Building a bridge between graduates and mentors | Case Study

background

South African youth constitute more than 40% of the population, with many of them entering the job market and a few more preparing for this stage of life. Despite the number of youth already in the job market, and a few more preparing to enter it soon, many of them have not been sufficiently equipped and empowered to thrive in the world of work. Besides the scarce number of training and upskilling opportunities for youth before they enter the workplace, institutions oflearning themselves have not yet caught up to the need of closing the gap between the jump from school to the world of work.

Besides the scarce number of training and upskilling opportunities for youth before they enter the workplace, institutions of learning themselves have not yet caught up to the need of closing the gap between the jump from school to the world of work. The Graduate Development Programme ‘’A Workforce for the Future” was thus designed to equip young employees with skills and knowledge to navigate their work environments, powerfully direct their career paths and contribute to the success of their organisations.

SOLUTIONS

Fruitways – an organisation in the fruit-farming business, enrolled its student employees to this Graduate Development Programme, and alongside it requested a Mentor Development programme as a complimentary programme to run alongside the training they were offering their young employees. This approach was incredible in creating a bridge between what the young employees needed and the ability of their mentors at Fruitways to help them navigate these needs and their growth in the workplace.

Resilience - Possessing the skills & attitudes to thrive in today’s volatile work economy.
Self and strength Awareness - Understanding their strengths and value, and utilising this to the advantage of their work environment.
Emotional Intelligence - Leveraging their emotional intelligence to navigate organisational dynamics & a diverse range of people.
Leading themselves - Taking ownership of their development, owning their ideas, boldly stepping into their role and managing their resources effectively.

The Mentor Development Programme focused on these key areas:

The power of mentoring: Understanding their role & responsibility as a mentor.
Principles in mentoring: Building trust in mentor-mentee relationships.
Tools in the mentoring process: Developing listening skills to be able to identify mentee’s goals and prospects.
Communication patterns: Understanding the fundamentals of communication and using these for mentoring.

outcomes

Lead themselves powerfully

The graduates were more confident in their ability to build their professional identity and lead how they successfully showed up at work, with the support of their mentors in their future prospects.

Equipped with practical tools

They had clearer ideas of how to build their development going forward, with tools for time management, productivity, how to leverage their strengths at work and confidently approach their mentors regarding their plans.

Contribute value to the organisation

Graduates recognised the investment made in them and the initiative to equip mentors who were responsible for them as a catalyst for their own ability to show up and speak up, contributing to the success and vitality of Fruitways

Have a common language

Both graduates and mentors were exposed to similar models in some of their trainings and this enabled them to have a shared ecosystem and approach to growth and development. This could make it easier when they engage with each other in their regular mentor-mentee conversations.