Since the pilot year in 2012, The University of Plymouth Professional Mentoring Programme has gone from strength to strength with a growing number of students and professionals from industry signing up. More than 600 students have benefited from the programme, which aims to raise career aspirations, proffer industry insights, and provide knowledge and advice from a professional, as well as develop students’ soft skills such as networking, confidence and time management. Mentors are drawn from a wide range of professionals across a variety of sectors in Plymouth, the UK and abroad! National Trust Heritage Manager Ben Dale said: “I went into the scheme with an open mind but never expected mentoring to prove such a rewarding experience.”
Led by the University Careers Service, the programme ensures that those students from typically under-represented demographics in Higher Education are given first priority at being matched with a mentor to support their career journeys.
The mentoring programme is run over a six-month period, from November to May, and the aim is to achieve four ‘contact points’ as a mentoring pair. These contacts, either face to face, over Skype, telephone or email would cover topics such as insight into the industry, experience and skills needed to apply to the organisation, mock interviews and developing networks.
The University has great links with local employers such as Babcock International who support the programme and agree that: “The mentoring scheme is a great opportunity to help another person learn and develop, whilst also teaching yourself some new skills along the way.”
If you would like to join this exciting programme as a mentor, or would like to find out more, please visit www.plymouth.ac.uk/mentoring or connect with Student Engagement Officer Annette Goddard and Student Engagement and Careers Operations Manager Mark Beresford via LinkedIn.
