Aspire’s New Apprenticeship Program: Training Young People to Make an Impact

This fall, Aspire launched a new youth workforce development apprenticeship, in partnership with Arlington Thrive and FHI 360, a nationally recognized apprenticeship expert. Made possible by a generous gift from a major donor, this one-year pilot builds on our team’s long history of training young people and preparing them for careers in education and youth development through AmeriCorps. It will simultaneously support young adults’ career paths, build the next generation of youth development professionals,  and help Aspire continue providing the same level of highly personalized and engaging instruction for our students. 

What is a Youth Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships are one of the oldest ways people learn a profession: you earn a paycheck while learning a skill from experienced practitioners. Most people associate apprenticeships with trades like construction or electrical work, but today Registered Apprenticeships recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor span a growing range of careers, including youth development.

A Registered Apprenticeship is different from an internship or an entry-level job. Apprentices are paid employees from day one. Aspire’s apprentices are enrolled in FHI 360’s year-long youth development apprenticeship program, which pairs their hands-on work in Aspire’s classrooms with coursework in child and adolescent development, positive youth development, and classroom management. At the end of the program, apprentices earn a U.S. Department of Labor Certificate of Completion in Youth Development, a credential that signals to future employers across the country  that they have mastered the core skills to work in a youth development career. 

The apprentices participating in Aspire’s pilot program are young people (ages 18-24) from the South Arlington community who have an interest in youth development  and similar backgrounds to Aspire’s students.

Meet Our First Apprentices!

We’re thrilled to have hired two of our former interns to launch this year’s pilot program! Roman Sahibyan and Markeyce Lucas both interned with our program team during their senior year of high school, and when they heard about the opportunity to continue supporting Aspire students while building  skills for their future career paths, they jumped on it. Learn more about them, what drew them to this program, and how it will support them with their future goals below.

Markeyce Lucas

Markeyce is an 18-year-old high school graduate who is currently in his first year of a Fine Arts degree. Before applying for Aspire’s apprenticeship program, he was introduced to our work through an internship through Urban Alliance, and came in after school and during the summer to provide support to instructors in the classroom.

He knew that an apprenticeship meant working with someone in a specific trade in order to learn from them, but hadn’t considered  pursuing that path or working in child development. After his internship at Aspire though, he wanted to be part of our organization’s cause and part of making an impact.

In addition to helping support local students and be a role model, Markeyce is excited to learn how to operate a classroom. The ability to manage a group of people is a useful skill no matter the age group, and he’s confident that between learning these concrete skills as well as learning how to work in a professional setting with a team, he’ll be able to succeed going forward.

He shared that “So far, my favorite part of working at Aspire is making connections with the kids, as it feels like we’re one big family. Also, getting to work with the team at Aspire, who are all wonderful people.”

Outside of Aspire, his hobbies include drawing and gaming, which gives him lots to talk about with the students!

Roman Sahibyan

Roman is 18 years old and a recent high school graduate currently studying Business Administration at Northern Virginia Community College. His primary professional interests are in finance, business, and economics. He shared:

I was originally drawn to the Youth Development Apprentice role because I strongly believe in Aspire Afterschool Learning’s mission to provide local students with a safe, encouraging environment where they can build confidence, excel academically, and thrive. I’m particularly excited to gain hands-on experience in program planning and leadership while learning from the team at Aspire, and I look forward to building meaningful relationships with both the students and the community.

He never imagined pursuing an apprenticeship, but believes that “the practical leadership and getting to understand the dynamics of Aspire’s program will help me in my future endeavors.” Roman says the program’s structure and the opportunities for learning, feedback, and official certification will help him stand out and succeed in his career.

In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, playing chess, cooking, and volunteering. In addition to his internship at Aspire last year, he’s also volunteered at a local library and participated in community trail cleanups to keep Arlington safe and beautiful!

His favorite part of being an apprentice so far? “Getting to teach the kids.”

Looking Forward

Aspire is thrilled to have Roman and Markeyce onboard and already making a difference in the classrooms! The training and certificate program is also open to current Aspire staff, and we’re equally proud to have seven of our current Aspire classroom staff members who are building their skills and participating alongside them. 

Investing in our team’s professional growth reflects Aspire’s values, and it directly benefits our students because it means more caring, well-trained adults in the classroom. And student achievement is just one of the reasons why Aspire has chosen to pilot this innovative program. Aspire’s Youth Apprenticeship program will help elevate youth work as a skilled, credentialed profession and recognize the role afterschool and youth development staff play in shaping young people’s lives every day. It also provides workforce readiness training for young people in our region, including communication, teamwork, leadership, and managing a group. Finally, our new Youth Apprenticeship program will open the door to new workforce development and apprenticeship funding streams that will help us build towards our new staff model, build a talented and stable team, and diversify how we fund our work.

As this new program kicks off, we look forward to sharing its progress and how other organizations and individuals can play a role in supporting this work.

This article is part one of a series on the new Youth Development Apprenticeship Program. Stay tuned for part two in November!