Employer Mentoring at Edinburgh Napier University Claire Bee Towards a Confident Future

Towards A Confident Future o Three year Big Lottery funded project o Supporting Scottish domiciled students through challenging transitions o Specifically aims to bridge the gap in employability outcomes for non-traditional students in 3 rd & 4 th year Towards a Confident Future

Employer Mentoring Programme Aims To improve the employability of our students and encourage them to gain graduate level employment To help students build confidence in applying for jobs and develop interview skills To give undergraduates an insight into a particular industry To offer a developmental opportunity to mentors For Edinburgh Napier University to build links with graduate employers Towards a Confident Future

Conscious employability Personal effectiveness & self efficacy Intra-& entrepreneurship Ethical, Social & Professional Understanding Intellectual curiosity & autonomy

Evaluation Currently in Year Two of Three Year Programme. Target to train 60 mentors per annum = target surpassed in Years One and Two. Programme of evaluation built in to the project. Emerging data from Year 1 and 2 of the programme. Outcome data via Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey, student outcome records Towards a Confident Future

Overall Satisfaction – Year One

What have you gained from having an employer mentor? We discussed the areas surrounding how to apply for a job then once you have applied the steps to follow until you reach the interview stage. I went in with a wide perspective of what I wanted to do. My mentor helped me to narrow that and focus on things more clearly. General insight and guidance Meeting someone outwith the University Confidence gained from participation Sector insight and guidance from someone with specific industry knowledge and experience First hand experience of the workplace Meeting others/networking and learning about their experience and advice

Mentee self-assessment ratings Pre and post-programme self-assessment ratings (Year 1) skills/attributes relevant to gaining graduate employment 12% confidence with job application process 40% knowledge/awareness of graduate job opportunities 48% Towards a Confident Future

What did you discuss with your mentor/mentee? Towards a Confident Future

Resourcing Evidencing Non- completion Reaching potential beneficiaries Supply & demand Meeting eligibility criteria Matching process Challenges?

I enjoyed the complete experience of being involved with the Employer Mentoring Programme, this enabled me to develop myself along with the mentee which was rewarding. Great programme. I hope that it continues to be successful. I would hope that every student at some point in their education can benefit from industry exposure.

Good news stories! So far in 2010/11... o Two mentees from last year who have secured employment commented on how they felt the Employer Mentoring Programme really helped them at their interview by talking about the experience. o One mentor indicated he is so impressed with his mentee he is trying to find funding to employ him on a project over the summer. o One mentee has been offered an internship with her mentors company. o One mentee has been offered a 3 week trial at an advertising company in May. The interview was arranged through her mentor.

Discussion 1 What activities or projects do you currently run that are addressing similar aims and outcomes to those of Employer Mentoring? To what extent do you think something like Employer Mentoring would be desirable within your Institutions employability strategies? What plans do you have for future developments with similar aims and outcomes? What might you like (wish list) to develop in the future? Towards a Confident Future

Discussion 2 If you wanted to implement something similar what kind of barriers would you anticipate? What have you learned from overcoming difficulties in implementation in the past? So what ideas do you have for addressing barriers as we move forward? Towards a Confident Future

Thank you Towards a Confident Future