Making And Sustaining Mentoring Partnerships

12th January 2009

Charlie Wise (Project Officer)

Centre for Inclusive Learning Support

Key characteristics of mentees

• Have one of more disabilities• Are aged 18-25• Live within Herefordshire and

Worcestershire• Are currently unemployed• Are actively seeking to secure employment

Mentees may have experienced difficulties during their formal education career.

From a mentee’s point of view, what might constitute ‘a successful

outcome’?

• Feeling greater self-confidence• Gaining greater control over lifestyle• Being ‘job ready’• Securing employment• Sustaining employment

There may be other unexpected positive outcomes,for example, re-engaging with education and/or

training.

Context

• UW has recruited 10 mentors: range of experience, expertise and interests.

• Remploy has identified 11 mentees with a range of ability, experience and interests - four withdrew after the initial matching process.

• One mentee returned to the project and was allocated a new mentor.

• The project has 8 active mentoring partnerships.

• Non-assigned mentors as support agents.

Emergent issues of the mentoring process (1)

• Preparing mentees and mentors for ‘getting started’.

• Arranging mutually-convenient meeting times.

• Being flexible in terms of the duration of meetings.

• Securing a suitable venue for mentee-mentor meetings (Remploy guarantee: CRB issue).

• Respecting the voluntary nature of the partnership.

• Finding and maintaining a focus (sense of direction and purpose).

Emergent issues of the mentoring process (2)

• Setting realistic goals (the place of formalised action planning).

• Coping with tensions (maintaining long-term commitment; impact of withdrawal).

• Working in intergenerational partnerships (high/low experience of employment settings).

• Linking the work of the mentor-mentee, recruitment adviser-customer and mentor-recruitment adviser to address the needs of the mentee.

Emergent issues of the mentoring process (3)

• Providing supervision, support and training for mentors.

• Validating progress.

• Realising the objectives of VM2.

• Celebrating positive unplanned outcomes.

Monitoring and its possible impact on outcomes

• Tension between a ‘light touch’ and rigorous approach.

• The intervention of a third or fourth party.

• Recording and reporting on process (‘participants’ and project officer).

• The possible disruption to partnership momentum.

Support from Remploy to VM2

• Identifies possible mentees. • Makes arrangements for and meets associated

costs of CRB checks for mentors.• Covers some of the expenses incurred by

mentors.• Provides local company facilities for mentoring

sessions. • Provides an adviser to act as direct link with VM2

Project Officer.• Provides an adviser and manager who attend

some mentors’ meetings.

Benefits to customers (mentees) of their participation in VM2: Remploy’s

view• The process is individually-focused and ‘customer-

led’.

• Actions to be carried out by mentees (move towards greater independence).

• Positive role models provided by mentors.

• Enjoyable experience for mentees.

• Immediate progress and relevance of the process to the mentee.

Possible impact of the current economic situation on participants

• Fewer job opportunities for mentees.

• Fewer employers willing to offer mentors.

• Potential mentors nervous about requesting time ‘off work’.

• Increasing availability of unemployed and non-employed mentors.

• Self-employed may have flexibility and capacity to act as mentors.

For further information, please contact me

Office: Room 138, Woodbury Building, UW campus

Tel: 01905 542181

Mobile: 07766 705358

Email: c.wise@worc.ac.uk