Changes Over Time

Do the meanings of words change or is it more that society is evolving and expectations are different, so that the interpretations shift?

I remember when I started cooking and signed up for an apprenticeship. It was the first time I heard the word ‘indentured.’ I had to look it up and think through what it meant in this setting before I signed the contract.

From the reading I could find at that point, it was a contract between an employer and an employee for a period of training; but there was reciprocation in the process as far as I could tell.  If I committed to working for the employer; they will commit to teaching me everything they know so that I end up educated and skilled, while they would have the labour they need to run their business.

Back then, my glasses were definitely rose tinted; but the industry was exciting and edgy and I was so excited to be part of it that I signed the contract.  Imagine a job that asked everything of you but didn’t demand a university education - what a great thing for a girl who did better when she was pushed, and I loved it.

I feel that I had the best work experience anyone could have and no regrets about how hard I worked. And now, as a business owner, I keep trying to understand how to apply that same structure to current staff – just in a more modern way. I am more than willing to train as much as I can and equip my team for an industry that still seems exciting to me.