Episode #51
Episode 51: Are young staff really not work ready? With Jono van der Ploeg
Episode 51: Are young staff really not work ready? With Jono van der Ploeg. We hear a lot about young people entering the workforce. They’re not resilient enough. They need too much reassurance. They don’t show enough initiative. They’re not loyal. They’re just not “work ready.” But how much of that is actually about young people, and how much responsibility sits with the workplaces employing them? In Episode 51 of Not Another PD, I’m joined by Jono van der Ploeg, a youth worker and facilitator with more than 20 years of experience working alongside young people across youth work, community development, mentoring and local government. Through Confidence in Mentoring, Jono works with organisations to improve how they employ, onboard, mentor and develop young staff. He also hosts the Not Work Ready podcast, where he challenges some of the common assumptions made about young people entering the workforce. Jono shares his own experience of starting out as a young youth worker in a workplace where he received little support and was eventually told he wasn’t cut out for youth work. We talk about the impact leaders can have on the confidence of early career professionals, particularly when someone is still developing their professional judgement and finding their place in the workforce. We also explore workplace belonging and psychological safety , and why creating a team where people feel able to ask questions, receive feedback, contribute ideas and admit when they don’t know something matters for young and early career staff. In this episode, we chat about: Common stereotypes about young employees, including that they lack resilience, loyalty, initiative or a willingness to work Why “not work ready” might sometimes describe the workplace rather than the young person Psychological safety and workplace belonging , particularly for young and early career professionals entering a new team How leaders can help people feel safe to ask questions, learn, contribute and develop confidence at work The unwritten workplace rules that experienced professionals can easily take for granted Why completing a qualification doesn’t mean someone automatically knows how to work within a particular organisation or profession The importance of onboarding, mentoring and clear expectations for new and early career employees Giving constructive feedback without making the person feel like they are a bad employee The difference between loyalty to an organisation and belonging within a team How leaders can make space for quieter or less experienced staff rather than allowing the loudest or most experienced voices to dominate The role of leaders in creating team culture and modelling the behaviour they want to see. One of the things I really enjoyed about this conversation was challenging the assumption that because someone has finished their degree or qualification, they should automatically know what to do when they arrive in a professional workplace. Qualifications matter, but so do good onboarding, workplace mentoring, supervision, psychological safety, clear expectations and constructive feedback . We all had a first job. We all had a first professional role. Somewhere along the way, someone had to teach us the things that now seem obvious. Connect with Jono: Confidence in Mentoring website LinkedIn Email jonathon@confidenceinmentoring.com.au Not Work Ready Blog on Substack Not Work Ready podcast Work with Jazmin: I provide individual and group supervision, reflective practice, training and consultancy for helping professionals, leaders and organisations. Website Group Supervision (Practitioners / Leaders groups) Boundaries as Practitioners training (AUD$59, online self-paced) Leadership Focus Groups EOI - Share your leadership experience to inform the topics of our next training! Socialise with Jazmin: LinkedIn Instagram Join my email community Thank you so much for listening to Not Another PD. See you next time. Jazmin
