in the first place?

Is the fact that youth are paying much closer attention to informal training in the workplace an obstacle or an advantage? According to the FTS project, it doesn’t seem to be a problem. So what does all of this mean? In the cases that employers are unaware of the benefits of informal training, who’s responsible to educate managers about both the advantages and methods of this type of learning process? What do you think?

[This blog is based on interviews conducted through the Following the Success project, funded by the Canadian Council on Learning and implemented in partnership with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, the Toronto Training Board, and Hire Prospects]