Mentoring Today Time to rethink mentoring and ignite passion in the next generation By Lisa Bordeaux, A Mod Up Consulting
One of the common themes that we heard
at the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference was the importance of mentoring. As we look at the coming needs of the industry, it’s important to re-think our approach. What worked for previous generations likely won’t work for as many in today’s generation, not because of a failure at parenting as much as the changing life circumstances of young people today. In order to have a thriving future, the idea of the apprenticeship being a grind, that it is a right of passage, needs to be updated. We know the average age of those who are entering the apprenticeship program is 26. That is likely because that is about the time people are starting to think about getting married and starting families. In 2021, the average age of marriage was about 28. If you turn 26 this year, you were born in 1996. Bill Clinton was the president, the Nintendo was popular, and there was a bombing at the Olympic Park in Atlanta. On the news was coverage of mad cow disease and Charles and Diana’s divorce. DVDs and eBay were taking off, while on the radio played Snoop
Dogg, Metallica, and Sheryl Crow. Thirty Black churches were burned to the ground in Mississippi. There was a lot happening. When you turned 10, Enron failed, Saddam Hussein was killed, and George W. Bush was in the White House. The Wii was released, Google bought YouTube, and oil shale became viable. PINK!, Nine Inch Nails, and The Pussycat Dolls played on the radio, and North Korea began testing nuclear weapons. Heatwaves became a problem. There was a tidal wave in Indonesia, and Bush acknowledged secret CIA prisons around the world. Then came the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. Add to that the last two years, which have been traumatic for many people, and it is easy to see why there is a generation entering the workforce that is risk averse and afraid to make mistakes. The generation entering the workforce is looking for mentoring and reassurance. They do not have the same high level of confidence as the generation before them. In fact, what worked for your generation and mine, will likely not work for this generation. Partners in Progress » May / June 2022 » 11
