Alumni mentoring makes a difference

The Career Mentor Scheme celebrated its 10th birthday in 2018. It provides a unique opportunity for students to be matched with an experienced professional to gain one-to-one careers advice, support and guidance into their profession and sector for up to six-months.

Since launch, more than 2,590 students have been through the scheme and nearly 600 alumni have given their time to become a mentor. Students participating in the scheme are 7% more likely to be in a graduate level job six months after graduation than those not taking part. A significant margin in today’s competitive graduate job market.

Students are hugely positive about the programme with 94% of last year’s participants saying they would recommend the scheme to a friend, 90% saying their career knowledge has increased, 92% reporting improved employability skills and 92% saying it helped their job applications.

We’re also pleased to hear our alumni enjoy the experience too, with 92% of mentors in 2018 saying they would recommend becoming a mentor to someone they know. Of all alumni mentors who have joined the scheme over its ten year history, half are still volunteering with us this year and the average returning mentor has four years’ experience of the scheme.

The scheme has been so successful that, in 2018, it was opened up to new graduates for the first time, extending the amount of support available to those entering work.