Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
Editor's note: Curtis Blair is the president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce. He describes himself as an entrepreneur and business alchemist. Over the past three years, Blair interviewed many of Utah County's C-Suite leaders about principles that helped make their organizations successful. He is sharing those principles in a series of 10 articles.
Principle of prosperity 6: Pay it forward
When Ebenezer Scrooge flew into the chilly night sky with the Ghost of Christmas Past, he was taken to a time in his youth where joy, kindness, community, and his apprenticeship under Mr. Fezziwig were his delight.
Fezziwig taught Scrooge many things for his career during his apprenticeship. He was a good teacher, patient, and disciplined with love. Sadly, Scrooge had forgotten many of the values Fezziwig taught him, and he aged into a rich, bitter old man.
Charles Dickens, author of "A Christmas Carol," shows that even the richest of men can and should be kind, and teach with patience, the training principles for the future careers of their apprentices.
Since the Middle Ages, one of the most important strategies to train the next generation of workers was the apprenticeship — a hands-on pay-it-forward experience. In those days, a formal education as a method to prepare somebody for employment wasn't feasible. Skilled trades such as tailors, bakers and blacksmiths functioned through an apprenticeship system, guaranteeing that the next generation of workers received on-the-job training, introduction to the network of producers and consumers and access to the tools necessary to do that job.
While apprenticeships aren't as common now as they once were (college internships are the most common path for new workers), the core philosophy behind apprenticeships is the basics at school. The nuanced details and insights unique to each market are still only learnable through on-the-job experience.
For this to take place, it's critical that existing business leaders be willing to mentor new members of the workforce so the next generation can smoothly pick up where they previously left off.
Trent Fitzgerald, a maintenance manager with the Utah Transit Authority has been through three years of diesel mechanic and technician training. He has been in the diesel industry since he was 18. To get his start, he chose to be an apprentice.
Fitzgerald started his training during high school where he learned basic systems, then attended a technical school rather than a university. He worked for a brief time with Cummins Rocky Mountain building engines and in 2001 joined UTA.
His apprenticeship lasted three years which is formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDL).
"I just hired (a student) out of Mountain View High School," Fitzgerald said. "During their class time they job shadow with our mechanics. It's one way of getting technicians for our industry."
Fitzgerald noted that apprenticeships are more in-depth when it comes to training systems for buses and other trades.
"UTA's apprenticeship is one of the best in the way they train and teach," Fitzgerald said. "This is like you're working. You take the class then apply it on a real-world basis."
And because the USDL recognizes the program, the apprentices offer livable wages.
"The culture here is great. People care about their jobs and are always trying to find ways to improve efficiencies," Fitzgerald said of the apprenticeships. "I am proud of the people I work with."
You can find several apprenticeships on Utah.gov.
Currently in Utah, there are 4,100 active apprentices and 287 registered apprenticeship programs. According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, 90% of the apprentices complete their programs and have earned about $300,000 during their apprentice career.
Scrooge and his partner Jacob Marley basked in their own accomplishments, lacking a sense of purpose to pay it forward. Without anyone left to carry on the business name, trade or project, the business partners left the door wide open for the Ghost of Christmas future to take away all they had built.
It is evident that the essence of mentorship extends beyond the mere transmission of skills and knowledge.
In a world that often glorifies instant gratification and the pursuit of individual success, the concept of paying it forward stands as a testament to the enduring principles of compassion, generosity, and the long-term view of prosperity.
Like the Ghost of Christmas Past, guiding Scrooge through the corridors of time, there exists an intangible thread connecting these experiences to a broader philosophy. In the tapestry of professional growth, the narrative seamlessly shifts from the structured learning of apprenticeships to the profound impact that selfless acts of kindness and mentorship can have on shaping a compassionate, interconnected future workforce.
Charles Dickens taught through paying it forward with goodness and kindness, a "bah humbug'' life can change. Even for Scrooge. He exclaimed, "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world!"
