Exploring Possibilities: Joshua’s Story

So many of us go through a period of time when we aren’t quite sure which career path is right for us. Sometimes we have so many interests we want to pursue that it’s hard to narrow things down. Other times we aren’t quite sure exactly which field we may be interested in. Joshua, employU client and college student, shares this relatable experience of wanting to explore different career options before deciding on a path.  

Work-Based Learning Experiences, or on-the-job trainings, are a great way for adolescents and adults to explore and gain experience in different career fields. These six-to-eight-week trainings allow participants to work within an industry and learn, develop, and strengthen skills while getting paid. This makes Work-Based Learning Experiences a great solution for someone, like Joshua, who is still deciding on a career path for their future.  

After being referred to employU, Joshua met his job coach Kyra and started his first Work-Based Learning Experience at Once Upon a Child to explore working within the retail industry. His job duties included sorting clothes and hanging clothes by size. He also worked in the back stock room to retrieve clothing items and prepare them for placement on the sales floor.  

During the beginning of his on-the-job training, Joshua was finding instructions given verbally harder to follow than tasks that were demonstrated to him. Kyra noticed this and made sure the tasks were modeled in order to better align with Joshua’s learning style. This helped Joshua become more efficient in completing his tasks, and, in turn, more confident in his work. As Joshua’s confidence increased, Kyra was able to step away as Joshua worked independently. 

Though Joshua enjoyed his time working at Once Upon a Child, he looks forward to participating in more on-the-job trainings to experience different opportunities and explore his interests in other industries. He feels exploring his interests will allow him to better prepare for his future and we agree! For more information on our Work-Based Learning Experiences visit https://employu.org/youth-paid-work-based-learning/  

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