Is it good practice for a line manager to act as a mentor? My work circumstances make it difficult to find another mentor.
A mentor should be someone who knows the trainee well professionally (or can spend sufficient time to get to know them) in order to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses and help them achieve their next goal in professional development.
The ICE Rules of Professional Conduct say “All members…….shall give all reasonable assistance to further the education, training and continuing professional development of others. Every member has a duty to be pro-active in the training and continuing professional development of others, especially those for whom the member has line management responsibility.” Every line management relationship involves mentoring. This culture of support to less experienced colleagues is a strength within the civil engineering profession.
However, mentoring involves special skills. It depends on the commitment and availability of the mentor and on the rapport between mentor and ‘mentee’. Mentors must have an appreciation of the immediate challenge facing the mentee – be that:
- fufilment of a Training Agreement (where an SCE or Delegated Engineer normally acts as mentor),
- submission of a Career Appraisal,
- or submission by Technical Report Route (TRR) - for TRR the mentor should understand the TRR process.
In some circumstances it can be beneficial for the mentor to be independent of line management responsibilities: an organisation may have no-one able to make the commitment; line managers can find it difficult to objectively assess whether the mentee is doing him/herself justice in submissions.
What skills do mentors need?
Mentors need to have:
- listening and interpersonal skills
- respect of their mentees
- a passion for helping others learn
- personal integrity
- availability
- knowledge of relevant route(s) to membership
Help available
The Regional Support Team retains a list of experienced volunteers who are willing to act as mentors and provides training and ongoing support for mentors. If you are looking for a mentor, or would be interested in being a mentor, please contact John Evans, Membership Development Officer, on t +44 (0)1204 609093 e john.evans@ice.org.uk.
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