Youth Voice: Workplace Mentoring in Action
March 23, 2021
Connect Focus Grow, Workforce Development
Now more than ever, mentoring is critical. Young people need strong connections to caring adults who can support them and help them succeed. When it comes to career readiness, mentoring plays a unique role in preparing young people to effectively set goals, build relationships, discover new passions, and develop the social-emotional skills critical for success in today’s workplace.
Caring adult connections can change the trajectory of a young person’s life and future, especially in challenging times when traditional support structures may be compromised. The National Mentoring Project and its Connect|Focus|Grow curriculum is designed to ensure that youth professionals have what they need to thrive in the workplace and embark on sustainable career journeys. But does it really work?
For the past two years, The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern PA (TMP) has collaborated with Partner 4 Work to deliver Connect|Focus|Grow training to its Summer Learn and Earn Corporate Internship participants. Learn and Earn’s Corporate Internship program is an 8-week, paid summer employment program for young adults ages 18-24 who have prior work experience and want to build their skills in in-demand industries.
“This collaboration is a great way to showcase how mentoring can enrich internships and career readiness training,” said Michelle Thomas, TMP Director of Training and Program Development. “Adopting a mentoring mindset helps everyone – young people and their adult supervisors – grow both personally and professionally.”
The adults and young people involved in Summer Learn and Earn participated in Connect|Focus|Grow training and received additional mentor training to make the most of the program. We asked several young people returning for year two of Learn and Earn’s Corporate Internship program to share their thoughts on how embracing a mentoring mindset has impacted their experience. Here’s what they had to say!
How has mentoring support affected your experience interning in the workplace? How has it prepared you for the future?
“By having a mentor in the workplace, I was able to feel confident and supported during my internship experience. After the conclusion of my internship, my mentor wrote a reference letter for me, which enabled me to get a nursing support job at a local hospital. This mentoring relationship helped me to obtain a job that will prepare me for my future career as a nurse.” — Megan
“The mentoring program helped me to open up and ask more questions in the workplace to assist my professional development. I used to have a rather ‘I can figure this out and push through it’ attitude, but after a while, I started to ask questions if I wasn’t able to figure out something on my own. It led to me not only working more efficiently, but also learning skills I needed in my field instead of just stumbling through it.” — Ronald
What advice would you give adults looking to support young people in the workplace?
“Your presence is more impactful than you think. Representation matters more than most think. Having a mentor look like me paving the way for youth and their success in their passions showed me that I want to be part of a similar team.” – Louis
“For adults looking to support young people in the workplace, we are here! There are so many of us young people who after high-school graduation, need support and guidance in navigating our next steps into the world. There are so many options we can take in choosing a career path, and we would gladly take the assistance from any adults willing to give it.” — Chandler
What advice would you give to a young person seeking a mentor within their workplace?
“Make connections with as many people in your workplace…you miss every opportunity that you don’t take, so never be afraid to ask.” — Anastasia
I would tell a young person that it’s way easier to get ahead in life when you have someone who’s been through it already there to help coach and motivate you along the way.” — Taraja
“I would advise young professionals to look for a mentor who has a career that they wish to have in the future. Also, young professionals should actively engage and communicate with their co-workers and supervisors, so that a mentorship can form organically.” — Megan
What have you learned about yourselves and each other now that you’ve gone through the Connect Focus Grow training?
“I’ve learned to be more confident in what I’m doing, and to not be so intimidated by new coworkers because we’re all just people…even though I’m in a new place and experiencing something new, everyone’s had the first day.” — Anastasia
“I learned that I shouldn’t be so closed in…I learned to find different outlets to gain my resilience.” — Taraja
“I’ve learned that I will never stop learning. There is so much to explore and know in the world, so continuous learning is something I now appreciate and acknowledge as essential in learning.” — Louis
How do you plan to continue the mentoring mindset after Learn & Earn ends?
“To continue using a mentoring mindset, I plan to seek further opportunities for mentorship, and also ways to be a mentor. There is so much opportunity for knowledge in this world, and I hope to acquire as much as I can as I continue my career path towards a bigger and brighter future.” — Chandler
“Once the program ends, I will continue to be open to advice and assistance from those with more experience than myself, while also doing my best to be available and help out those who need it and help them grow to the best of my ability.” — Ronald
How you can get involved
The National Mentoring Project is managed by MENTOR National in partnership with the America’s Promise Alliance / Center for Promise and with support from the Schultz Family Foundation. Find out if this program may work for your workplace, here.