UP’s Career Services Mentorship Programme offers final-year students the chance to gain practical knowledge and insight from a seasoned employee

The University of Pretoria’s (UP) Career Services Mentorship Programme was developed in 2019, is run across all faculties and is available to final-year students.

The programme recognises the importance of students needing the guidance of industry specialists to prepare them for the world of work, and aims to link students with industry experts for six months. The minimum requirement of the programme is for the mentor and mentee to engage over four sessions, either online or face to face.

“The Career Services Office identifies mentors through various platforms, such as LinkedIn, UP’s alumni platform and the Career Services’ industry database,” explains Krinesha George, project coordinator of the mentorship programme.

“Mentors who qualify to participate in the programme are matched with mentees based on the gender preference of the mentee, qualification of the mentor, skills of the mentor, expertise and field of interest of the mentor.”

The diversity between mentors and mentees significantly impacts the mentorship relationship. These characteristics include age, gender, cultural diversity, collectivism and individualism. They can also affect relations within mentorship. For example, it may be difficult for an individual to seek help from someone of a different ethnic group. Also, women tend to seek more psychosocial mentoring than males. UP’s programme allows participants to choose the gender of their mentor.

More about mentorship

Mentorship is a relationship in which an experienced mentor is paired with a less experienced mentee to support their career and psychosocial development. The role of a mentor is to provide support and guidance to the mentee regarding aspects of their social life or career functions.

Career functions can be summarised as preparing the mentee for career advancement. Mentoring within the career function sphere involves coaching a mentee, offering them sponsorships, increased exposure and visibility, and providing them with guidance and challenging assignments. The basis of the psychosocial function of mentorship rests on trust and interpersonal bonds within the relationship. This includes personal and professional growth, identity, self-worth and self-efficacy.

In a post-COVID-19 world, the industry dynamics in terms of career patterns, organisational experience and technological advancement have evolved drastically, and the need for mentorship is ever more apparent.

The advantages of mentorship relationships as identified by research conducted at the University of Southampton (2022) include the following:

• Being encouraged and empowered in personal development
• Being helped to identify and achieve career goals
• Being helped to identify and correct gaps in generic skills and knowledge
• Increasing confidence
• Developing and maintaining a broader perspective on career options and opportunities
• Having access to a senior role model
• Gaining insight into university or work culture
• Developing mentoring/coaching skills

2023 programme

UP’s Career Services Mentorship Programme for 2023 will be launched in December this year to ensure that final-year students in 2023 can benefit from the programme. The Career Services Office will extend an invitation via TuksCareers and social media platforms.