Mentoring connects an individual who has a lot of knowledge and experience with someone who hasn’t gained the same knowledge or experience.
By having someone who can share their advice, offer guidance and be a sounding board for the mentee’s thoughts, the person stands to benefit from experience beyond their own.
Mentoring supports and encourages people so they can maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.
And when it comes to young people, it’s particularly important as they find their own path through life that they have someone to rely on.
Our role
DYW North East bridges the gap between employers and education to help all young people find fulfilling careers, which is where their role in mentoring comes in.
We encourage employers to take part in activities that interact with young people. And through that, they can develop a future pipeline of skills and experience.
If employers have already signed up to the Young Person’s Guarantee, encouraging employees to become mentors is a great way to strengthen links and continue to deliver on the commitment.
It also develops the future workforce while developing the skills of the existing team at the same time.
And if an employer is already providing mentors to support young people, they are fulfilling at least one of the requirements to sign up to the Young Person’s Guarantee. It’s a truly virtuous circle.
In the North-east, there are two main organisations that facilitate mentoring relationships with young people – MCR Pathways and Career Ready.
MCR Pathways
MCR Pathways was founded in 2007 to address the gap in life-chances and educational outcomes, between care-experienced young people and their peers.
They do this through school-based mentoring programmes – matching young people with a fully-trained volunteer mentor.
They recruit, train, match and support volunteer mentors to inspire vulnerable young people in Scottish secondary schools to realise their full potential through education.
These volunteer mentors come from every walk of life. Every young person is unique and they look for a diverse range of mentors to be matched.
Every job and profession is represented. No prior experience is needed just the ability to listen and consistently be there.
The ScotCen 2020 Research Study conducted for MCR Pathways showed that prior to the introduction of mentoring, 56.3% of care-experienced young people progressed to full-time employment, college or university. This rose to 81.6% of when mentoring was introduced into the equation.
Career Ready
Career Ready is a two-year programme that aims to empower young people in S5/S6 to kickstart their chosen career through a series of authentic workplace experiences and a network of support.
With a mentor from the world of work, a four-week paid internship with their mentor’s organisation, and a series of skills masterclasses combined with workplace visits, their aim is that young people leave school more confident, knowledgeable, and ready to follow their identified career path.
Career Ready was founded in 2002 by leading business figures with a mission: to boost social mobility by empowering young people and giving their talents a platform to flourish.
Since then, they’ve grown across the UK, and connected 150,000 young people with employers and volunteers from the world of work. And they also have some impressive statistics on the difference that their programme makes to young people.
- 87% of alumni said Career Ready had a positive impact on their life
- 91% of students said Career Ready raised their aspirations
- 95% of 2020 graduates would recommend Career Ready to other students
Summary
Both mentoring programmes seek to unlock the potential in young people and make a positive impact on post-school destinations.
MCR Pathways began in the east end of Glasgow. Their vision is that every care-experienced young person - or those who have experienced disadvantage - gets the same education outcomes, career opportunities and life chances as every other young person.
By spending just one hour a week listening and being there for a young person, they believe a mentor will empower a young person to unlock their potential.
Career Ready is a UK-wide, structured two-year programme, and part of the deal is offering a four-week paid internship.
Their aim is to have young people leaving school more confident, knowledgeable and ready to follow their identified career path.
Whichever organisation you choose you engage with, you know it can build a positive relationship with so many benefits on both sides.
In CareerReady’s Power of Volunteering report released last year, more than two-thirds of mentors cited an increase in their knowledge or skills, with 91% improving their coaching skills.
If you would like to discover why you should consider becoming a mentor, check out our 'Five reasons to become a mentor' article. If you would like to find out more about mentoring in the North-east, get in touch with DYW North East at info@dyw.org.uk today!
