University Professional Mentoring programme underway
22nd February 2024
The Your Future Plan Professional Mentoring Programme Autumn/Winter cohort is now fully underway and the Spring/Summer cohort is now live for students to register for mentoring between April – July 2024.
This year we have seen 320 students registered for the programme which is 160% growth from the pilot programme in the previous year. Of those, we have 163 students matched with a mentor and engaging in mentoring which is a 79% growth from the pilot year.
We have a total of 132 mentors registered with us and ready to offer their time, and of these, an impressive 41% are UoG alumni.
What’s distinct about the programme?
Small Group Mentoring
We piloted the concept of small group mentoring whereby 1 mentor has 2 or 3 mentees and this was extremely successful.
Mentee feedback from last year:
“The programme was interesting, engaging, and exciting, especially hearing the stories from not only the professional but also the other mentee in my small group. It made me realise I wasn’t the only person feeling the way I do.”
This year, 64% of students have been matched into a small group. The small group mentoring allows for combined peer learning while being part of a mentoring programme with a professional mentor. The peer mentoring aspect enables students to engage with other students from different cohorts who they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to work with and learn from.
Aim of the programme
Our Professional Mentoring Programme has a focus on developing students’ employability skills and professionalisation, leaning away from pure industry specific mentoring. The aim is to open students minds to the many different opportunities that are available to them upon graduation, and so opens the programme up to those students who feel they have a less defined career path. It enables mentors from a broad range of sectors to support students from a broad range of courses, and share common best practices around employability skills such as interviews, networking, creating career confidence, and promoting yourself and your skills.
More information about the programme can be found here, and if you would like to register to become a mentor, please complete this Mentor Registration Form. If you have any questions, please email futureplanmentoring@glos.ac.uk.