Top Banner
MENTORING and WORK EXPERIENCE MANUAL Existing Mentoring Programmes Implemented Throughout Europe, USA, Australia PROJECT Mentoring Network for Equal Opportunities(M-NET EOP) Project Number: 2009-1-TR1-LEO05-08675 LEONARDO DA VINCI Programme, European Commission, Transfer of Innovation Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, TURKEY EU and Foreign Affairs Department Karabas Mah. Oramiral Salim Dervisoglu Cad. No:80 Izmit/KOCAELI Tel: +90 262 318 16 43 / Fax: +90 262 318 16 31 e-mail: [email protected] Web: www.kocaeli.bel.tr CONTACTS www.mneteop.eu Mentoring Network for Equal Opportunities (M-NET EOP) Engellilere Eþit Ýþ Fýrsatlarý Ýçin Danýþmanlýk Aðý
18

Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

Aug 23, 2014

Download

Investor Relations

Mariya Goranova

 
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

MENTORING and WORK EXPERIENCE MANUALExisting Mentoring Programmes Implemented Throughout Europe, USA, Australia

PROJECT

Mentoring Network for Equal Opportunities(M-NET EOP)

Project Number: 2009-1-TR1-LEO05-08675

LEONARDO DA VINCI Programme, European Commission, Transfer of Innovation

Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, TURKEYEU and Foreign Affairs Department

Karabas Mah. Oramiral Salim Dervisoglu Cad.No:80 Izmit/KOCAELI

Tel: +90 262 318 16 43 / Fax: +90 262 318 16 31

e-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.kocaeli.bel.tr

CONTACTS

www.mneteop.eu

Mentoring Network forEqual Opportunities (M-NET EOP)

Mentoring Network forEqual Opportunities (M-NET EOP)

Engellilere Eþit Ýþ Fýrsatlarý Ýçin Danýþmanlýk Aðý

Page 2: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

Partners

Coordinator

Coordinator: Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality/EU and Foreign Affairs

Address: Karabaþ Mah. Oramiral Salim Derviþoðlu Cad. No: 80 Kocaeli/TURKEY

Telephone: 0 262 318 16 43 Fax: 0 262 318 16 31

Web: www.kocaeli.bel.tr E-Mail: [email protected]

Marie Curie Association

Cv2, Djurslands Erhvervsskoler

FEPAMIC

Gülen Yüzler

Yerel-Sen

31 Osvobozhdenie Str., Plovdiv 4023, Bulgaria

Cv2 N.P Josiassens Vej 44 8500 Grenaa, Danimarka

FEPAMIC Federación Provincial

de Minusválidos Físicos y Orgánicos de CórdobaC/ María Montessori, s/n, 14011, Córdoba

Sanayi Mahallesi Hayrettin Uzun Caddesi Ýzmit/KOCAELÝ

Sanayi Fuarý 6. Cd. Hisar Sk. No:10 Gölkenarý - Fuaralaný Ýzmit / KOCAELÝ

00359 32 62 21 28/00359 32 62 88 90 [email protected]

0045 87 58 04 [email protected]

00349 577 677 00/00349 577 679 [email protected]

www.fepamic.org

0090 262 335 15 88/0090 262 335 41 [email protected]

0090 262 318 16 42/0090 262 318 16 06www.yerelsen.org.tr

Partners Address Tel / Fax / E-Mail

Page 3: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

Report on the Existing Mentoring Programmes Implemented

throughout Europe, the USA, and Australia

Contents Page

INTRODUCTION 5

Mentoring in general 6

European Mentoring Practices 8

American Mentoring Practices 23

Australian Mentoring Practices 27

Conclusion 28

Appendix 1 Project titles and web - addresses

30

Version Date Comment Author(s)

1.0 February 16, 2010

Final version for approval

Petya Grudeva, Silviya Vaysilova

2.0 February 20, 2010

Revised version

Mariya Goranova-Valkova

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The preparation of the Mentoring and Work Experience Manual led by

Marie Cruie Association on behalf of the Mentoring Network for Equal

Opportunities project.

Copyright over it it held jointly by the partners in the M-NET EOP Project.

This Leonardo da Vinci project 2009-TR1-1-LEO05-08675 has an overall

commitment to the widest exploitation of its results and so we actively

encourage the widest possible use of this Mentoring and Work Experience

Manual.

Readers of the Mentoring and Work Experience Manual are welcome to use

short quotations from it without informing the authors, but it is obligatory

to give full recognition of the source for any such quotations. For any longer

extracts, or reproduction of the overall document, users must seek

permission in advance from the project promoter, Maria Goranova-

Valkova, of the Marie Curie Association ([email protected])

Users are welcome to draw upon the Mentoring and Work Experince

Manual in the development and management of mentoring programmes,

subject to the requirement that they fully acknowledge its source and that

they inform the project promoter about their plans.

In the shared interest of improving the quality of developments in this field

it is hoped that users will provide the project promoter with a short report

of their work.

COPYRIGHT DECLARATION

Page 4: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

INTRODUCTION

A quick desk research in Internet shows that the number of mentoring schemes applied by various organisations is slowly but significantly increasing, especially in the last decade. The present report contains an overview of the good practices in mentoring.

This selection of mentoring schemes is based on an internet search for relevant models. It is inevitably biased towards examples available in English. Most of the mentoring programmes collected in this report have some presence at the European level. However, there are several mentoring schemes that are exclusively American and one that is Australian. They are included because they provide useful examples and insights into important issues and through some adjustments they can be transformed and referred to the needs of people with disabilities.

The aims of this report are to help readers to gain a full picture of the mentoring concept, key characteristics and functions. It will also provide you with examples of good mentoring practices carried out either within transnational projects or as separate initiatives of different organisations. Some of them concern mentoring of people with disabilities and the others describe mentoring schemes where the involved mentees are people who need additional training or support to improve their personal attributes and professional skills. These programmes provide suitable examples which could be easily adjusted and used by mentoring promoters to meet the needs of people with disabilities. The present report includes examples of face to face mentoring relationships as well as the description of the so called online mentoring run mainly in the USA. The summaries of the mentoring programmes presented herein have been prepared purely for the purpose of this report and the features highlighted reflect this. Readers wishing to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the initiatives covered should go directly to the relevant websites (see Appendix 1). The examples of the mentoring schemes should not be relied upon for this purpose.

5

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Page 5: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

They are together responsible for monitoring the progress of the relationship, the extent to which it achieves its objectives and deciding on any adjustments that may be needed to the initial plans.

Mentoring is essentially confidential between the mentee and the mentor and the core of their joint work should normally remain the property of the two people involved.

Although mentoring becomes increasingly popular tool for personal development it is not uncommon for it to be confused with other processes of training and development. For example, it is most frequently confused with the coaching process.

Broadly speaking, the CIPD (Chartered Institute for Personnel and 2Development) defines coaching as 'developing a person's skills and

knowledge so that their job performance improves, hopefully leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement at work, although it may also have an impact on an individual's private life. It usually lasts for a short period and focuses on specific skills and goals.'

The following table, adapted by CIPD, highlights the differences between mentoring and coaching. It is separate and distinct from coaching, but coaching and mentoring can often overlap.

Mentoring Coaching

Ongoing relationship that can last for a long time

Relationship generally has a short duration

Can be more informal and meetings can take place

as and when the mentored individual needs some

guidance and or support

Generally more structured in nature and

meetings scheduled on a regular basis

More long term

and takes a broader view of the

person. Often known as the 'mentee' but the term

client or mentored person can be used

Short-term (sometimes time bounded) and

focused on specific development areas/issues

Mentoring in general

The concept of mentoring is getting more and more popular among the experts dealing with Human Resources development but it is still unfamiliar in some countries such as Croatia, Macedonia, Lithuania, Estonia, Turkey, and others.

Traditionally, mentoring is the long term relationship of support, guidance and advice. When held in the workplace a more experienced colleague uses their greater knowledge and understanding of the work process and tasks in order to support the development of a junior, inexperienced, or disadvantaged member of staff. This comes from the Greek myth where Odysseus entrusts the education of his son to his friend Mentor. It is also a form of apprenticeship, whereby an inexperienced learner learns the "tricks of the trade" from an experienced colleague.

1The team of experts involved in Validation of Mentoring project outlined the key features of mentoring tailored to people with disabilities. They found that mentoring may be concerned with a mixed range of social and career development. However, despite differences between individual schemes, it normally has the following key characteristics:

Mentoring is a relationship involving two people, the mentor and the mentee.

The mentor will have more experience of relevant areas than the mentee and one important aspect of mentoring is to enable the mentee to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the mentor.

However, the relationship is essentially one where power is shared between two people, the mentee and the mentor. Among some of the important aspects of this are the following:

Participation is voluntary for both mentee and mentor and either can withdraw at any time.

The two of them must develop together the agreement that governs their relationship, specifies the practical commitment that each has engaged in and identifies the intended outcome of the mentoring process.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

76

Page 6: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

In most cases the mentoring couples' meetings were held once a week. However, there were several who used to meet every day, and others, who met each other 2-3 times a week. The meetings were carried out in the mentors' workplaces and one of the couples visited mentor's patients in their homes.

The meetings were predominantly concerned with practical activities, according to the opinions shown in the evaluation forms. The earlier sessions were concentrated on gaining knowledge and key skills.

All mentoring couples worked together in accordance with a mutually elaborated development plan. During the process there was a possibility for revision and actualisation of the Work plan and 25% of the couples used it.After the end of the mentoring programme all mentors agreed that they felt comfortable in the presence of their mentees, regardless of the fact that the majority of them had had no previous experience with people with disabilities. 50% of the mentors agreed that they had not had any serious inconveniences during the process. A few of the mentors mentioned that they had some challenges in communication, due to speech impediments of their mentees and 25% declared difficulties caused by lack of motivation for systematic work on behalf of the mentee.

After the end of the process all mentors agreed that they found the programme easy to use, both at their organizations and in other institutions in the country. Based on their experience as mentors, they defined some of the advantages of the mentoring programme:

an option for people with disabilities to gain skills useful for their access to the labor market;

a possibility for people with disabilities to have an “inside view” of their desired profession, and with the help of their mentor to better orientate themselves towards their duties and responsibilities;

a chance for people with disabilities to receive good background on the real working process;

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Mentor usually passes on experience and is normally

more senior in organisation

Not generally performed on basis that coach

needs direct experience of clients formal

occupational role

The focus is on career and personal development

Focus generally on development/issues at work

Agenda is set by the mentored person with the

mentor providing support and guidance to prepare

them for future roles

Agenda focused on achieving specific, immediate

goals

Revolves more around developing the mentee

professionally

Revolves more around specific development

areas/issues

I. European Mentoring Practices

1. Mentoring in the framework of Validation of Mentoring project

Validating Mentoring is 2005 project within which three mentoring programmes in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia were set up. Those programmes built on the experience gained from a previous project in the Leonardo da Vinci Programme – “Equal Employment Opportunities, Mentoring and Training for Disabled people and Employers” where the European partners from Bulgaria, Greece and the UK elaborated a mentoring scheme connecting young disabled final year students and recent graduates, still unemployed to a mentor, occupied both in position and industry preferred by the mentee. Employers' network bringing together employers positive towards people with disabilities was also established within VM project.

The mentoring programmes in the three above mentioned countries involved as mentees less experienced people with disabilities and people at risk of exclusion from the labour market.

Mentoring in BulgariaEight mentoring couples were involved in the mentoring programme in Sliven, Bulgaria. One of them finished the process two months before its end due to health problem of the mentee.

98

Page 7: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

tees found part-time jobs for accessories-making and packing. Beyond the quantitative results, all mentees raised their quality of life – they received access to socialization, found new friends and enriched their experience.

Mentoring in SloveniaThe main project activity of Šent – Slovenian Association for Mental Health and Dobrovita Plus Ltd. was implementation of piloting mentoring programmes; their target group was people with mental health problems. Initially, they had formed six mentoring pairs, however two pairs quit the programmes very soon so they finished the mentoring programme with four successful pairs overall.

After the end of the piloting programme the Slovenian partner found the implementation of mentoring in their target group rather challenging, mostly due to the very nature of mental disorders. Although they sought to choose psychically stable and interested individuals, periodical crises could not be avoided in certain cases. Therefore, they believed that prior to launching the mentoring programme, mentors should be provided with adequate information concerning various dimensions of mental health problems. It is highly recommended that mentors become more and more sensitive towards individuals with mental health problems, yet at the same time they need to demonstrate a high degree of assertiveness in order to avoid potential manipulations on behalf of mentees which are likely to take place.

With regard to the responses provided by both mentors and mentees, through evaluation questionnaires and several informal talks, one can generally conclude that non-formal learning is an appropriate learning method in the case of our target group. Thus, Mentees assessed the mentoring programme as beneficial in terms of acquisition of knowledge and practical experience which prevailed during the meetings with their mentors. The mentees reported they felt comfortable with their respective mentors, who responded to their requirements and were appropriate for the mutual fulfillment of the development plan. Even though they encountered certain challenges during the mentoring programme (such as problems with motivation or difficulties related to the lack of basic knowledge

an opportunity for people with disabilities to receive support and tofeel more self-confident.

The main recommendation of the mentors was an extension of the programme duration.

After the end of the mentoring process, all mentees shared their satisfaction with the results of their mutual work with the mentors. In their comments they also pointed out the personal characteristics and the positive attitude of their mentors as crucial qualities which helped them to feel at ease during the whole duration of the programme. As a whole, the mentees experienced no substantial challenges while being mentored.

In their final evaluations of the programme the mentees said that their initial expectations were fully met. Some of the real benefits for them were:

raised self-confidence and self-esteem;renewed willingness for job-placement and studying;acquisition of knowledge and practical skills, a chance for

professional realization;an opportunity to express themselves;a chance to consider themselves a complete person.

The majority of the mentees had no recommendations for the improvement of the mentoring programme. Three of them declared their wishes for more practically-orientated training programmes, tailored to people with disabilities. All mentees considered mentoring fully applicable in Bulgaria and very positive for the integration of disabled people into society.

In accordance with the quantitative parameters discussed above, it could be said that thanks to the mentoring, four of the participants with disabilities changed their lives completely. Two of them found permanent jobs – at a foundation supporting disadvantaged people and in a factory for production of pastry. The other two of the mentees found part-time jobs for accessories-making and packing. Beyond the quantitative results, all men-

10 11

Page 8: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

gular meetings for these couples in their training center in the city center of Bucharest. All the mentees were disabled (different kind of disabilities) and unemployed. The mentors were coming from different job fields: a web designer, a Marketing Manager, a Human Resource specialist, a photographer, an advocate, a teacher, and an engineer.

During the meetings they did specific job activities using informal and non-formal training: they made photographs, wrote different articles, used some computer programs, made easy translation Romanian-English-Romanian, learnt how to find a job on Internet and how to apply for a job on Internet, how to write a CV and how they can be prepared for interviews, etc. All these activities correlated with the mentoring project and were focused on the mentees' needs and desires. One of our mentees was contacted by IBM Romania to be employed there after she finishes the University in the summer.

During these meetings the mentors faced some challenges with the mentees with speech difficulties.

The Validation of Mentoring project helped the mentees to focus on their skills for job hunting (they learnt different ways to find a job, to increase their self-confidence and strengthen their relation with the mentors).

2. The mentoring within VOCA2 project

Fourteen partners from seven different European countries formed a partnership to develop the VOCA2 2006 project, supported by the Leonardo strand of the European Union, to find ways of integrating disabled people into the labour market. The partnership built on the VOCA Europe project which developed flexible vocational training materials to allow disabled people to acquire vocational qualifications in a manner and at a pace to suit them and their circumstances.

Much else had been done to ensure that people with disabilities have access to vocational training and support in securing work. But these jobs were often short-lived as both the disabled and their employers experience

of the mentoring subject matter), generally mentees considered the mentoring programme applicable in Slovenia. They also affirmed that mentoring is a useful tool for improving the integration of disabled people into society and that mentoring programmes are beneficiary for both participating parties. Mentees were mostly satisfied with the way in which they were prepared for participation in the mentoring programme by the members of the project team.

Similarly, mentors stressed that acquisition of practical experience was both the focal point and the benefit of the mentoring programme. They confirmed became familiar with mentees' professional abilities, knowledge and skills, crucial for the efficient mentoring process. They also mentioned different challenges and difficulties they encountered during the programme (for example a case of low responsiveness on behalf of one mentee, and a short psychical crisis undergone by another); however, it did not crucially affect the mentoring programme as a whole. Although only one mentor explicitly stated that the mentoring scheme is an adequate model of learning, they all confirmed that the mentoring process is a useful tool for improving integration of disabled people into society, that the results of mentoring programmes are beneficiary for both parties and that they were properly prepared for participation in the mentoring by the members of the project team.

Two mentees found a job soon after they were mentored. Although only one of them was employed within the professional field in which he was trained during the mentoring programme, it is important to take into account the collateral positive effects of the mentoring process that reach beyond the narrow benefits of occupational training. These positive effects include acquisition of life and social skills which enable mentees to function effectively in different social and/or working environments.

Mentoring in RomaniaThe Validation of Mentoring project gave to Romanian mentees the opportunities to valorize their knowledge and skills.

The Romanian partner formed 8 mentoring couples and they organized re-

12 13

Page 9: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

ted parties working in relevant government departments, non-governmental, labour and voluntary organisations so that the mentors in training can benefit from as wide a range of informants as possible. These learning communities were being developed online and were linked by one over-arching community portal in English.

3. The mentoring within Access to Professional Training (APT) project

The duration of the APT project was 24 months (October 2005 – September 2007); it was financially supported by the “Leonardo da Vinci” programme of the European Commission. It developed and implemented an innovative mentoring programme, based on the so called “blended learning” approach. This approach includes a combination of various techniques and practices to increase the effectiveness of the learning process. Alongside conventional and online teaching, the experience of mentoring provided a valuable support for the student's acquisition of learning skills, academic knowledge and overall competence.

The mentoring program planned in the APT project included another innovative element, concerning the nature of the mentor. In this case he/she was not an employed person with richer working and life experience, but a colleague – a co-student from upper level, but of course within the same overall programme as the mentee.As clarified above, the mentoring program was implemented within the academic community in universities and colleges. In this way the project aimed at contributing to the involvement of disabled students in education and professional training, to make it more accessible and to make their stay in the educational institution much easier.

4. The mentoring within Empowering Employees to Manage their Outplacement Process (EMOP) project

The target groups of EMOP 2003 project were vocational counsellors, unemployed, and human resources experts.

The project centred on the development of a counselling concept for workers who have become unemployed owing to outplacement and who

difficulties they had not anticipated. The VOCA2 project aimed at facilitating a structured assessment of the potential employee and the tasks they would be required to do as well as the intended workplace, so that such difficulties could be foreseen and overcome.

The chosen approach was mentoring. Each disabled person had a mentor who could assess the needs of both the potential employee and the workplace. The mentor would then work with both parties to find solutions to anticipated challenges. The mentoring relationship would continue until the disabled employee and their employer were both satisfied with the outcome. A key aspect of the mentoring approach was that the mentee, the disabled person, would be in an egalitarian relationship with their mentor. Such support should result in more permanent employment for disabled people.

The VOCA2 project built on existing mentoring courses to develop one especially tailored to this situation. This 'template course' was adapted to cater for the different legislative and cultural backgrounds applying in each of the seven partner countries. These tailored courses were then piloted in all seven project partner countries and best practices established and disseminated in a handbook and many other channels such as Communities of Practice, conferences and articles. The VOCA2 project then worked to make the resultant mentor training course officially recognised by the authorities in the partner countries.

The added value from the VOCA2 project lay both in the mentor training approach and in the competence assessment tools which the mentors were trained to apply to the job placements of their mentees.

The mentor training approach transfered the elements of accessibility and flexibility developed in the VOCA Europe materials since the mentors may themselves be disabled. It was built on social constructivist principles of learning. This means that the training was built on guided dialogue between trainers and peers as well as amongst peers so that the potential mentors learn as much from each other as from their trainers. The definition of peers extends beyond the training cohort to include all interes-

1514

Page 10: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

6. The mentoring within Peer Mentor Support Project

The Peer Mentor Support 2002 project aimed at providing a peer

mentoring service to support excluded or marginalised young people in

their attempts to gain access to training, education or employment.

Building upon the developments of a previously funded Leonardo da Vinci

project (Peer Educator Training or PET), this project piloted the use of Peer

Mentors, working with specific target groups, and evaluated the efficiency

of this method as a tool for the successful (re)integration of the target

groups into vocational training and employment. The project closely

worked with representatives of all the relevant agencies (including

employers) who were or should have been involved with the target groups'

efforts to live productive and independent lives. Through a process of

individual action planning, in which the young person played a major role,

supported by a Peer Mentor, the agencies would identify what an individual

young person needs to be able to access training and employment, be it

housing, education, training or other support. Each partner in the project

identified a group of 12-15 young persons currently suffering exclusion or

likely to be subject to exclusion from vocational training programmes as a

result of their particular needs (offenders, people with physical or learning

disabilities), volunteers were then recruited to work as mentors to a group

of 2-3 individual mentees. In the longer-term, these young people

themselves would be encouraged to train as mentors for other

disadvantaged young people, providing an appropriate role model to them.

The outcomes of the project coordinated by Coleg Gorseinon College comprised: a report detailing the Peer Mentor System (including a study of its' effectiveness as a means of supporting young people from a range of different target groups in different geographic locations); the production of the previously developed PET Training Pack in electronic form (CD-Rom or internet) and in a variety of languages; the production of a Peer Mentor Training and Support Pack able to be used to develop and deliver Peer Mentor programmes across a range of situations and with a range of target groups with indicators as regards potential accreditation for the pack.

need to reskill. In the past, firms offered outplacement counselling only for

senior staff or management. No counselling was available for young people

who were not taken on following completion of their training or for

ordinary workers, employees or middle-ranking workers. The reason for

this was the high cost of the one-to-one counselling of staff. The project

sought to test an Internet-based mentoring system offering support for

those affected that would follow up their counselling interviews. Help was

provided via online counselling, exchanges with other persons affected and

by psychological support. As an additional measure there were job forums

and links to placement services. The Internet platform would initially cover

the construction industry and the metalworking industry in eight

participating countries, where it was tested and subsequently transferred

to other sectors. The final products were made available to counsellors and

mentors along with companies and associations affected by the cuts in jobs

and the resultant redundancy of workers.

5. The mentoring within Women in Job Creation (WO-JOB)

projectThe WO-JOB 2003 project was coordinated by TALETE SOC COOP ARL. It aimed at implementing a model for female entrepreneurship based upon existing best practice. The project developed an on-line training tool related to job creation and targeted directly to women. Following an initial survey, examples of existing best practice were gathered, analysed and used as a basis for the development of the on-line training tool. This Open and Distance Learning (ODL) model was supported through the introduction of a mentoring service, particularly during the more strategic phases of the training (organisational planning, implementation of the business plan). A user-group of end beneficiaries (women) and selected training experts piloted the developed training module. The end results of the project included a publication on the "collection and analysis of existing best practice", the on-line training course and a supporting user guide, and a dedicated project website. The primary beneficiaries of the project will be potential female entrepreneurs and experts in vocational training.

1716

Page 11: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

National Mentoring Consortium. Students under-represented in higher education are eligible to apply to the Brunel Widening Participation Mentoring Programme for Widening Participation students. These programmes aim to help students with the transition into work.

National Mentoring Consortium (NMC) – Programme 1

Brunel University has been successfully running the NMC programme for over six years. NMC is a national programme that is based at the University of East London. Students are matched to professional mentors within from the public and private sector who meet with them monthly to discuss and set goals around careers, job searching, applications, interview techniques as well as building confidence in skills.

Widening Participation Mentoring - Programme 2

Professional Mentoring Programmes were established at Brunel for students from widening participation backgrounds following the success of The National Mentoring Consortium programme.

The Programme links undergraduate students to professional mentors who support them in the transition from University to work and aims to encourage students to gain graduate level employment.

The programme provides employers with a rewarding opportunity to contribute to the career and personal development of Brunel students, whilst developing their own professional skills and building links with a leading university.

9. The model of Mentoring and Befriending Foundation

SEAL it with your peers - High Five Peer Mentoring Programme at St. Gregory's Catholic High SchoolPeer mentoring has been an intrinsic part of the ethos at St. Gregory's for many years. The last OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) inspection (Jan 2007) judged personal development and wellbeing as outstanding and specifically cited the example of older students selflessly giving up their mornings and acting as mentors to Year 7

7. Mentoring within Empowerment through Mentoring to Promote the Importance of Real Work Experience (EMPIRE)

project EMPIRE is 2008 LLP project. It introduces blended-mentoring as a new concept of quality person-based career development practice. EMPIRE takes traditional mentoring practices and blends them with the latest technological advancements. Web-based mentoring makes interaction easier, more frequent and less expensive.

EMPIRE will identify and test “blended” mentoring (mix of on-site and online events) schemes to give career counselling and development services the opportunity to adopt mentoring in their ordinary practice without the high cost related to a service totally based on one-to-one mentoring. Furthermore the promotion of blended mentoring will contribute to prevent mentoring programmes fail due to time and location restraints. Career advice and guidance services are among the most important institutions for the early identification of skill needs especially for those most likely to become long-term unemployed as well as for clients with high qualification and skills profiles. Especially a more personalized advice can enhance the employability of job-seekers and improve career development. EMPIRE wants to make career development a more collaborative service by tying up closer links between career guidance services and employers' associations and enterprises. Starting from a series of focus groups, the project partners will lay down the base for the piloting of tailored blended-mentoring schemes to be run with different target-groups. A mentoring kit will be prepared to equip mentors with basic mentoring tools. The final piloting phase (partly based on an on-line support service) with mentees (i.e. the customers of career counselling services) will produce several Career/professional plans and a reflection journal collecting the daily impressions of mentees and mentors. The experience as a whole will produce a set of guidelines/recommendations for career development agencies.

8. Brunel University Mentoring ProgrammesEthnic Minority Students are offered professional mentors as part of the

1918

Page 12: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

As part of integrating the peer mentoring programme into the school anti bullying policy, Lyndsey saw anti bullying week (17-21 Nov 2008) as an ideal platform to raise awareness of the peer mentors as a force to tackle bullying at St. Gregory's. During anti bullying week peer mentors went out into the playground and into assemblies with giant lollipops to promote peer mentoring.

Good practice highlighted by the projectLyndsey has found working towards the Approved Provider Standard (APS) a useful tool for giving her project a renewed direction and increasing her motivation to ensure the project is continuously improving. She has successfully used the Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) questionnaire programme to measure the outcomes of her project relating to wellbeing.

St. Gregory's also has an external mentoring programme in which successful professionals are engaged from outside the school to mentor pupils. Inclusion Manager Wendy Dolphin has worked to ensure the mentoring and peer mentoring projects compliment each other and embed the concept of mentoring within the school ethos. Many of the pupils recruited to be peer mentors have a better understanding of what mentoring involves from experiencing adult mentors within their school.

10. The model of The European Mentoring and Coaching Council: European Quality Award

BT ETHNIC MINORITY NETWORK E-MENTORING PROGRAMMEThe BT Ethnic Minority Network (EMN), is a proactive, employee based, self help

group which is run by a small group of dedicated people over and above their very

busy 'day jobs'. The EMN has grown into one of the largest company sponsored

networks of its kind in the world, since its inception 7 years ago, with thousands of

members world-wide.

The EMN was established to encourage greater diversity throughout BT and help

bring significant commercial, community and individual benefits to BT and its pe-

students in English and Mathematics. The High Five peer mentoring programme is directed at enhancing the social-emotional environmental factors that influence learning, promoting a climate that is caring, safe and supportive.

The seed was planted for a peer mentoring project that focused on pupils in transition when specialist teacher Lyndsey Granton found that a lot of vulnerable Year 7 pupils were waiting outside her room in the morning with problems relating to being in a new environment. Sometimes there were so many pupils that she would not get chance to talk to them all about their worries and the children began sharing and solving their problems. This was the moment when Lyndsey realised that peer mentoring could make a significant contribution to the transition of pupils at St. Gregory's.

After being successfully established in 2007-2008, St. Gregory's peer mentoring programme joined the national peer mentoring anti bullying pilot. The pilot is being run by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (MBF) in 150 primary, secondary and special schools throughout England from 2008-2010.

Recruitment and SelectionWhen setting up the peer mentoring programme, Lyndsey started out recruiting a manageable group of 10 peer mentors working mostly on an informal drop-in basis. This has now developed into a team of 25 young people who are trained over two days and focus on SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) targets with their mentees each week.

Selecting potential mentees is a four stage process at St. Gregory's:1. The transition manager identifies pupils from feeder primary schools2. Pupils who are not coping effectively with the transition from primary to secondary are identified from the school SEN register 3. The Head of Year 7 identifies pupils who have demonstrated poor organisation in the first half-term and who have not adjusted well to the secondary school environment4. A drop-in service allows year 7s to deposit appointment cards for peer support

21

20

Page 13: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

II. North American Mentoring Practices

1. The mentoring experience of Big Brothers Big SistersBig Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. They have been the leader in one-to-one youth service for more than a century, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors children, ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country.

10.1 Community-based Mentoring – For as little as an hour a week, Bigs and Littles meet in their community to share fun activities … stories … and a little bit of themselves.

Community-based Mentoring is the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship. It's all about one-on-one time spent with the volunteer and the young person doing things they enjoy — a few hours a couple times a month filled with shared interests and activities like:

Shooting hoops

Playing a board game

Sharing a pizza

Taking a walk in the park

Or just hanging out and talking.

The schedule can be flexible to meet the needs of mentors and young people in different kinds of situations. Some Bigs meet their Littles on the weekend or in the evening. Others get together with their Littles after school. There's almost no one so busy that they can't find a way to fit in a few hours a month, especially When They Learn What a Difference Mentoring Makes.

National and state statistics show that children who are mentored are more likely to improve in school and in their relationships with family and peers, and less likely to skip school or use illegal drugs or alcohol. Students who are successful in school are less likely to drop out, become pregnant, abuse drugs or become involved in criminal activity. The success of children who are mentored is apparent in the fol-

ople. The network has a key role to play in persuading, advising and guiding individuals of the effective promotion of racial equality. The Network contributes to the creation of a level playing field for all BT's people and influences decisions in the areas of Recruitment Policy, Personal Development and Training.

The EMN vision is to become the leading company sponsored network in the world. Its mission is to develop and encourage BT's ethnic community to achieve their full potential, whilst supporting BT in the pursuit of its global aspirations.

The EMN E-Mentoring Programme has been set-up to provide a global reach and enhance the capabilities of its traditional Mentoring Programme which, aims to develop individuals and help them discover their capabilities, understand the culture of the organisation, remove barriers, break the glass ceiling, enhance their careers and achieve their full potential.

Over the years the traditional Mentoring Programme has grown significantly with Mentors being recruited from across the organisation in the UK, with varying knowledge, experience and cultural backgrounds. The net result has been the production of numerous role models, higher aspirations, increased motivation, better cultural awareness and improved attainment. The aim of the E-Mentoring Programme is to achieve similar results but on a global basis.

The E-Mentoring Programme will work alongside the traditional programme and provide the much needed global reach by overcoming the barriers of distance and time. Mentors and Mentees will span the globe and will be made up of people from BT, its Joint Ventures and Strategic Global Partners.

The programme aims to build on the success of the existing scheme, which is highly respected within BT and is recognised as a leader in its field externally by other organisations. The E-Mentoring Programme has got off to a flying start and has already attracted

people on to the scheme from across the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and the USA.

2322

Page 14: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

lities from diverse multicultural backgrounds.

2.1 Individual/Group Programmes:2.1.1 Mentor Match Programme (MM)

MM was founded in 1985 and intents to inspire young people to develop their talents and abilities by means of an adult role model who has encountered similar frustrations and experienced success. The Mentor Match program offers three types of mentoring options to better accommodate busy schedules and geographic distance:

Face-to-Face Mentor Match: For youth aged 6-24, mentors and mentees agree to a 1 year commitment and see each other once per month, and phone/contact once per week.

Youth who wish to be matched with a mentor are interviewed by a PYD staff person to better understand their interests and needs, in order to find the best match. Adult mentors undergo a thorough screening process that includes an interview, criminal history and reference check. Participants are matched according to a variety of factors, including similar disability, common interests, career aspirations, hobbies and geographical proximity. In addition to one-to-one contact, mentors attend mandatory group training sessions and individuals are also encouraged to participate in fun group outings sponsored by PYD once every three months.

2.1.2 Partners Online Programme (POL)

Partners Online was created to enable youth and adults with disabilities to share resources, advice and encouragement through mentoring relationships made possible with technology. Partners Online offers a secure online community with forums and chat rooms and much more. Youth who are 14-24 have access to forums and weekly chats that bring them together with other youth throughout Massachusetts as well as Mentors, who can offer much needed advice. Forums and Chats cover topics from independent living to sports to managing stress. Our forums are public and open to guests by signing on as a Youth Guest. An application has to be submitted to access all the discussion forums, chat rooms, mail and talk with other participants.

lowing statistics. In a nationwide study, Little Brothers and Little Sisters were:

52% less likely to skip school

46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs

More likely to get along with their families and peers

10.2 School-based Mentoring - Bigs and Littles meet once a week in schools, libraries and community centers, to talk and have fun.

Kids enjoy School-Based Mentoring. And parents know what a difference it makes. But some of the biggest supporters of School-Based Mentoring are actually teachers. They see students come back from their one hour a week mentoring sessions with confident smiles, ready to learn and ready to succeed.

Kids Who Feel Better About Themselves Do Better in School.School-Based Mentoring is not a classroom program, and it's not tutoring. School-Based Mentoring is one-to-one mentoring that takes place in the schools. Of course, some students do talk with their mentors about class, or do homework, or read together, but it's really all about friendship and guidance. They can play or jump rope or shoot hoops — whatever the mentor and the student enjoy. Bigs don't need any special training or certification.

2. Partners for Youth with Disabilities - Mentoring programs that assist young people to reach their full potential (Boston)PYD is a pioneer in its delivery of unique mentoring services for youth with disabilities. In addition to its core one-to-one Mentor Match Program, PYD offers multiple innovative and effective group and educational programs that build skills in the areas of independent living, self-advocacy, entrepreneurship and career development and provide opportunities for socialization, leadership, community service, healthy living and participation in the arts. All of these programs provide role models who share their own stories and inspire young people to gain confidence to face their futures. Programs and events are accessible to individuals with disabi-

2524

Page 15: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

largest national cross-disability membership organization in the United States, DMD connects nearly 20,000 job-seekers with disabilities with thousands of employers in more than 300 locations in every U.S. State and Territory and in more than 24 countries worldwide each year. Over 2,000 participating public and private employers hosted mentees at their places of employment, with many continuing the mentoring relationships for long-term periods.

III. Australian Mentoring Practices1. Graduate Careers Australia

Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) is the leading authority on graduate employment issues in Australia. They use this position to foster employment and career opportunities for graduates, in association with the higher education sector, government and business.

Willing and Able Mentoring (WAM) Program

The Willing and Able Mentoring (WAM) Program matches job seekers or

tertiary students who have a disability with Mentors in leading

organisations in the job seekers/students' field of interest for a series of

approximately eight one to two-hour discussion meetings. During these

meetings strategies focused on are:

Gathering information about the career environment they are heading towards

Refining interview skills

Experiencing the workplace culture (eg. staff meetings)

Developing better skills in presenting a professional profile Disclosure and demistifying disability and related workplace issues (eg. workplace modifications)

The WAM Program was established through collaboration between Deakin University and the University of Melbourne in 2000. WAM is now available across Australia for any job seeker or tertiary student who has a disability on

2.2 Education/Training Programmes:2.2.1 Peer Leadership Program (PL)

This programme is founded in 1998 and is targeted at 16-24-year-old people. Peer Leaders participate in training sessions that feature team building activities, skill development and panel discussions on topics such as leadership, conflict resolution, effective communication, advocacy, disability awareness and independent living. All Peer Leaders learn the value of community service and contribute a significant amount of time to PYD programs and outside projects that will have a meaningful impact on the community. As inspirational youth leaders, Peer Leaders emulate the role modeling mission pioneered by PYD's adult mentors.

3. The mentoring experience of American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD)

AAPD's Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) Program is a national job-shadow and career exploration program designed to link students and jobseekers with disabilities to employers interested in hiring people with disabilities. AAPD coordinates DMD national through a network of more than 350 volunteer DMD Coordinators. DMD Coordinators are responsible for local DMD programs and share information about their programs on the DisabilityMentor.Net.

DMD is recognized nationally on the third Wednesday of every October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month. AAPD encourages our network of DMD Coordinators to center their local DMD activities around this date; however DMD activities can and do occur around the country on many different dates.

Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) is a large-scale national effort to promote career development for students and job seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration, on-site job shadowing, and ongoing mentoring leading to internship and employment opportunities.

Hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the

2726

Page 16: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

As we can see from the above described mentoring models there are different types of support and training. Despite the variations there are some common issues that could be addressed to each mentoring programme that aims at providing high quality model of mentoring support. They could be structured as follows:

The preparation phase is crucial for the success of the mentoring programme itself. Sometimes the improper matching or the sketchy research of the target groups' needs could fail the programme. That is why the mentoring experts recommend clear and in-depth research of all requirements and expectations that mentors and mentees could have.

Individual mentoring relationships will generally take place within overall programmes, co-ordinated by a central agency or individual (the 'promoter'). The promoter will normally provide essential support for the individual mentoring partnerships, for example in recruitment and training, including advice in the development of mentoring agreements. But the promoter should not take on any of the tasks that should be discharged by the mentor and mentee. To do so will undermine the shared responsibility that is an essential requirement of successful mentoring.

Mentoring is not easy. Whatever their experience and however genuine their commitment, both mentors and mentees will require systematic and comprehensive training programmes. Furthermore, the duration of the programme will make a considerable call on their commitment – typically mentoring programmes last for a period of months and will involve regular, frequent, meetings.

Nor is mentoring without potential risk. Given that it is a close, even intimate, relationship the opportunity for manipulation and exploitation of one party by the other is always a real, if unusual, possibility.

For more information about the described mentoring programmes see the Appendix 1 with the relevant websites.

a fee service basis.

The premise underlying the WAM Program is that people who have a disability, despite being as talented as their peers, are often overlooked in the fierce competition for career opportunities due to negative self-concepts, community stereotypes and general negative beliefs or assumptions about their ability.

WAM has the potential to reduce those negative beliefs, and enhance personal/professional strategies (eg. networking skills) to assist people who have a disability become more competitive in that challenging transition from study to career.

Other benefits, which may flow from the WAM concept, include more general positive cultural compliance and development in the workplace and clarification of essential requirements of job roles in the workplace.

The WAM applicants must be available for a training workshop, the six to eight mentor sessions at the mentor's workplace, and a debriefing and certificate presentation event at the end of the program.

The WAM Program has now been documented and analysed as the focus of PhD research by the WAM Program Coordinator, Kevin Murfitt. The PhD research supported the evaluations from hundreds of WAM participants. Mentees gain significantly in their confidence, clarity of career direction, professional profile, and strategies to make their workplaces more inclusive.

Conclusion

The mentoring practices examples in this report show the extensiveness of the mentoring in the USA and its spreading throughout Europe. As a response to the age of knowledge that seized the business world, mentoring has gone to a great transformation. Now it is more orientated towards the development of the individuals' inner power and their attributes.

28 29

Page 17: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook

Appendix 1Project titles and web-addresses

1. Validation of Mentoringwww.mentoring-validation.org

2. Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development www.cipd.co.uk

3. Access to Professional Training projectwww.apt-leonardo.org

4. Women in Job Creation projectwww.percorsodonna.it/wojob

5. Peer Mentor Support Project http://www.academic.salford.ac.uk/peer_support

6. Empowerment through Mentoring to Promote the Importance of Real Work Experienceproject

http://www.empire-leonardo.org 7. Brunel University Mentoring Programmes

http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/facts/access/mentoring.bspx 8. Mentoring and Befriending Foundation

www.mandbf.org.uk9. The European Mentoring and Coaching Council: European

Quality Awardwww.coachingnetwork.org.uk

10. Big Brothers, Big Sisterswww.bbbsa.org

11. Partners for Youth with Disabilities http://www.pyd.org/mentoring_programs/index.htm

12. American Association for People with Disabilities www.aapd.com

13. Graduate Careers Australia http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/content/view/full/318

This report is developed as a result of WP2 of the M-NET EOP project which has been funded with support from the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

30

Page 18: Mentoring network for equal opportunities handbook