An Interview with Marullus Williams of CareerWise DC Employer Limbic Systems
President and CEO of Limbic Systems Marullus Williams has been overseeing the development of young talent across the District as a CareerWise DC employer for years. CityWorks DC VP of Innovation Lateefah Durant spoke with Williams about why he is a proponent of early career engagement, his experience with their current apprentice Jordan who studied at Friendship Collegiate Academy, and advice for businesses looking to strengthen their talent pipeline.
LATEEFAH: Why does Limbic Systems support youth apprenticeship?
MARULLUS: We've helped young folks for a number of years. Traditionally, we've done a summer internship route for both high school and college students. This was a great progression in our attempts to engage young people and not just to be helpful to them but also to boost our company. We've found that these young folks bring new technologies and new perspectives.
It's been such a joy to work with summer interns and, currently, with Jordan, our apprentice. It has been a great experience, and I like the apprenticeship approach because we get a longer-term engagement. Often with summer internships, you feel that once you've ramped up and you're in a groove, it's time for them to leave and return to school.
Compared to a summer internship, a longer-term apprenticeship helps the student get to know our organization, allows us to get to know the student better, and engages them on long-term projects. In a multi-year, sustained engagement, we see students gaining social skills, soft skills, and technical skills they learn as part of the training and in the classroom.
Apprenticeships are a great next step. It's also an excellent way to attract talent that we hope will come and work within Limbic Systems.
LATEEFAH: You said something essential, Marullus, in distinguishing between an internship and an apprenticeship. You've had interns before, and while those experiences are valuable as they're starting to learn, the internship ends. Unlike an internship, the apprentice has a longer sustained period where they can add value to the organization.
How has your apprentice, Jordan, impacted the organization, and how have they added value to Limbic Systems?
MARULLUS: In a number of ways – each project that Jordan worked on was a substantive project. A lot of times with summer internships, you have to conjure up a project that can be done in a five or six-week time frame, and they typically cannot be used commercially within the company or for the benefit of our clients. But Jordan was able to contribute to real projects. I think one way for software developers to learn the process is to test output from other professional developers. So Jordan has worked on testing applications – she has that perspective.
Jordan tests applications and then helps us with requirements to ensure that we're hitting the mark since we're appealing to a younger and younger audience for the applications we build. So having Jordan's perspective has been awesome.
Also, she brings a different perspective into the workplace. It's also crucial for my employees to learn from what the students see in the classroom, which is very valuable.
And then the work output. Jordan has excellent technical capabilities in databases and web design. We even started working on some crypto projects. She had a strong interest in crypto and dealing with NFTs. A lot of the newer technologies are second nature to the younger generation. Jordan's ability to introduce those concepts into our firm helps us to stay at the forefront of topics and technologies that we need to be aware of to serve our clients better.
It's been great having Jordan, and she's been on a roll. The first summer that Jordan was with us, she built the application of the year for interns and apprentices. She has also created a time-tracking, fully-featured application. It was an actual production-ready application. Jordan made that over about six months of working with our team, and her efforts paid off. It's an application that we can use, and it's something that she gained recognition for. Apprenticeship helps students since it's competitive to get into college and competitive to get into the workforce.
When students show that they've been productive and valued in a corporate environment, it helps set them apart from students who may have only had the school experience or just one internship rather than a long-term engagement. The level of diligence, commitment, and discipline are things that employers and universities are looking for as they're admitting students or as they're looking for new hires.
LATEEFAH: You talked about how Jordan has experiences others may not have. She's been able to work on various software tools and develop software. She's learned how to work in the workplace with other adults. From your perspective, why are apprenticeships important for young professionals like Jordan?
MARULLUS: When you're engaged year-round, you have to have that time management skill because you have to fulfill the responsibilities of your apprenticeship while continuing to make good grades.
Jordan is involved in other extracurricular activities, which shows employers that you're able to manage time and you're able to handle multiple responsibilities. That's a skill set that's valued in the workplace today.
If we continue to see inflationary pressures, mass layoffs, and recession concerns, doing more with less is essential. All businesses must learn how to marshal resources for optimal output.
Managing your time helps you shine out there competing in the workforce. Once you're in the workforce looking to progress, those are promotable attributes. I hope students get early career experiences like apprenticeships because it shows when they enter the workplace. You can tell who's had that experience and who is not.
LATEEFAH: It seems like Jordan has had a fantastic experience, and Limbic Systems has learned a lot. We can certainly see how the apprentice benefits from this experience. What would you say to an employer that's considering hiring youth apprentices? Why should a business consider engaging in youth apprenticeship?
Marullus: It's a tough marketplace for good folks, and the earlier you can engage people, the better. After an apprenticeship, you can come in and contribute on day one out of school, whether out of high school, directly into the workforce, or if you choose to go the college route.
Either way, that work experience and familiarity with the company help employers have a workforce. And these days, we don't have time to waste, so we like that apprentices can hit the ground running. There is also a component of giving back. While we all want more workers, we want more qualified employees. We also have an obligation to give back to the youth. Sometimes it can be a startup cost that you have to devote managers' time to working with apprentices and getting them up to speed, and sometimes they may not see that immediate payback. It takes a little while for them to get into the groove, just like it did for all of us when we were doing our initial internship.
Sometimes we forget what we were like at 16, 17, 18 years old, so I have to remind our managers we were all there once, but someone gave us an opportunity. We have to provide that for other young folks as well. So the payback is in terms of employee productivity, but there's also a piece of social responsibility to ensure that we engage a broader, more diverse workforce that is equally as talented but sometimes might not get the long-term apprenticeship opportunities.
And it's up to employers like Limbic Systems to improve the situation for the students and society.
LATEEFAH: As you talk about the social impact and the concept of giving back to the community, where do you see youth apprenticeship can do in terms of having a social impact on our city?
MARULLUS: We need to see more folks going into STEM and technology roles. And until you can roll up your sleeves and see what goes on behind the scenes in a tech company, many of these students might not have had exposure to corporate environments or software development shops. They need to find out what it looks like. Sometimes they don't realize it's also the games on their phones after they use them. You have to pull the curtain back and let them see. It's not as mysterious or as scary as you might think.
The social piece is just bringing awareness, letting students know there's no career opportunity that's out of their reach. We have to give that exposure and opportunity.
Rarely, if ever, do you hear companies say, I really wish we hadn't gotten those apprentices. You don't hear that. That speaks volumes when you see companies engaged with interns and apprentices. It's a repeated engagement. Jordan has wrapped up the apprenticeship program and completed the requirements with flying colors, but we're also looking forward to that next apprentice. Once Jordan graduates, I will see if Jordan wants to come and work with Limbic Systems. Those are the types of benefits that employers gain. I've seen the success firsthand of employers having repeated engagements with apprenticeship-type programs because they work well.
LATEEFAH: I appreciate what you said, too, about pulling back the curtain and helping people to see how businesses work, having an opportunity for young people to know that it's achievable, it is within your grasp. And also what you shared about employers and how it can help support their bottom line. And as you said, you must learn to do more with less.
How can apprenticeships help employers to build that talent pipeline across business units? I heard you say that this is an opportunity that Jordan can return to after graduation if interested. I heard you mentioned the opportunity for a new apprentice, which we are certainly excited about.
It's a mind shift for employers to go from what we call "consumers of talent" versus being a co-producer of talent. How can businesses help to build a talent pipeline?
MARULLUS: It's about taking that first step. In addition to getting a qualified student with the technical capabilities, you really have an opportunity to steep these students and the culture of your organization. Often, it's more than just the technical or the competency fit; it's a cultural fit. So you can ensure that, see a good match there, and build a talent pipeline. You have X number of students go through it, and then there will be a certain percentage who will be a good fit for both parties at the end of the apprenticeship.
It's not to say anything went wrong, but if there's not a fit you can test during an apprenticeship process. All of us want to see young folks succeed. So whether Jordan comes to work at Limbic Systems or becomes a superhero engineer or digital media producer, we had a role in Jordan's long-term success. It benefits everyone for employers to build not just strength within their company but also build their industry.
The phrase "a rising tide lifts all ships" is accurate, especially among small businesses like Limbic Systems. We have an opportunity now, whereas, as far as I knew, most of these apprenticeships and internships were limited to big companies. They were primarily marketed to big Fortune 500-type entities. But now that I see more outreach to small businesses, we can, as you said, build that pipeline.
But it also raises our stature in the business and the community at large because our customers see that when they invest in Limbic Systems, they are also investing in young people, society, and the community. We make those benefits clear – we tell our customers when you work with us, we're ensuring that we're pulling as many folks along with us. We want to spread success throughout our community as we continue to grow.
That's an important business pitch as well. Customers care that you have a social responsibility and a bottom-line approach. It's out of the business's peril if they don't embrace the world we live in today, in which companies and customers are not just looking for technical ability. They're looking for well-rounded companies that are active in the broader space.
LATEEFAH: Thank you so much for all that you're doing to build Limbic Systems and build up the young people in the city of D.C. The work you're doing to invest in their futures is undoubtedly commendable. We appreciate not you saying and talking about it but the fact that you live it, that your organization lives it, and that you're encouraging other businesses to join this great work. Is there anything you'd like to share today?
MARULLUS: To compliment you on the job that you're doing and just all of the Metro area. The efforts going in and across the country around work-based learning, career, and technical education are preparing a completely new, well-prepared generation of leaders.
So I'm looking forward to it. We need some new folks to come in and project manage, lead and start companies, and do everything we've been doing over the past 15, 20 years. It's time for a new generation to come in and take their place.
These types of efforts will ensure that we have a pipeline of qualified, socially responsible, ethically strong, and principled leaders who will step into these roles down the line. And I am excited that we're helping to prepare the next generation of talent.
LATEEFAH: We appreciate you and all the work that you're doing.
MARULLUS: Thank you. It's been a pleasure, and I look forward to continuing with the CareerWise apprenticeship and CityWorks DC.