Since the pilot year in 2012, The University of Plymouth Professional Mentoring Programme has gone from strength to strength with a growing number of student applications, mentoring pairs and professionals from industry signing up to be a Mentor. Over 600 students have benefited from this programme so far, which aims to increase career aspirations, give industry insights, offer knowledge and advice from a professional as well as develop students’ soft skills such as networking, confidence and time management. Mentors are made up from a wide range of professionals from across various 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, this programme ensures students that are typically under represented at University have first priority at being matched with a mentor to support their career journeys.

The mentoring programme is run over a 6 month period from November to May and the aim is to achieve 4 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 - “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.