Types of Mentor : Business, Learning and Beyond

There are a variety of situations in which mentoring is used. They are listed with a brief explanation of each.

1. The Education Mentor

Mentoring is now used frequently in schools and in institutes of higher education. At the higher-education level, mentoring schemes exist to help student teachers in their final year of training and in their first year after qualifying. Some universities use mentoring schemes to help newly appointed lecturers to settle into their roles.

2. The Induction Mentor

Many organisations designate a well-experienced member of staff to help new employees in the early stages of employment, until the new employee feels confident in their new environment.

3. The Training Mentor

A training mentor is an experienced person, who is available to help new employees and those with changed responsibilities as they acquire new skills and adapt to change. They are there to get the best out of training. It is important not to confuse this role with that of the departmental trainer or training instructor, whose job it is to teach the new skills and routines that have to be learned.

A training mentor may also help trainees undertaking a formal practical training programme to get the best out of their work.

4. The Professional Qualification or Vocational Qualification Mentor

The professional qualification mentor is a role that may be required by a professional institute. Their function is to guide a student towards qualification. In contrast, the vocational qualification mentor is concerned with helping an individual to prepare for and acquire a National Vocational Qualification. Their role is to guide the individual through their training and the gathering and presentation of their portfolio of evidence of experience, by which they can prove their competence at the required standard.

5. The Mainstream Mentor

This is very much a general mentoring role and, in those organisations with a broad mentoring policy, will be the most common. The role of the mainstream mentor is to act as a guide, adviser and counsellor at various stages of career development, through whatever transitions occur or may be anticipated.

6. The Board-level or Executive Mentor

There is no reason why mentoring should be confined to staff at the beginning of their careers or who are developing within a profession or an organisation. Directors at board level can benefit from the service of a mentor. This is not uncommon and, frequently, a senior individual (possibly from outside the organisation) will provide support to directors and executives on strategic matters, career development and other issues associated with change.

http://www.howtobooks.co.uk/business/coaching-mentoring/business-mentor.asp