Welcome, Prospective Apprentice!

We welcome neurodivergent apprentices: those who are interested in learning about the garden, those who are experienced and want to focus on personal development, those who are transitioning from school/therapies into the workforce, and those who are seeking to broaden their professional skill-set.

We offer several types of programs (described here) structured around a clearly designed 7-step framework and a defined progression of 18 skills, all guided by mentors who introduce work skills, provide job coaching, and help address specific challenges you may have experienced in getting and keeping a job.

Our primary emphasis, however, is supporting growth in self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-advocacy. We provide a calm environment, structured yet flexible, in which to learn more about yourself and grow beyond past experiences that may have been challenging and limiting to your full talents.

This is an opportunity to get personal development and job coaching real-time that leads to a paid job contract with us or helps you transition to college or work in the community. All programs are supportive, whether volunteer or paid. You will add to your resume as you learn about yourself, working within a supportive environment designed to increase positive awareness around neurodiversity challenges and gifts.

How It Works

Legacy Farms offers a 7-step Train-to-Work Process to support your goals in transition to workplace independence. Whether working with us on a volunteer basis as a trainee or as a paid apprentice, you will experience all seven steps tailored to your specific needs:

STEPS 1-3: Introduction to the Organization & Workplace

1. Application and Interview

Fill out our simple online inquiry below and we’ll call you for an interview.

2. Ten Weeks of Initial Training

Begin by participating as a trainee, gaining introduction to key qualities and skills needed for new employment. Based on your interests and needs, you can attend either: (1) specialized personal development training with partner organizations such as A Place To Be (as available) or (2) Legacy Farms’ training in the garden, which includes an introduction to garden work and cultivating an understanding of your professional interests, personal strengths, and areas for development (Spring-Fall).

3. Review/Transition

At the end of your first 9-10 weeks, we’ll sit down to review your progress, discuss personal goal-setting, and interest in continued training/volunteer work and/or paid work responsibilities, depending on your work with the organization so far and what you hope to get out of your experience with us.

STEPS 4-6: Ongoing Trainee Work and Paid Apprentice Projects (next 9-10 weeks, Summer or Fall)

4. Responsibility Agreement and Personal Development Goal-setting

Based on your training with us, we’ll assess your background and work so far. Many of our trainees continue in the same capacity, following a learning path that gives them more time to acquire self-regulation and master basic work skills before the added responsibility that comes with paid work deliverables.

Some apprentices are ready to engage in paid work, requiring review of official documents, W2, direct deposits, and daily deliverables consistent with the demands that come along with paid work responsibilities. In both cases, apprentices receive mentoring consistent with their personal stage of development.

The goal at this point is to identify what’s best for each candidate to support their progress, and to give each plenty of time to meet the demands of training and/or work engagement in an effective and supportive way that bridges between therapeutic programs prior to Legacy Farms and future workplace employment where there may be little understanding of neurodiversity.

Whether an apprentice continues in an educational training capacity or a paid capacity, we will review our agreement with one another and discuss responsibilities. We will identify personal development goal(s) in areas of: self-awareness, self-regulation, organization, or personal advocacy.

You’ll sign an agreement and begin your paid or volunteer job!

5. Mentorship on the Job

You’ll work with trained mentors on the job, as well as on teams with other apprentices, as we grow, tend and prepare produce, flowers, and herbs for delivery to partners or for sale at our farmers markets.

Trainees will continue adding to their skill-sets and receiving self-regulation support alongside paid apprentices as they increase experience in delivering work output and communicating personal needs.

Paid apprentices will be working towards independence in delivering work output consistent with expectations in the general workforce while also developing self-regulation skills, flexibility, communication, and self-advocacy in new environments.

6. Time-tracking, Invoicing, and Paperwork

Apprentices learn the basics of organizational skills required on the job.

All apprentices are trained and expected to use our Life Sherpa app for time-tracking as well as reviewing self-regulation practices, work completed, suggestions for the next day’s tasks, and seasonal reviews.

Paid workers will have completed W2s, direct deposits, and will receive regular paychecks while working with us.

Whether paid or volunteer, we’ll provide performance reviews ongoing on the job and as you wrap up your work with us.

STEP 7: Define Future Goals & Review Performance

We review your personal and professional goals to assist in defining your next steps. This may include further work with us and/or transition to another job.

If Legacy Farms has openings for ongoing job positions that are right for you either in the garden or other entrepreneurial areas, you can apply. And we’re also available to help you with your resume, application and transition to other jobs in the community as needed.

Sample Duties in the Garden

  • Plant seeds, seedlings, and starts in varying weather conditions

  • Weeding, clean-up/compost, landscaping

  • Water, prune, and harvest

  • Prepare deliveries according to order for our distribution clients, for our CSAs, and for Farmers Markets

We will work with you to learn more about your individual interests and talents, so that we can consider additional job responsibilities and assignments once we get to know you and you get to know our foundational garden program.

Qualifications

  • Willingness to identify, communicate about, and work consistently on an identified area of personal development

  • Commitment to meeting all responsibilities identified in your employment contract in conversation with staff

  • Interest in working on a team with others

  • Ability to follow a task list, and learn to create your own in response to assigned duties

Growing Together Feature Garden Program: Two mornings per week, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9-11:30

Flourish & Grow Volunteer Program: Fridays, 10:00-noon

When: Garden opens and positions become available in April through October.

Where: Legacy Farms’ primary location is at Temple Hall Farm on Limestone School Road in Leesburg, VA.

Entrepreneurial, Market, & Special Assignments become available based on a combination of field experience and movement through our core programs (see below).

Future Opportunities

Once we’ve gotten to know you through our training and garden programs, we’ll discuss your areas of talent and your interest in personal and professional growth. We’ll determine if there are open opportunities in such areas as writing for our blog, sales at our farmers markets, assignments with our partner businesses, design for promotional pieces, photography, videography, and event coordination. Essentially, our goal is to match your strengths with our needs and whenever possible open up opportunities for learning and collaboration with an entrepreneurial emphasis.

APPLY NOW

More information for Neurodiverse Apprentices: Detailed .pdf Apprentice Job Description here.