Our 4th season of Collab Labs kicked off on October 10th with a focus on building skilled trades talent. We began the discussion by building an inventory of the skills we’d like to see students develop. These fell into two broad categories:
Technical Skills
- Design Skills
- Read blueprints & technical drawings
- Fine motor skills/hand-eye coordination
- Math and measurement
- Budgeting/Understanding job costs
- General understanding of construction trades
- Equipment/resource planning
Soft Skills
- Creativity/Innovation/Problem solving
- Fail Fast
- Safety
- Ability to take constructive criticism
- Ability to take direction
- Self Advocacy
- Self discipline/integrity/follow through/show up ready to work
- Self confidence
- Determination/grit
- Collaboration/Interpersonal skills within a team
- Communication skills
- Ability to listen
- Willingness to learn/ask thoughtful question
From there we asked each discussion group to talk through experiences that do or could provide opportunities to build those skills. Here’s what they came up with:
- Build2Learn Camp $500 stipend for summer workshop
- European model – apprentices
- Engage employers – job shadow
- Inspire/Awe – Makerspace Home Depot creative space
- Intentionally incorporate soft skills into lessons
- Provide high interest projects
- Bring industry speakers into the classroom
- Real world applications with purpose – e.g. 3D prosthetics
- Mentorships
- Teamwork: moving a project to completion
- Presenting/exhibiting craft work
- Building confidence with no or low risk simulations.
- Leverage connections and take them to scale
- Address skills gaps with “it takes a village” perspective
- Get professionals into classrooms
- They can learn from students
- Talk with students, not down to them
Our final step was to have each group take those ideas, talk through what a program might look like, and share that out with the entire group. Here’s where they landed:
Project Start to finish real world application
- Build a house
- Bring in industry
- Have mentors
- Engage employers
- Build soft skills
- Build technical skills
Goal is to have job ready workers, provide apprenticeships, job opportunities.
Identify industry partner/employer
- Ask “What do you need from us?”
- Identify what workforce needs exist
- Identify training/skills needed
Company sponsored projects
- Materials or time
- Interviews of
- the company
- the student
- Interdisciplinary/project based learning
- Working with other schools/districts
- Protocols
- Feedback models – Hard on content/soft on person
- Leverage technology
- Skype team meetings
- Drone/webcams of projects progressing
- Build excitement about upcoming technologies
Early Hands-on Exposure
- Youth apprenticeships
- Out of comfort zone
- Peer mentorship
- Self-realization/mediation
- Options (electives)
Students: Littles – early exposure
Education Workplace: Welcoming anti-racist, data-driven, performance based
What’s needed to move forward: Looking past personal bias, equal access to opportunities, a cultural shift
Industry-owned Youth Apprenticeships
- IDing under-served population
- Mapped to skilled trades values and skills
- Bringing the industry straight to the families
Thanks to CG Schmidt for sponsoring our food and beverages for the evening, The Commons for providing the space, and to our featured participants for sharing their expertise and ideas,
Peter Graven – Earth Science/ Life Science/ Robotics, Deer Creek Intermediate School (St Francis)
Craig Griffie – Technology Education, Brown Deer High School
Tracey Griffith – HR Outreach Manager, Walbec Group
Crystal Marmolejo – Project Engineer, CG Schmidt
Reginald Reed – Founder/CEO, Mindful Staffing Solutions
Josh Rudolf – Scheduling Manager, Mortenson
