Gaining Experience and Confidence: Manolo’s Story

Manolo working Ready to get his feet wet in the workforce, Manolo came to employU looking to gain some work experience and earn money to save to buy his first car. After meeting with Manolo, Elaine, his Job Coach, found a Work-Based Learning Experience (WBLE), also referred to as a paid on-the-job training (OJT), at Roses Department Store.

At first, Manolo experienced some challenges on the job. Hearing this, Elaine observed Manolo working at his WBLE to see how they could improve his work experience and help him overcome the challenges his was facing. She soon realized adjusting the communication style between the supervisor and Manolo would be the solution. Instead of receiving many tasks at once, Elaine suggested the supervisor give Manolo one task at a time. This way he could focus on the task at hand before receiving the next task he needed to do. This was just what Manolo needed to excel in his WBLE.

Having Elaine with him on a weekly basis helped Manolo gain confidence. Elaine made sure to encourage Manolo to work through challenges and commend him on a job well done. Having someone in his corner each week helped him overcome worries he may have had when taking on new tasks.

Through this WBLE, Manolo has gained a wealth of confidence and now works independently. He hopes to continue doing Work-Based Learning Experiences through employU. His goal is to one day own his own restaurant and would like to do a WBLE working in one next! After gaining experience working at Roses, Manolo now sees that he can achieve is goals and is eager to find a full-time job. But what does Manolo plan on doing with his first paycheck? He’s looking forward to buying his mom a Mother’s Day gift and wants to take his whole family out to dinner. We are excited to see Manolo continue to shine and work towards his career goals. For more information on our paid Work-Based Learning Experiences visit https://employu.org/youth-paid-work-based-learning/ or contact us through the form below.