To foster young talent, employers must share their social capital

This article originally appeared on the Christensen Institute blog and is republished here with permission.

Key points:

In July 2023, our team published “People-Powered Pathways: Lessons on Building Student Social Capital Through Career-Connected Learning.” In the report, we describe the successes and challenges in bringing social capital building strategies to a variety of educational settings. Our observations are based on an 18-month pilot during which we leveraged our social capital. Playbook to provide direct support to a group of three intermediary organizations: Education Strategy Group, Generation Schools Network, and Hawai'i P-20, which collectively support 20 sites in the K-12 career path space. Over the course of the pilot, we sought to understand how schools and nonprofits can make building social capital an explicit, effective, and equitable component of existing models of career-related learning.

In career-related learning, employee volunteers, such as internship supervisors or guest speakers, often see their role as providing students with job-specific knowledge and skills. However, these individuals have an equally important role to play in student networks: fostering student well-being and economic mobility by creating lasting relationships that involve sharing resources, connections, and opportunities.

To make this type of role a reality, employers must understand the objectives of building social capital, what is expected of them, and how it can benefit both parties. As one nonprofit leader explained, helping employers take on that role may require some initial reflection, encouraging them to consider preconceived notions they may have about young people:

“(If) everyone commits to working to question all the thoughts that we, as adults, have about young people, good and bad, then the effect ends up being social capital. Because you've actually broken down the barrier or the silo that says, “I am this and you are that.” I'm here to provide a service and you're here to get it.'”

For organizations and schools that brokered connections to employers, infusing social capital into the purpose behind those connections influenced how they recruited, vetted, and prepared employer partners who would interact with students. A leader of a nonprofit organization stated:

“We look at our employers that we work with and we have guidance. Maybe they start from different places and they may not know how to (work with us). They may have an idea about what an eighth grader is or isn't, what 'risk factors' young people of color may have, or what their history may be. Part of what is important to us is working with partners in the workplace so they can see a whole person, an eighth grader who is a complete asset now, and the net value of working with youth in the future.” .

Recognize and address the “investment burden”

During our pilot, surveys of site staff revealed that 40% found it somewhat difficult to educate employers about how they can help develop students' social capital. Although nonprofits that were heavily involved in internships or apprenticeships often had the time and expertise to design and conduct orientations for employers, other sites with less capacity were cautious about asking too much of their employer partners. In these circumstances, additional employer training focused specifically on building relationships with students was rarely an option.

While emphasizing return on investment (ROI) may help some employers see the long-term benefits of this type of work, one broker partner noted that for some employers it is also about avoiding the short-term burden it places on your employees. In addition to the ROI, the partner explained,

“There is also the BOI, which is the 'burden of investment.' Make it easier for (employers) to see that the burden of their investment in this is not so onerous and that the experience is enjoyable. (Employees) enjoy the experience of personal relationship with children, and that also reduces the burden of investment. And it increases the social capital of our partners.”

When working with employers concerned about the initial burden on their employees, one option is to provide a menu that outlines different options for participation based on the ability and interests of employee volunteers. This agreement not only allows employers to understand what is expected of them and their employees, but also allows them to choose the types of experiences they consider enjoyable and meaningful to them. With this mutual understanding, work-based learning can take shape much more easily.

Example in action:

Apprentice Learning is a Boston-based nonprofit that provides real-world work experiences for eighth grade students. Since Apprentice Learning students were already immersed in work environments as part of their apprenticeships, the Boston site planning team felt these experiences were a natural fit for developing social capital.

While most career preparation programs ask, “How prepared are young people to form relationships with adults?”, Apprentice Learning equally emphasizes the other side of the equation by asking, “How prepared are adults? to build relationships with young people?”

During the pilot, Apprentice Learning communicated its vision to employer partners in multiple ways. First, it held an orientation for employers in which Apprentice Learning staff used a asset based framework to gently challenge employers' beliefs about what young people can do and what it means to have relationships with them. The goal was to help employers realize that they are building meaningful relationships with human beings who are still learning, but capable of achieving tremendous success.

Apprentice Learning also communicated with employers through weekly emails. These emails contained guidance for apprenticeship supervisors on how they could better support students, including conversation starters such as “consider talking to your apprentice about their first job” or “consider sharing about a time when you had difficulties in your work and how I navigated it.” As one program leader stated,

“Because of the questions we pose in our weekly letter to our workplace partners, there are more opportunities for you to discuss your interests and background. One of the things that's turned out is that at least three, maybe four of our kids have been offered potential summer opportunities. And the co-worker and the young man took the time to get to know some things about each other, a little beyond the 'how to work' part.”

Finally, Apprentice Learning staff visited each student's workplace and engaged in one-on-one conversations with their workplace supervisors. These conversations further reinforced the foundation that Apprentice Learning built during orientations and maintained with weekly emails. Describing a recent visit to a workplace where two students were apprentices, a program leader recalled how conversations they had with employers about building social capital influenced supervisors' behavior. When he entered the workplace, the students' supervisor immediately offered to provide them with references if they needed them. “We didn't have to ask the guy: they offered it to him. And (the students) understood that their (supervisors) are a resource that they didn't necessarily know they had.”

In conclusion, it is time for employers' role in career-related learning to go beyond imparting skills. As decades of research demonstrate, they are skills further connections that actually move students up the economic ladder.

However, achieving this goal requires a change in perspective and intentionality. What we need are systems that incentivize the exchange of social capital. Schools and nonprofits like Apprentice Learning are well positioned to start the conversation with their employer partners. But employers participating in these efforts have a responsibility to allocate resources and create policies that encourage more student-centered experiences. While it requires an initial investment, focusing on young people now provides a solid foundation for society future.