> IT apprenticeships often aren't good quality In Canada, I have found that while there's no official program for IT apprenticeship, the cultural value of impl

> IT apprenticeships often aren't good quality In Canada, I have found that while there's no official program for IT apprenticeship, the cultural value of implicit apprenticeship is there; perhaps an inheritance from our excellent trades programs. Thing is, you'll find it mostly in the older, more-local institutions; not so much in the sexier, flashier software companies and international conglomerates. When I started my career, fresh out of school, I worked at a small (~200 person) company. There was an IT greybeard (well, he seemed so to me, but he was only 40something). He taught me a lot, but more importantly like a good mentor he gave me room to grow, let me take on projects way beyond what any sane person would have given a 21 year old to work on, etc. The result was that I stuck around, contributed an awful lot of value, and then became eminently more employable than I had been. The next job at a much larger but still local institution had a real 60something greybeard that took this concept even further. Even now as I approach 40, there's a 50something guy at my current "senior" job who is just that much more "senior" and his wisdom is a continual benefit. It's obviously made me realize that I need to do the same thing to pay it forward. It doesn't strictly need to be an organized program where I get some co-op student, but that _can_ work; I've had some in the past to great success. What it does need to be is a keen younger person who has a learning style that benefits from personal interaction. That's really not everyone in our field; some people are simply self-starting learners and they bristle at mentorship. We should never constrain such people to "require" someone breathing down their neck, as it were; but for people who need the guidance, that have the talent and aptitude but benefit from someone else setting their focus, it is indispensable.