Become a mentor on the Careers Mentoring Programme
Support others on the road to success
Find out more and contact us
If you have any questions, or would like to find out more about becoming a mentor on our mentoring schemes, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can email Mark and Ryan at mentoring.careers@plymouth.ac.uk.
What is the Careers Mentoring Programme?
The Mentoring Programme is an employability related programme, which has two specific objectives; raising aspirations and improving employability. Mentoring provides a fantastic opportunity to share relevant career sector and employability focussed advice and guidance.
Who can apply to become a professional mentor?
We are always looking for mentors from a variety of sectors and disciplines. You will be surprised how much knowledge and experience you have to share. Becoming a mentor is a great way to enhance your skills, give back to the next generation and meet like-minded professionals in your career journey.
Why should I become a mentor?
- to give back to the next generation
- to provide advice and guidance
- to share knowledge and support others
- to maintain and develop links
- to gain new perspectives and fresh ideas
- receive access to unique events and training opportunities.
On completion of the programme, you will receive a Career mentoring programme digital badge, showcasing your commitment to your personal and career development.
Learn more about the benefits of digital badging .
Do I have time to take part in the programme?
We ask for a minimum of 4 sessions (only 4 hours) to be completed across the 6-month period. These meetings can be completed in-person or virtually and is entirely flexible to you and your mentee.
When does the programme run?
The Careers Mentoring Programme runs twice per academic year. Once in Semester 1 (November to April) and once in Semester 2 (February to July). You can choose to take part in one or both programmes.
Where do meetings with mentees take place?
Communication with your mentee can be face-to-face or virtually via Zoom/Teams. If you do decide to meet in person, ensure that you are in a public location e.g. campus, a café or a place of work that is suitable for public access.
We host facilitated Meet Your Mentor sessions on campus for your mentee to meet you for the first time, followed by optional Meet Your Mentor drop-in sessions every month hosted by the mentoring team. These take place in the Student Hub within the Charles Seale Hayne Library and are a great way to meet up with your mentee in a familiar and friendly setting. The mentoring team will always be on hand at these events to answer any questions you may have.
In May each year, we host a Celebration Event where all mentees and mentors from the academic year come together to network and celebrate your achievements! It’s a wonderful evening and ties the programme together.
What do I talk about or include in the sessions?
Use the action plan completed in the student training to help you. This is a flexible programme, you may come up with new ideas naturally which you can add, or it may be set agendas for the programme. You will also get the chance to talk to other mentors to share good practice.
Benefits of joining the Careers Mentoring Programme as a professional mentor
Find out about the benefits of joining the Careers Mentoring Programme and supporting one of our students in their future career.
Mentor feedback
If you feel you have the capacity to give something back, this is a really valued and rewarding place to put that energy and time. The commitment is relatively small and over a fixed period, so there are natural pauses to step on or off the programme as you require I'll bet you'd be surprised at just how much value and experience you can offer an aspiring professional.
Laura Winzer, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
To anyone considering becoming a mentor, I would say: do it. You don’t need to have all the answers or a perfectly linear career path. Being open, honest and willing to share your experiences can make a real difference. Seeing someone grow in confidence, recognise the value of their skills and take their next step is incredibly rewarding.
Luke Lamplough, Microsoft
I would highly recommend the mentoring programme as a rewarding opportunity to make a real impact on a student’s development. Even small amounts of guidance can help build a mentee’s confidence and direction. It’s also a valuable chance to strengthen your own leadership, communication and mentoring skills while giving back.
Emily Self, Wolferstans Solicitors
Apply now and contact us
Mark and Ryan look forward to welcoming you as part of the mentoring programme.
If you have any questions, or would like to find out more about our mentoring schemes, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can email us at mentoring.careers@plymouth.ac.uk.
Mark Beresford and Ryan Walters, Careers Service
Specialist schemes
Babcock Mentoring Scheme
Open to students undertaking courses within the Plymouth Business School; School of Psychology; School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics and the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
South West Cyber Security Cluster Mentoring Programme
Open to students undertaking an undergraduate or postgraduate Cyber Security course.
North Devon Creative Mentoring Programme
Open to students undertaking courses within the School of Art, Design and Architecture.
UK Hydrographic Society Mentoring Programme
Open to students undertaking the MSc Hydrography or BSc (Hons) Ocean Exploration and Surveying courses.
Our supporters
Thank you to these amazing businesses whose staff have kindly given up some of their time as mentors:
4D Architects Studio . A. Older Safety Solutions Ltd . A.B. Marine and Offshore Surveys Consultancy Limited . AAA Foundation . Aban Offshore Limited . ABC Service . Accenture South Africa . Accredible . Acquia . AGEISS Inc . Aim Big Ltd . ALSTOM . Ansible Motion . Applied Automation . ARAG Law . Arts University Plymouth . Babcock International . BAE Systems Saudi Arabia . Bailey Partnership . Bank of America . Barnes Aerospace . Bauer Media Group . Blanchards Bailey LLP . BluGreens . BMT . Bonnet University College . Bournemouth University . BP Mauritania . Breakwater Productions . Brent Council . Bridgeway Consulting Limited . Bright Solicitors . Bristol Port Company . Bupa Dental Care . Cadence Design Systems Ltd . Calm Nest Collective . Cameron Mills Group . Capgemini Invent . Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust . CINEC Campus . Civil Service . Compass Group UK & IESS . Cormac . Cornwall Council . Cornwall Mining Consultants . Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation . Costain Group PLC . Crowne Plaza Plymouth . Cypress Energy Company Ltd . Dartmoor Zoological Society . Data & AI Literacy Academy . Dazzle Pictures . Department for Environment . Food and Rural Affairs . Devon Air Ambulance . Devon and Cornwall Police . Devon County Council . Devon Partnership NHS Trust . Ecodetect . Eddystone Media . Elevate Offshore . Eljay Energy Ltd . Emerald Group . Enterprise Rent-A-Car . Environment Agency . Eurofins Biomnis Ireland . European Environment Agency . Expert Insights Tech Ltd . Farnfields LLP . Feather&Fossil Interior Design . First Light . Firstelement Exploration . Florcon Ltd . Formula 1 . Foster + Freeman . Foster + Partners . Four31 Digital . Fugro GB Ltd . GA Solicitors . Gen3 . Global Environmental . Ground and Water Limited . Hafren Ousque Associates . Hampshire County Council . Hart Marine Consultants Ltd . Heidelberg Materials . Hemsley Fraser . Hidden Hearing . Hiyield . Homewell Plus . Hulley & Kirkwood . Human Solutions Ltd . IGT1 . IMDb . Inclusive Employers . Institute and Faculty of Actuaries . Jacobs . James Andrew Residential Ltd . Jeremiah’s Journey . JISC . JTI . Kaiyo Consulting . Karnataka College Group of Institutions . Kendall Kingscott . Kensa Health Group . Kier Utilities . Kirkland & Ellis International LLP . Learning Coach Association . LH Consulting Solutions Ltd . LHC Designs . Lockton . M Group Highways . Marine Biological Association . MBA Consulting . Met Office . Methodist Homes MHA . Microsoft . Mid Devon District Council . Ministry of Housing and Land Planning . Miranda Salmon . Monday.com . Monumental . Mott MacDonald . National Academy of Students’ Achievement Awards Ghana . Nash & Co . National Trust . NEOM . NESC . NHS . NIAB . North Star Consultancy . Northern Marine . NOV . Novartis Pharmaceuticals . Odyssey Group . Pembrokeshire County Council . Pernixia . Plymouth Arena . Plymouth City Council . Plymouth Community Homes . Prime Consulting Engineers Ltd . Primus Passus Consulting Limited . Profound . PTG Workholding . Queen’s University Kingston Ontario . Quotient Sciences . RAISE Education Trust . Reading Borough Council . Redbay . Redmace Talent . RFS Marketing & Communications Ltd . Ridge & Partner LLP . RMIT University . Royal Aeronautical Society . Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust . Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust . Royal Navy . Royal Veterinary College . Royal Zoological Society of Scotland . Sahara MEP Engineering Ltd . Salto Systems . SAS Software . Schneider Electric . SDM Housing Software Ltd . SeaWorks Training & Consulting . Slough Borough Council . Sonardyne Training . South Staffs Water . State Bank of Pakistan . State Street Corporation . Step Teachers . Stone King LLP . Succession Wealth . Sydney Water . Talbots Law . Tellus Education Group . Thales . The Co-Operative Bank PLC . The Food Factory . The Shark Trust . The Walker Agency . Thessaloniki Port Authority . Tradebyte Software Ltd . Turner & Townsend . UCSP Ltd . United Kingdom Hydrographic Office . University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust . University of Exeter . University of Kent . University of Oxford . University of Plymouth . University of Texas (Austin) . UTEC . Veolia . Walker Crips . Walter C. Parson Funeral Directors . Wansbroughs LLP . West of England Insurance Services . Westcountry Rivers Trust . Wildanet Ltd . Wilson Partners . Wolferstans Solicitors . YTL Infrastructure . Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal