24 July 2019

Become a mentor and support the future of our industry

What is mentoring?
It is a one-to-one relationship over a period of time which provides consistent support, guidance and practical help. It is a process by which an experienced individual shares their personal skills, knowledge and experience with another less experienced individual and helps them gain the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to be able to progress in their careers. It is also an opportunity for a less experienced person to gain access to impartial, non-judgemental guidance and support. Most importantly, it is a two-way process through which both parties derive satisfaction from the progress, and success is attained through working together.

There are two main types of mentoring, classical mentoring and peer mentoring. Classical mentoring is mentorship that takes place between a senior/experienced person in the industry (mentor) and a person who is new to the industry or to a role (the mentee). Peer mentoring is mentoring that takes place between a person who has lived through a specific experience (peer mentor) and a person who is new to that experience (the peer mentee) where they are close in age or experience.

Why you should become a mentor?
There are 5 key reasons why becoming a mentor will not only benefit the mentee but also you and your company.

1. Personal career gains - mentors are people who will go the extra mile to help others and exert a positive influence on their lives, which can lead to huge career opportunities. Don't believe me? Sun Microsystems did a study on the career progress of more than 1,000 employees over a five-year period. It discovered that both mentors and mentees were 20 percent more likely to get a raise than people who did not participate in mentoring. Mentors were also six times more likely to be promoted than employees who didn't mentor.
2. Improve your leadership skills - learning how to work with people to whom you don't have a natural connection, demonstrating patience with those in need of guidance and support, helping people figure out the best path forward: all trademarks of a great leader AND skills honed through mentoring. The more you work at leadership on a one-to-one basis, the more you'll improve in larger group settings.
3. Help shape the leaders of the future - most of us long for a legacy, some stake in the future that says, "I was here." What better legacy than to be a part of shaping tomorrow's leaders?
4. Put your fingers on the pulse of a younger generation - usually (although not always) mentors end up working with younger mentees, sometimes much younger. Different generations think and act differently. If you are to be an effective leader, you need to have an understanding of how younger generations see things and where they can make a difference to the organisation. The intimacy of a mentoring relationship offers a unique insight into these generational differences.
5. Gain the intrinsic rewards of helping others - tell yourself all you want that you're doing it for your resume, but we guarantee you that once you become a mentor the ‘feel good' factor will take hold. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing you are making a difference to someone else's life.

We are looking for both senior/experienced people from the industry and for people who have started on their career and may be in the second or third year of their apprenticeship or recently completed their apprenticeship to volunteer as mentors.

You can register to become a mentor at https://www.britishprint.com/home/mentor-profile-form

If you have any questions or would like more information, then please contact Ursula Daly on [email protected]