Highlights from my conversation with Dr. Donnell Butler
A few of my favorite moments
A few years ago, I saw my friend Alex Hernandez after his inauguration ceremony at Champlain College (aside: if you don’t know Alex and his innovative career-connected leadership at Champlain, you’re missing out!).
”Do you know Donnell?” he asked me. “He’s an incredible leader doing work that’s right up your alley.”
It took a minute, but last week I “chopped it up(!)” with Dr. Donnell Butler, Founder and President of Prelude, a paid internship intermediary nonprofit that supports employers and schools to provide meaningful win-win internships for young people.
I wanted to talk to Donnell because securing internships and work-based learning opportunities is a challenging and complex process for schools and districts, much less for employers.
Below are a few of my favorite moments. To view the entire conversation, please click here.
The Teen Work Collapse
Most teens used to work. They don’t anymore. I’ve heard explanations such as a greater focus on school and extracurricular activities, but I haven’t seen compelling data to support any of the theories. Unfortunately, the data don’t fit cleanly into my Jonathan Haidt-esque narrative that social media and smartphones have devastated a generation of young people. Let me know if you’ve seen good information!
(A small note: last week, I had a version of the above chart with stale predicted data from 2013 onward; this is the corrected version. Thanks to the folks who pointed that out!)
“Soft” Skills Aren’t Soft
Not gaining work experience, however, is an opportunity missed to gain essential durable skills. My first jobs were teaching tennis, bussing, and washing dishes. I clearly remember Terry, the head tennis pro, pulling me aside and telling me in no uncertain terms that my soft-spoken, shy (insecure) nature on the court was not going to be effective. I needed to give clear directions and immediate feedback!
The Prelude model helps demystify the “Hidden Curriculum” of the workplace for young people.
Internships Grow Managers, Too
Something I hadn’t thought about was the role that managing an intern can play in the professional growth of new managers. Prelude found that 84% of intern managers report leveraging the experience for their own professional development.
School Playbook: Employer First
If I were a school leader today, what would I do? First (realize I’m biased here), I would get the basics right. Where in the school day are students receiving a high-quality curriculum that enables them to discover their purpose, explore careers, develop a quality postsecondary plan, and build AI & financial literacy? We believe this should typically occur in advisory and/or specific career/college courses. That’s what we’re supporting our partners with at Willow!
Then, I’d hire a partner like Prelude to serve as the intermediary to help set up high-quality internships. Employer management is often too challenging for most school systems to undertake on their own.
Hope
This work matters.
Upcoming conversations
We talked a lot about Durable Skills last week, and we think about it all the time internally. Join us on October 23 for a conversation with my old friend, Tim Taylor. We’ll be sharing a big announcement (!) and, more importantly, digging into the research and best practices around Durable Skills.
Lastly, for my charter friends, I’m excited to share that we’ll be hosting a 3-part Post-Secondary Workshop series with a Seminar in October and November. We’ve got some fantastic experts joining to co-lead the sessions, and a great group has already signed up. The first one is on October 30, and you can sign up here.
Onwards!
James
I've been wondering about that teen employment puzzle too, besides the Haidt thesis. Hypotheses:
1. Employer preference to hire adult immigrants and pay under the table (lawn care, restaurants).
2. Collapse of teen "car culture" in boys. That was often the motivator to get cash.
3. Newspaper delivery as the on-ramp to teen work. Job disappeared.
4. The 2010 US Labor Department ruling on internship classification, making unpaid internships illegal in many cases, employers said "F this." The regs were dialed back in 2018 I think, but the damage was done.
5. Elderly clerks in grocery stores.
6. Retail jobs have 3 states: Nobody around (make eye contact if someone approaches); Sort of Looking (the right sort of help offer); Active Transactions. Some employees take out their phones during the first 2 phases; in past were more likely to "find stuff to do" (put out stock, etc). Customers less likely to want to interrupt a scrolling employee versus a "folding shirts" employee. So this is a different smartphone angle from a) Teens don't want jobs if they can pass time at home on phone, and b) Teens can't socialize because of phone.
What thinks you?