How Antis Develops The Future Workforce

BY RYAN KWON

In the community management industry, most managers are thrown into the HOA wilderness without a proper survival guide and kit. But what if it doesn’t have to be this

What if you could help newcomers by allowing experienced managers to raise and guide the next generation through an internship program?

Antis Roofing & Waterproofing has found a lot of success and excited young graduates raring to explore a part of our industry through their internship programs.

CREATING INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Every year since 2018, Antis has been partnering with non-profit organizations and their summer high school internship/externship programs. One of their partners, Samueli Academy, has their rising seniors all complete an internship for four weeks, 20 hours a week, prior to their senior year as a graduation requirement. Antis’ customer service department ran that internship, making it possible for the academy’s students to be paid minimum and work in person.

Another one of Antis’ partners, Girls Inc., has a workforce readiness and college preparation program in many high schools in Orange County, which also incorporates a summer externship. Antis’ President and COO, Susan DeGrassi, has partnered over the years with Girls Inc., so it was only natural for Antis to step in and offer the students an externship opportunity.

Before the high school juniors and seniors participating in the program are placed at their company, they are put through considerable training to prepare them for the world of work. Girls Inc.’s program is highly structured, easy to follow, and consists of four weeks of remote and in-person learning. The students also receive a stipend from the company, and whichever employer the students go with contributes a modest tax-deductible donation to the program itself.

Orange County United Way, a partner of Antis’ accounting department, is currently partnered with the Garden Grove School district and places students in summer internships that are unpaid, school credit only. These students also receive some training at their school site and do mock interviews in person for the internships that they have an interest in at a Career Fair Day, which the district hosts.

MAINTAINING THE PROGRAMS

Every summer, Antis partners with Samueli Academy, Girls Inc., and Orange County United Way and take an intern from each organization. They’ve had college interns from various colleges, such as the University of Arizona and California State University, Fullerton, and whenever they host college interns, it is always paid.

Typically, the interns are paired with a specific department within Antis. Most of the time, the Antis staff recognizes many of them from their previous participation in one of the non-profit programs when they were in high school, or the intern is an employee’s child.

In all of the high school programs, the student is expected to intern for four weeks, 10-20 hours a week. The program has benchmarks for the student to meet that are structured by the non-profit program or school district.

If the internship is in person, more effort is required by the employer to make sure a full day is structured, which includes shadowing a job and meetings, informational interviews with employees in various departments, and doing entry level work like data entry, social media posts, or a simple project.

“It is highly discouraged (as internships are meant to be learning experiences) to have an intern to a lot of ‘busy work’ – a little is okay of course,” said Susan DeGrassi, President & COO of Antis. “As these students are minors, there will be things the employer can’t and shouldn’t do. In our case, they can’t be on a job site for example due to OSHA regulations, and we also refrain from driving the student anywhere. If there is an offsite event that would be valuable for our interns, it is always ideal that the student be dropped off and picked up by their parent or guardian.”

HOW IT WORKS

Antis’ HR department owns the responsibility of understanding any changes in the program and/or state laws that might impact the relationship. It also calendars and sources the employees that will engage each year with each non-profit organization.

Often, there are pre-meetings, career fairs, mock interviews, and training for employees. A manager or director-level employee typically oversees all programs, but it is also a great opportunity to develop young employees by pairing them with an intern and non-profit organization, allowing them to guide the intern and helping both the intern and themselves to grow – with manager oversight, of course.

It doesn’t have to be the same person every year, but most often than not, enthusiastic employees who love mentoring young adults will always be found and request to participate year after year.

“This is one of the easiest ways for a company to make a difference in your community, to develop the future workforce, and to influence a young adult as they learn and explore the world of work and how education fits,” said DeGrassi. “This is most likely the very first job experience for a student, and some of them are very focused on what they want for their future – but most are undecided. So whatever your business is, there is always something and someone who is interested and willing to invest their time to discover their potential future careers with you. The non-profit organizations that we work with have well-run, long-tested programs, so participation is very easy to do!”

Ryan Kwon, Communications & Web Manager, CACM