mentoring

Drive Forward with Mentoring. The benefits of building trusted relationships

Introduced in 2015, our mentoring scheme has since developed into a comprehensive programme encompassing bespoke training for professional mentors, continuous support for both mentors and mentees, and additional professional development opportunities for care-experienced young people. What began as a small pilot with only a handful of participants, is now an integral part of the Drive Forward approach to enable care-experienced youth in London to achieve their full potential through sustainable and fulfilling employment.

We asked one of our very first participants, Sally, about the benefits that she has experienced from building and maintaining a trusted and consistent mentoring relationship.

Strong Partnerships: Superdrug & Drive Forward

In January 2020, Superdrug became an official partner of Drive Forward, and provided placement opportunities in key roles across head office and pharmacy.

2019 saw the start of this rewarding partnership. We kicked off by attending a couple of ‘Interview Prep & Pizza’ events with members of Superdrug’s Access All Areas social mobility network, which was a fantastic introduction to the initiative.

Virtual Mentoring – challenging, but possible!

Although I am aware that it would be much better to be together in a physical environment as the human touch is important, what I am also experiencing is that showing presence and attention as a mentor is the fundamental thing, regardless of the way we use to communicate. I consider the technological tools we have as a blessing in this situation, in particular for mentors like me who have the precious chance to support young people in this delicate transition phase.

Mentor of the Month: Lulu Burrough

Two years down the line, I have LOVED every minute. My Mentee is a remarkable individual and hugely talented; in the time we’ve been paired together he’s attended interviews, secured a permanent role, and delivered a number of successful projects. We have very similar interests and, when we haven’t needed to look at CVs or to practise interview techniques, we have widely varied what we do together.

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