IT Apprentice Alvaro Moreno on Making Apprenticeship Simpler

Intro

Welcome to another episode from our Making Apprenticeship Simpler Interview series where we engage stakeholders throughout the apprenticeship system to answer a single question, "How do we make apprenticeship simpler?"

In today's episode, Patrick Cushing interviews Florida-based IT apprentice Alvaro Moreno to focus on Alvaro's journey at Thrive Networks. Alvaro, an associate engineer, shares how he discovered his apprenticeship through Miami Dade's official website and explores the highs and lows of blending fundamental learning with specialist training. They discuss the challenges of apprenticeship programs and suggest ways to enhance their flexibility and communication.

Whether you're an apprentice, an educator, or just curious about the evolving landscape of apprenticeships, particularly in newer industries to apprenticeship, this episode offers invaluable perspectives on making apprenticeship programs more effective and aligned with individual goals.

Highlights

Sure, here's a comprehensive sequence of topics covered in the transcript, including sub-topic bullets under each primary topic:

1. Introduction and Background

• Hosts introduce themselves and the purpose of the interview

• Introduction of Alvaro Moreno and current role as an associate engineer at Thrive Networks

• How Alvaro found the apprenticeship through Miami Dade's official website

2. Alvaro's Experience with the Apprenticeship

• Learning the corporate side at Thrive Networks

• Supportive management and colleagues

• The value of the hands-on experience aligning with schooling

• Mixed experience with Miami Dade's process

3. Simplifying Apprenticeships

• Alvaro’s opinion on making apprenticeships simpler - fundamental learning vs. specialist driven training

• Desire for apprenticeship programs to help apprentices reach a higher level of expertise

• Importance of flexibility in apprenticeship programs

• Potential benefits of allowing apprentices to specialize in certain fields like network administration or security analysis

4. Additional Suggestions for Apprenticeship Programs

• Need for a concrete roadmap within the apprenticeship programs

• Ensuring that learning aligns with career goals of apprentices

• Importance of uniform and centralized communication

• Coordinating communication among college, employers, and apprentices

Transcript

Patrick Cushing

Hey, Alvaro, thanks for joining us again. I'm Patrick from work hands, one of the founders of work hands. Super happy to hear from you and get a chance to chat about your experience as an apprentice and what you think we can do simpler across the country. So first things first, can you just introduce yourself, give us some sense of the apprenticeship you're in, how you found it, and how you came to where you're at today.

Alvaro Moreno

So my name is Alvaro Moreno. I'm an associate engineer at Thrive Networks. I was able to find the apprenticeship looking at Miami Dade's official website where I was able to sign up for updates and newsletters. And I was sent an email that there was an apprenticeship in conjunction with Thrive and I was able to apply and interview and get the position. And so far, I would say my experience has been. It's gone as far as learning the corporate side. Being at thrive, the people that have helped me within it has been amazing. I say management has been really, really good.

Alvaro Moreno

I feel blessed to be in the position that I'm in. The, um, on the other side, I would say with Miami Dade, that is something of an up and down process, but you do learn everything that you're learning along with your schooling. And the hands on a thrive does go hand in hand and it's something, I think it's extremely important.

Patrick Cushing

Cool. Yeah, I think certainly with apprenticeships, there's so many moving pieces, right? Some pieces would be great. I think almost everybody I talk to is stoked to be in the apprenticeship, but, you know, results may vary depending on how well things mesh together. So that's why we're here to talk about, like, the one question I have for everybody is friendships great. There's a lot involved. From your perspective as an apprentice, how do we make apprenticeship simpler?

Alvaro Moreno

I would say that this, what we are learning, is fundamental stuff. I would say in the material that we're learning at Miami Dade, the stuff that we are learning within the company at thrive is more specialist driven. So I think that us as apprentices want kind of, okay, we just don't want to stay stuck at fundamentals. We already know that this is what we want to do, this is the field we want to be in and we want to be specialist at a higher level. So I feel like it would be great that the apprenticeship is not just for fundamentals. It does help us hone in on what we want. If we're going to be a network administrator or a security analyst, I think being able to reach that other level, it would be fantastic because it gives us kind of like to say it's part of the roadmap. Yeah.

Alvaro Moreno

We're going to learn all these things and a bunch of us have that experience. We're just honing it in, into the tech side. But to be able to reach that other level, I think for future apprentices, they would see an apprenticeship very, very valuable.

Patrick Cushing

Yeah. And so just so I understand, you're like, all right, I know I've took the core classes. I know I have to get the core things, but some flexibility in there to then choose your own specialist adventure. Is that what you mean?

Alvaro Moreno

Yeah. For example, I myself have been able to get security certifications. I know that is a level higher, a level beyond what I'm currently doing. It would be great that the apprenticeship leads you towards those avenues that you are looking for.

Patrick Cushing

Yep. And that's interesting, too, because we, you know, we work with hundreds of programs across the country and some programs have that flexibility built in, others not. I think it's, you know, something that'd be great for all programs to have built in. It would make it simpler if you're self driven like yourself, to be able to get in, say, all right, I know what I want to do. I want to take this somewhere else. So, the other question I often ask here is, all right, in your existing program, let's say I gave you a magic wand to fix that. Would it be just more flexibility or how would you fix the problem you just described?

Alvaro Moreno

I wouldn't say it's like a problem. I'd say it's more like something that can be added on top of what we're doing. I don't really see any major issues. The only thing is have some sort of roadmap, concrete roadmap that we do feel like, all right, we are achieving these following things. We are learning. What we're learning is going in hand in hand in what we're working on to see that roadmap being, okay, I've achieved this. I've achieved that. I'm going in the direction that I really want to go in or what the apprenticeship is about, and having that communication to be uniform and for all of us to be able to have that.

Alvaro Moreno

All of us to be able to like, a centralized place where we can see our progress and I guess let there be one person or one location where we can see that, oh, maybe on a website or, all right, this is what we need to work on for us as individuals within the apprenticeship, but also collectively because a lot of the stuff within ourselves, we're like, okay, what did you hear? What did you hear? What do we need to work on? I don't feel like it should be like that. I feel like we should all know. And if we don't, we at least have one person that can tell us instead of many people that are going to tell us bits and pieces.

Patrick Cushing

Yeah. Makes sense. Yeah. Uniform communication, especially when you're dealing with college and your employer and different people at different locations and. Yeah. Really standardizing communication would make everybody's life simpler.

Alvaro Moreno

Absolutely.

Patrick Cushing

Which is something that a lot of programs struggle with at first until, you know, they iterate and get through with it. So I think that's fantastic advice. Best practice for any program to follow. So definitely fantastic. I love it. Thank you for joining. Thank you for hopping on. Lend us your time, your perspective.

Patrick Cushing

We'll make sure to share this out, get as many people on board with kind of standardizing that communication as we can. But I really appreciate your time today.

Alvaro Moreno

Thank you very much.