What is an Employer Mentor?

An employer mentor is someone from the working world who supports, guides, and inspires students by sharing real-life experience of jobs, careers, and workplaces.

In plain terms, it’s a professional who helps students connect what they’re learning with what actually happens at work.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Gain satisfaction through making a difference to a young person’s life
  • Develop your own skills such as leadership, listening, motivating others and problem-solving – great for your own career development!
  • Help to develop a better skilled workforce / talent pipeline for your own organisation / sector / community.
  • This may support your employer meet its social value commitment / corporate social responsibility.

  • Mentors must be of working age with some experience of the workplace
  • Someone who can listen, but who can also direct conversation if you get a quieter young person
  • Mentors should be non-judgemental, supportive, and impartial.
  • Someone who can build rapport, is friendly.
  • Someone who is patient and understanding.
  • Someone who is positive, can motivate others and help them overcome barriers
  • Someone who can provide a bit of insight around what the workplace is really like, and the skills and behaviours required.
  • To provide general support and constructive feedback to your mentee.
  • You don’t have to be a careers adviser, or an expert in CVs, applications or apprenticeships. You don’t have to have experience in mentoring, but you do need to have enthusiasm to help a young person develop that spark, drive and aspiration for their future.

  • We will apply for a DBS on your behalf, you will need to share identification documents.
  • Initial training session – 2/3 hours
  • 1 hour a month with your young person, plus some preparation / evaluation time.

  • Monthly meetings with your mentee. Areas of focus for your sessions will be identified with your mentee in your first meeting, and reviewed together ongoing.
  • Plan your session content – we provide resources and a framework, but whether you use these is up to you!  You may have your own ideas, you may have a mentee who is happy just chatting, or you may have a mentee who enjoys more structured activities.  You might be deciphering bus timetables, honing interview skills, exploring confidence, creating a vision board for the future, practising small-talk… or playing uno to build a relationship!
  • Participate in our evaluation of the programme by completing surveys and sharing any ‘good-news’ stories!

  • Initial group training – with tips on how to establish a good relationship, topic ideas, and keeping you and your student safe.
  • We will provide you with resources to support the delivery of key skills, competencies and conversations with your students at the start of the programme. However, mentors are encouraged and welcome to develop their own ideas and resources to use in mentoring sessions.
  • You will also have the opportunity to meet other mentors at the induction session and there will also be opportunities to share ideas with other mentors throughout the programme.
  • Safeguarding teams

Register your interest!