Mentoring

Mentoring involves communication and is relationship-based. In the organizational setting, mentoring can take many forms. In practical terms, mentoring is very similar to consultancy and counselling. Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital and psychosocial support. People acting as mentors are perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom or experience than their target audience. In many different arenas, people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship. The concept of mentoring and how to support the transfer of innovation (TOI) process by mentoring are described detailed in section Supporting WBL-TOI process through mentoring.

Risk management analysis (pdf)

• In the transfer of innovation, the mentor supports the team or a person in charge of planning work-based learning in the organization which has identified the need to find a good practice and transfer it to the organization.

Who are the beneficiaries and what are the success factors of the mentoring process?

The relationship is always based on trust. The beneficiaries of a mentoring process are all those people involved in the process:

• people connected to the organization where mentoring takes place
• the organization in which or for which this kind of activity is being carried out
• the mentors themselves
• however, in case the mentoring does not take place in the mentor´s own organization, the beneficiaries can also be observed there

Good mentors listen without judging, they give directions and advice but not ready-made solutions. They also encourage and inspire those in charge of the transfer of innovation process. The mentoring process assumes involvement, time and vocational talent etc. In terms of experiences of the mentoring process, the success factors of the mentoring process also include:

• Combining professional development with personal development
• The active-participatory character
• Adaptability to any kinds of special circumstances
• Emphasis on the practice-oriented approach

Different ways to implement the WBL-TOI mentoring process

The aims of mentoring may be, for example, development of WBL, mutual learning and longterm benefits for the organization in which the mentoring takes place. In the mentoring process, it is important to implement the principles of quality assurance and continuous improvement (the phases of European Quality Assurance Reference Framework, the EQARF) to assure that continuous improvement and mutual learning will be possible throughout the whole TOI process.

Ways to implement a mentoring process:

Phases of the WBL-TOI mentoring process

Mutual learning is a key principle of the mentoring process, which takes place during every phase of the process. It is also important for support to be available before, during and after the process.

1.   Choice of mentors

There are different issues which should be taken into account when making the choice and you ultimately have to reach consensus based on different criteria and approaches: 

• Common criteria for mentors
• The criteria for the organization to choose the mentor
• The needs and expectations of the mentor
• The targets and content area of the mentoring process 

2.   Training mentors

Mentors may already be trained and have experience of mentoring. If this is not the case, it is crucial for the success of the mentoring that the mentor has enough knowledge and skills for mentoring and that they can fulfil the required characteristics.

3.   Consensus on operational principles and preparatory tasks 

• General description of the mentoring process and consensus between the organization and the mentor´.
• Operating principles (policies) of the mentoring process are discussed and decided.
• Meetings with the team involved in the mentoring process will be organized.
• Those responsible for the process are identified.
• An evaluation plan for the mentoring process is set up.
• The evaluation will be carried out and improvement activities can take place. 

4.   Get acquainted with the operational environment

It is important that, before the mentoring period, the mentor becomes acquainted with the VET system in the target country, circumstances (companies and other employers), work-based learning and even, for example, the social development of the country and the region.

5.   Planning the mentoring process together with the organization

a. The mentor makes the first contact with the organization.

It is important that the WBL-TOI Manual or other sources of information about mentoring are available for people within the organization before the mentoring can start. Expectations and the targets of the mentoring process will also be clarified. In this phase, the organization will carry out a SWOT analysis on WBL or use another method to position itself concerning WBL. The results of this analysis will be sent to the mentor.

b. The mentor makes the second contact with the organization
c. The mentor helps the organization become acquainted with the good practice which has been chosen for the transfer. Common needs should be identified.
d. A timetable will be prepared and responsibilities will be decided.

The final result of this phase is a preliminary action plan for the mentoring process. Besides that, checklists can be a useful tool for mentors so that the mentor will be able to follow the mentoring process even in an unfamiliar situation.

6.   Mentoring

b. Opening session
The opening session will usually last between 2 hours and half a day. It can involve selected staff members from the target organization, decision-makers (management of the organization), stakeholders (e.g. employers, inspectors, ministry) and – last but not least – the students, who are the final beneficiaries of the WBL process. The students should also have been involved in the early stages of planning. The opening session will involve getting knowledge about the mentoring process and its objectives, therefore it is also meant as an outlining session as well as a “marketing” session for the whole mentoring process. The following questions should be answered:  

• What are the benefits of the mentoring process?
• Why does the WBL need to be improved or implemented? 

After the opening session, the mentoring process can start with support from the WBLTOI Manual. Table 6 can be used for planning the tasks for the mentoring period.

Table 6. Planning tasks for mentoring period 

• A draft action plan for the transfer process will be prepared.
• A final session including, for example, decisions on the next steps involved in planning or implementing WBL.
• The WBL-TOI plan will start to be implemented within the organization.

7.   Feedback and evaluation relating to the mentoring process

Feedback on the mentoring process will be collected and the mentoring process will be evaluated. It is important to get feedback on the success of the process both from the VET provider/organization and from the mentor. The evaluation will be carried out and improvement activities take place. You can find examples of feedback templates.

Template for Vet provider (pdf)
Template for Mentors (pdf)