IT leaders should use a two-pronged approach to instilling technical and professional skills in their youngest IT workers, explains Lyron Andrews.

By Lyron Andrews

I’ve managed scores of individuals in disciplines like network engineering, data center management and information security, and, in most cases, these IT professionals have come ready-made with the necessary knowledge and skills.

But after managing highly experienced adults for more than two decades, I find that working with 18- to 22-year-olds is both refreshing and challenging at the same time.

It is refreshing because you have a chance to personally influence exceptional lifelong skills and understanding from the ground floor, so to speak. You can actually perceive the accelerated development of this young person into a mature young adult who adds value to his/her IT organization.

And it’s challenging in that you may often find that corporate-culture knowledge and technical knowledge development are not easily transferred. Since there is little to no experiential point of reference for these young professionals, there need to be fresh ways of thinking. In working with more than 100 student consultants at Workforce Opportunity Services, I have modified my approach to training and have correspondingly communicated this to my clients to help to them work with the student consultant.

I see two basic ways how this is done.

The first: I advise my clients to create a roadmap that begins in reverse. What I mean is, don’t begin with the first step that you envision the young professional needs in their training regimen without first taking a clear look at the outcome of the desired level of technical acumen six to nine months down the road.

After you’ve arrived at what you perceive to be the reasonable outcome, then establish the building blocks to getting there. Knowing the desired end-result helps to focus resources in getting there. This may seem like an obvious first step, but it is not surprising how often it is neglected, given the fast-paced, demanding environments in which IT managers operate.

The second: Managers sometimes begin with an all-or-nothing approach to developing the job skills capability of the student consultant. Since the student consultant may not be at the expert level they are familiar with managing they will shy away from starting the student down a track of hands-on productivity until they’ve reached a certain level of knowledge.

There are two things that are being discounted in this regard: Training saturation and “learning by doing.” Even if you are skilled and experienced in a certain technical discipline for many years you may find it difficult to sit for more than a week’s worth of training at a time. Imagine sitting multiple months without a productive outlet. The FIFO (first in, first out) principle would become readily evident after a short duration of learning only.

It is also evident that all of our student consultants show more substantive progress in environments where they can learn by doing rather than from training alone. A balanced blend of training and hands-on application is a potent mix. Successful managers adopt an analog view (graduated, hands-on exposure based upon graduated understanding) rather than a binary view (do it only if they understand everything or don’t do it at all).

So by creating a roadmap based upon desired outcomes six to nine months down the line and by getting the student consultant involved in productive hands-on assignments as soon as possible, IT managers realize quicker evidence of technical understanding and capability in their younger workers. This course of action truly benefits everyone involved.

Lyron Andrews is Vice President, Client Relations and Technology for Workforce Opportunity Services.

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