Equipping young adults for success: The importance of workplace readiness training

Henry Bantjez is a recognised expert in the field of talent management and delivers coaching and life coaching services within corporate environments Do you remember those first couple of jobs so many years ago? How nervous did you feel? Did you wonder why nobody was talking to you, or why everyone seemed to be talking about you?

Remember the insecurity and how you wished that you had stayed at home? It felt as though everything you said was wrong. Then there was the boss.

The day you arrived late,and the stares you got. The scary lady from HR who, after the first week, told you that theshoes you were wearing were not appropriate and that you needed to do spell checks before sending emails. It was the first time you had met her.

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Someone was spreading rumour sabout you. You felt like running again. Now imagine how different it would have been if someone had taught you how to behave at work, how to carry yourself, and how to create a strong professional image.

Imagine you had a mentor who gave you the confidence and self-awareness to help you move from good to excellent to exceptional in no time. With workplace readiness training, your child or new staff members do not have to go through the trauma that you may once have experienced. Helping your child or new staff members adjust to the workplace can feel daunting, but it can also be exciting.

It marks the start of something: independence, maturity, and growing up at work. And you can be part of it. The problem is that school teaches skills, but it does not prepare them for what the workplace expects.

That is why many start their jobs feeling unsure, worried, and lacking confidence. I recall working at a large insurance company years ago and seeing two interns walk past my desk. Neither seemed aware of their surroundings or of basic workplace rules.

One was walking while eating a banana, his nose almost touching his phone’s screen, while the other had his shirt hanging out. I did not blame them. It was clear that no one had shown them what professional behaviour looks like.

That moment explained a great deal about the gap between school learning and workplace preparation. That is where workplace readiness training comes in. It helps young adults move from school to work with an understanding of what working life involves.

Whether they go into finance, farming, medicine, fashion, retail or technology, the goal is the same: to preparethem for workplace expectations, not just the technical side of the job. Workplace readinesscoaching builds on a person’s strengths and helps develop qualities that employers value most, such as communication, professionalism, reliability, responsibility, and a positive attitude. These qualities may sound simple, but they often make the difference between someone who struggles at work and someone who earns trust quickly.

When young adults understand these expectations early on, they are far better equipped to fit in, contribute positively, and grow in confidence. First-time workers may not know what managers expect or what behaviour is acceptable. Coaching helps to build confidence through powerful habits that can make a huge difference in interviews, meetings, and daily interactions. Many young adults do not receive guidance on professional behavior, such as punctuality, staying late when needed, managing emotions, and not being on WhatsApp all the time.

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