Get to Know Your Community

Get to Know Your Community

When you work with The Apprenticeship Community, you work with a team of experts whose combined talents are designed to help you make the most of your opportunities.

Let’s get to know one of the members of your Community… Mentor, Barry Grosser.

Barry, you’re a Mentor at The Apprenticeship Community. Can you tell me a bit about your role?

I am part of the support network here at The Apprenticeship Community. I help apprentices and trainees to stay on track with their work and training, by providing an ear to listen. We talk through any issues they may be facing, both on-the-job, and, more importantly, outside work, and put a plan in place to help them move forward.

Why is mentoring helpful?

Mentoring was initially put in place around six years ago, when the Government noticed that the number of people actually completing their apprenticeship was really low. In some cases, completion rates were as low as 30%.

When they researched what was causing the problem, it was generally things outside work. It could be things like handling difficult family relationships, managing money and bills for the first time, or even just struggling to find the motivation or confidence to keep going.

Most apprentices are young, and a lot have left school early to take up a trade, so they’re still in the process of learning who they are and what they want to be. But employers are running a business, and they expect their employees to leave their issues ‘at the door’. And small business owners rarely have the resources in the business to deal with their employees’ issues. Which is where a dedicated mentor who operates outside the business can be really beneficial – to both the apprentice and the manager.

The employers I speak to are really happy to have someone for their apprentice to talk to. The most common phrase I hear is: ‘I wish we had something like this when I was an apprentice’.

How does mentoring work?

At the start of apprenticeship I take the time to meet with each apprentice face-to-face at the site where they’re working. Then, I keep in regular contact with them through texts and the occasional phone call, so that I am top of mind if an issue arises.

I like to use humour to get people to open up. A giggle can be a gateway; it opens the door and you can gently walk in.

When it comes to giving advice, a lot of the time it’s just about giving people a different way to think about the issues that they have. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.

Is it difficult to get people to open up?

I find that if you share your own life experiences, and they can see that you’ve been through challenges of your own, then most people are happy to open up. I know what it is to go to the depths and come out the other side. That’s a really powerful point of connection for people.

Often young people, especially men, just want someone to encourage them and to affirm their own self-image. I make a point of telling all the young men what makes them special. 95% of the time they’ve never heard anything like that.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Obviously seeing someone complete their apprenticeship is really rewarding. But I also feel extremely proud when I see someone who’s been working through an issue resolve it or take on a new way of approaching their situation.

The relationship I have with the apprentices is a privilege. I’m honoured if they call me and ask me something, even if they don’t follow my advice. It means I’m important enough to them to seek out my opinion.