I'm at a 60-ish person agency, and we're in the beginning stages of implementing one. The goal is to bring in junior level developers and teach them what they need to know to grow as a developer inside the organization. We brought aboard a junior developer about 4 months ago, with myself and a colleague responsible for training him and helping develop his skillset.
It's been an interesting and successful experience thus far.
* A training schedule, similar to a degree plan in university - just something that outlines where the organization expects them to be at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months during their first year of employ.
* Coding standards defined by the organization. Telling any developer, but particularly a junior, that your standards are "I know it when I see it" doesn't fly.
* Formal code reviews. This is something we could definitely do better. I'm working getting Atlassian Bamboo to make the reviews easier on everyone involved.
* Regularly scheduled meetings with the trainers and the junior. We do every 3 months, with less formal meetings more frequently. It's important to let them know how they are progressing, and to give them tips on how to improve any deficient skill sets.
Overall, I think the most important thing is to maintain open lines of communication.
It's been an interesting and successful experience thus far.
* A training schedule, similar to a degree plan in university - just something that outlines where the organization expects them to be at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months during their first year of employ.
* Coding standards defined by the organization. Telling any developer, but particularly a junior, that your standards are "I know it when I see it" doesn't fly.
* Formal code reviews. This is something we could definitely do better. I'm working getting Atlassian Bamboo to make the reviews easier on everyone involved.
* Regularly scheduled meetings with the trainers and the junior. We do every 3 months, with less formal meetings more frequently. It's important to let them know how they are progressing, and to give them tips on how to improve any deficient skill sets.
Overall, I think the most important thing is to maintain open lines of communication.