Mentors urged to go back to university

HR professionals in London are being urged to consider the benefits of mentoring schemes to improve their staff personal development, skills and retention.

Many organisations are now offering their staff the opportunity to become a mentor and The City University, London is looking for volunteers.

Mitesh A Sood, a consultant at Deloitte, mentors on The City Universityís highly successful student mentoring programme, he says: ìMy mentoring experience has been both enjoyable and rewarding. Iíve learnt things about myself and also gained confidence in my abilities to develop people.

ìThe time commitments are minimal, and you might even discover a budding young star for your organisation.î

The City University mentoring programme has been running for four years out of the Universityís Centre for Career and Skills Development, and is just one of many initiatives it runs aimed at raising the aspirations, motivations and achievement of its students. In previous years mentors have come from Barclays, The Inland Revenue, Home Office, HSBC and Lehman Brothers, amongst others.

The scheme matches mentors with current City undergraduate students in a one to one mentoring relationship. The mentor offers help with CV writing, interview skills and any other agreed objectives.

Mentorsí commitment
The time commitment for mentors is minimal: mentor training takes place in late October and there is one introduction evening early in November, after which the mentor and mentee generally meet up approximately six times, for around an hour each time throughout November ñ March. Meetings generally take place at the mentorsí place of work.

Louise Baker is responsible for the scheme at The City University, London she says: ìThe scheme offers mentees the opportunity to improve their employability, clarify career plans and make contacts in the business world. For the mentors, valuable skills such as coaching and improved listening skills can be gained, while employers benefit from the employersí new found or improved skills.î

Those interested in signing up should contact Louise Baker in the Universityís Centre for Career and Skills Development by Monday 9 October:

l.baker@city.ac.uk
020 7040 0288