One in a series of frequently asked questions from North West ICE members - on the role of a mentor in the Technical Report Route to membership.
I intend following the Technical Report Route. I believe it is mandatory to have the support of a mentor.
Yes, active support of a mentor is a prerequisite for Technical Report Route (TRR) candidates.
Most TRR candidates haven’t had the structured training and systematic support enjoyed by trainees who have gained benchmark qualifications prior to following an ICE-accredited training scheme. TRR candidates’ learning has been largely self-managed through on-the-job, experiential learning.
All TRR candidates will need help in critically reviewing and presenting their careers, academic abilities and achievements. It is difficult to be objective when undertaking self-appraisals – most engineers seem to undervalue their achievements!
The fundamental requirement of the TRR is that candidates must demonstrate that they have compensated for shortfalls in their academic base through experiential learning. Candidates must demonstrate the same knowledge and understanding of engineering and scientific principles as someone of a similar age who did obtain the benchmark qualification.
What role will the mentor play and what attributes and skills will the mentor require?
A TRR mentor must thoroughly understand both the TRR process and procedures and the academic levels of engineering and science demanded by the benchmark qualification.
TRR mentors must also have:
- good listening and interpersonal skills
- esteem in the eyes of their mentees
- a passion for learning and helping others learn
- personal integrity
- availability to spend quality time with the candidate
Your mentor should be someone who already knows you well professionally, or can spend sufficient time to get to know you, in order to know your strengths and weaknesses and help you present the best and most honest case at the TRR. In an ideal world, mentors would themselves have previously qualified via the TRR route.
If you know someone who is interested in being your TRR mentor, the Regional Support Team (RST) can provide any necessary mentor training and ongoing support as required.
Is help available to find one?
If you are unable to find a mentor, the RST will do everything possible to help you find one.
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