While I was in London a few weeks ago, I had an excellent chat (in an excellent pub) with Ian Fenn @ifenn and Boon Yew Chew @jaremfan about the importance of mentor/apprentice relationships. We’re all exploring these issues in our own practice, so it was a real pleasure to talk to other people who are thinking along the same lines. That conversation was really the genesis of this blog (thanks guys!)
I scribbled a bunch of notes on a napkin which I have not written up yet, but I do want to add a link to an excellent article Boon wrote on the subject, “Why we need UX apprenticeships.I think he’s spot on when he says…
Broadly speaking, there are three main issues that practitioners and the industry is experiencing right now:
- The huge gap between research and practice
- Challenges faced by junior and non-UX practitioners seeking to gain employment in UX
- Difficulty for employers to find UX candidates who can articulate and present good design thinking”