Life, for many young people, is hard; in fact it is harder than ever!

With fewer jobs, fewer opportunities and even some people leaving University don’t have jobs to walk into.

So the old adage of get good grades is not as true as it used to be, even though still necessary.

I have recognised the power, potential and practicality of mentoring for students and young adults and how it is more necessary than ever before and here are a few reasons:

1. Insight: Mentoring offers the mentee to get more insight into a chosen field or discipline. The person, who has a mentor, has more support, more chances and a broader perspective.
2. Preparation: With there being close to 1 million young people considered to be NEET (Not in Employment Education or Training) as some may think, they can’t all be bone idle. Getting a job for some is hard! If a person is mentored it could help them to make the vital decisions around career choices, the best routes to that destination and creative methods of how to get in the door.
3. Opportunity: I have discovered this one from a few angles from being a mentor and being mentored. By having a quality mentor it helps to add value to your CV, applications, funding and UCAS to name a few.
   If you were a young person who has been a mentor, it would help you to be seen as responsible, helpful and having leadership skills. My mentors combined with my ability have opened up loads of doors and opportunities and this will be the same for mentees.
4. Edge: I ask many students, if you and another student have the exact grades what would make you stand out and be different? Just getting good grades is not enough! If a lot of others are getting good grades too.
   What differentiates you? Mentoring can help you to know what to say, who to say it to and how to approach circumstances, where if you had to learn from scratch you could be pip-ed to the post. It’s all about how can you have an edge? This is important.
5. Network: As they say, “it is not what you know, but who you know!” And this is so true and more so now. So imagine when you have a mentor, it is no longer just who you know but it’s who does your mentor know? This is classic leverage.

For instance, if a mentee wants to go into accountancy and his mentor had specific contacts and relationships with accountancy firms, then at a minimum he could broker a real insightful conversation with a professional on the inside via just picking up the phone and asking.

Conclusion:
So mentoring as we move forward for many young people, especially those who are still in school and about to come into a more challenging world, the development of the crucial core skills, competencies and social skills attained from mentoring would be key.

So as a school, social care provider, UTC or academy is you providing the broader learning opportunities for young people to enter this wild world? If not, is your provision or preparation going far enough or is it simply a box ticking exercise? As young lives are at stake.

Mentoring is truly and becoming a currency in the new economy of connectivity. So are you providing mentors? Do you have a mentor? Or more importantly, does your children have one?

Happy Mentoring

Image: Trinity Marketing Consultants