Mentorship, development high priority at Faith Technologies Incorporated

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

December 16, 2024

MENASHA – Faith Technologies Incorporated (FTI) was recently recognized for its youth mentorship program by Youth Apprenticeship Wisconsin (YA WI) – which presented the Menasha-based company with the Exceptional Youth Apprenticeship Mentor Award.

“I think this award definitely celebrates Faith Technologies’ dedication to guiding our next generation through our mentorship program, all the hard work that our team members have put forth through it and just shows the advocacy for us being in the workforce and developing our future leaders,” Scott Ross, FTI’s director of workforce management, said.

Dawn Boucher – vice president of operational talent – said receiving the award is both an honor for FTI and a promotion of the opportunities offered to those interested in joining the trades.

“Receiving the award is really exciting for us internally, but (it’s) even more exciting that even more of that emphasis is being put on the trades,” she said. “We are showing that you don’t have to go to a college and get a four-year degree in order to have a really successful career.”

Dedicated mentors

Though there are many unique qualities of FTI’s youth apprenticeship program, Ross said, there’s one he believes made the mentorship program stand out to YA WI.

“Each youth apprenticeship has a dedicated mentor throughout the length of the program,” he said. “So regardless of what site or location they get assigned to, they have that dedicated resource to provide that elevated level of care.”

Fostering the growth and success of FTI’s employees – apprentices, full-time, youth and otherwise – is something Boucher said the company has always prioritized.

“From youth apprentices to our apprentices in our internal apprenticeship program to our experienced electricians and technicians – mentorship and development of our workforce is a high priority for us and something that we put a lot of focus on,” she said. 

Another stand-out aspect of FTI’s mentorship program, Ross said, is the wide range of work youth apprentices get to engage with.

“FTI as a whole – from the design to manufacturing to installation – has the ability to have our youth apprentices experience a variety of different facets in all the different levels of becoming an electrician,” he said. “We created that supportive environment so they can understand where they want to go and learn in their career, and we’re able to do that in house.”

That experience, Boucher said, is beneficial to the apprentice as it helps them establish the knowledge needed to be safe while on the job and to make decisions regarding their career.

“It’s giving them that hands-on experience, ensuring that they have all of the safety standards and knowledge around that,” she said. “(It also) fosters that culture of learning that encourages them to reach their fullest potential, understand what their goals are and figure out how to let their mentor help them reach those as well.”

Boucher said the learning and safety culture extends beyond simply the apprentice’s physical well-being.

“It’s kind of like an extra level of care for our team members, which aligns with FTI’s culture of care – showing our commitment to our core value of safety,” she said. “That’s our top priority, which, of course, includes physical safety, but also now putting a big focus on keeping your mind, body and soul safe as well.”

Boucher said FTI’s youth mentorship program also presents a lucrative opportunity for up-and-coming high school graduates to fast-track their earning potential right out of school.

“We (give) them all of the tools and resources to graduate debt-free, graduate with a very competitive wage and then the ability, confidence and knowledge to go off and take their journeyman’s exam or their big certification and successfully pass that as well,” she said.

The recruitment process

Though the program is intended for high school seniors, Ross said it has received growing interest from even younger high school students as well.

That interest, he said, is a result of FTI’s highly involved recruitment process.

“We do a lot of school interactions,” he said. “We also host our job shadows at our multiple locations where students can come in for a day and be able to be exposed to either a skills trade job shadow or a STEM job shadow.”

Ross said those interactions and job shadows allow prospective apprentices to experience the kind of work they’d be doing throughout the program – giving them a taste of what FTI has to offer.

“It’s a lot of hands-on learning,” he said. “Lots of labs that we do with apprentices that are currently in the program so they can relate and talk to them about it.”

Boucher said FTI’s recruitment team is always working to establish connections with interested students throughout the recruitment process.

“It’s a great interactive day for them,” she said. “Then, have (the) recruitment process afterward – a lot of times we’ll do some on-site interviews right after the job shadows as well.”

The one-year program, Ross said, provides options for students to work both during the school year and during the summer.

“The students gain 450 hours worth of time in the field on job sites,” he said. “During the summer they can work full-time. During the school year, it’s usually around two hours a day, and at the completion of the school year when they graduate, we do a graduation ceremony for our youth apprenticeships.”

Ross said they will also host a signing day event for youth apprentices who enroll and are accepted into FTI’s full-time electrical apprenticeship program.

Top-down opportunities

Both Ross and Boucher said they enjoy seeing youth apprentices decide to continue working with FTI after graduation.

“We have one of our current superintendents here in the Valley,” Ross said. “He started off as a youth apprentice and worked his way up into the regular apprenticeship program, graduated, got his journeyman’s license and in a very short time, he’s now running work for us (as a superintendent).”

Ross said that same superintendent is now helping train youth apprentices of his own.

“I still talk to him quite a bit,” he said “Now he’s empowered to help our youth apprentices – he’s taken on youth apprentices on his site to guide them and mentor them, because he saw the benefit of the program.”

Boucher said she is enjoying watching one current youth apprentice flourish in the mentorship program.

“(He) is finding a way to really get involved in all things FTI and get into our apprenticeship program while still attending high school,” she said. “Hoping… that he’s going to be one of those that graduates, comes on board with FTI and becomes a superintendent or project manager or workforce manager with us in the future – he’s definitely ready to take on the world.”

Boucher said even FTI’s current CEO began as an apprentice.

“Our CEO started out as an apprentice as well,” she said. “So giving those opportunities and giving back is something that as a company, from the top down, we are very much on board with and want to continue to push and pursue.”

Boucher said though FTI is a nationwide company, the mentorship program in the State of Wisconsin serves as a model for other locations.

“We’re looking at getting this into some of our other areas,” she said, “using what we’ve learned in Wisconsin to make it successful there, and to partner with other individuals and understand how we can make this successful at all locations.”

Ross said he credits the top-down culture of nurturing success as a driving force in the success of FTI’s mentorship program in Wisconsin.

“I think that’s one of the things that separates us, is the dedication from our mentors to the individuals and the employees,” he said. “It’s just shown through the strong relationships we’ve built with the students and the job sites.”

Though riding the high from receiving YA WI’s Exceptional Youth Apprenticeship Mentor Award, Boucher said FTI is not done improving.

“We are not an organization that is happy with (the) status quo,” she said. “So we continue to recognize our achievements, celebrate our achievements and then (ask) what can we do to better this and to reach out to more students.”

To learn more, visit faithtechinc.com.