Mentor Training Series Call #4

Are you considering mentoring apprentices or interns on your ranch or farm?

Want to improve apprentice recruitment, selection, training, education/work balance, and feedback? Join us during our free mentor training call series designed to help you and your apprentice have a more successful season!

Calls are led by New Agrarian Program’s founding mentor and mentor training specialist, Julie Sullivan. Call topics are based on over 15 years of experience mentoring young agrarians —and all of the trials and tribulation, joys and missteps encountered along the way. For more mentor training resources from the New Agrarian Program, visit this page.

Each call topic is offered twice via Zoom on Tuesdays at 12 p.m. or Thursdays at 7 a.m.

Send any questions to Julie Sullivan at julie@quiviracoalition.org.

Mentor Training Call Dates 2024-2025
All times are Mountain

Call #1: September 24, 12 p.m.  |  Sept. 26, 7 a.m.
You and Your Operation As a Mentor
Mentoring differs from being an employer in key ways. How do you know if it’s right for you? What are you excited to teach? The answers to these and other questions will help you write an apprenticeship description that is both appealing and realistic about the ups and downs of regenerative agriculture on your site. We’ll discuss ways to describe work schedules, location, isolation, and other factors to be sure your description will appeal to the applicants you most want to attract.

Call #2: November 11, 12 p.m. |  Nov 14, 7 a.m.
Evaluating Written Applications
A strong evaluation process begins before you read a single application. Creating your review process in advance ensures you’ll read for relevant experience as well as for potential in less-experienced applicants. We will share strategies for tackling the pile of applications, evaluation templates, and sample email responses to applicants who you would like to interview and those you will decline. 

Call #3: December 10, 12 p.m. |  Dec 12, 7 a.m.
Interviewing For Your Best Candidate
Design an interview process that will reveal the skill level, motivation and aptitude of  applicants and determine if they are right for your operation. We’ll share great questions that lead to thorough responses regarding experience and motivation. What questions can’t be asked, for legal reasons? How do you find out what you most need to know? And how do you select your finalists? We’ll discuss all this as well as suggestions on conducting both phone/video and on-site interviews.

Call #4:  January 16, 7 a.m. |  Jan 21, 12 p.m.
Expectations Explained: Yours and Theirs
You’ve chosen your apprentice and are preparing for their arrival. How do you set clear expectations of job responsibilities, days off, work schedules, team meetings, and your workplace culture? Writing an apprenticeship agreement, creating a skills list, and setting clear boundaries at the beginning can support a successful apprenticeship.

Call #5: February 11, 12 p.m.  |  Feb 13, 7 a.m. 
Connecting Work and Education
How do you structure the workday, week, and month so that priorities are established, and both work and education happen? Strategies shared include weekly planning meetings, how to find those ‘teachable moments’ during a workday, and ways to do up-front training to get your apprentice going and maintain focus, communication and motivation in the busy season.

Call #6: March 11, 12 p.m.  | March 13, 7 a.m.
Sustaining Apprentice Motivation
Apprentice motivation can falters a few months in. We’ll discuss ways to co-create apprentice goals that take advantage of the built-in learning at your operation, and ways to keep that momentum going through the season, including identifying apprentice solo study, local resource people to learn from, and visiting other operations. Skill sheets are great prompts for this so we’ll discuss ways to make them truly effective and useful to you and your apprentice.

Call #7: April 22, 12 p.m.  | April 24, 7 a.m.
Feedback to Feed Forward
Actionable feedback catalyzes learning and motivation by correcting errors while looking ahead to further development. We’ll share a variety of tried and true methods for productive feedback conversations both scheduled and impromptu, as well as how to get feedback to help you grow as a mentor.

See recordings for previous calls here.