WA Division
Mentoring
The Western Australian Young Planners group, in conjunction with the PIA WA Division, is excited to announce the second year of the Young Planners Mentoring Program.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is “a mutually beneficial relationship that involves a more experienced person helping a less experienced person to identify and achieve their goals”. A mentor should have a genuine interest in the growth of the mentee’s abilities and talents and provides support, a sounding board, knowledge, encouragement, guidance, and constructive feedback. A mentee actively seeks support and guidance in their career and professional development from an experienced planner. A mentee always has ultimate responsibility for their career and professional development.The PIA Mentor Program intends to assist young planners to successfully adjust to the workforce and develop their professional skills.
Am I eligible to be a mentor or mentee?
Mentors will ideally have at least 5 years postgraduate experience in a variety of planning fields. Mentors will have excellent communication skills, a desire to contribute to the future of the planning profession and ability to commit to at least a 1 hour meeting per month for the 1 year program.
Mentees may be undergraduate planning students in their third or fourth year of study, postgraduate planning students or graduates of planning with less than 5 years of graduate planning experience.
All program participants must be members of PIA.
What am I committing to?
Each mentor and mentee agrees to meet at a mutually suitable time (generally at least once a month) for approximately 1 hour over a 1 year period. There will also be several mentor program training and networking events throughout the year that mentors and mentees will be expected to attend.
What do mentors do?
Specific responsibilities include:
- Contribute to the arrangement of a schedule of contact time with the mentee over the 1 year period;
- Conduct and lead contact time with the mentee;
- Attend information sessions for mentors to be held by PIA;
- Contribute to discussion and resolution of issues raised during contact time; and
- Participate in program evaluation and review.
What do mentees do?
Specific responsibilities include:
- Develop a schedule of contact time agreed to by the mentor over the 1 year period;
- Attend, and contribute to, contact time with mentor;
- Contribute to discussion and resolution of issues raised during contact time;
- Attend information sessions for mentees to be held by PIA; and
- Participate in program evaluation and review.
What are the benefits of mentoring?
Benefits for the mentor include:
- Satisfaction in contributing to the development of the future of the planning profession;
- Acquire PD points;
- Improve communication skills;
- Expand professional networks;
- Transfer of skills and knowledge;
- Increased self-esteem; and
- Recognition of skills, knowledge and commitment to profession.
Benefits for the mentee include:
- Development of skills and knowledge;
- Build professional networks;
- Increase confidence and self-esteem;
- Increase likelihood of success; and
- Acquire skills and knowledge.
What makes a good mentor or mentee?
Successful mentors have specific planning related skills, excellent interpersonal skills and the enthusiasm, willingness and time to teach, counsel and provide support to the mentee.
Effective mentees are committed to and responsible for their own professional development and are prepared to take risks in their learning, challenge themselves and try new approaches in problem solving.
Matching mentors and mentees
The matching of mentors and mentees is undertaken by the Mentor Program Coordinator with assistance from the PIA WA Executive Officer and the WAYP Committee. Mentors and mentees are asked to complete a questionnaire to match compatible participants with similar interests and maximise the benefit of the program. If either the mentor or mentee is uncomfortable with the pairing or decides the mentorship is not successful there is a ‘no fault’ process for ending a mentorship between a mentee and mentor.
Express Your Interest
To register your interest for the Young Planners Mentoring Program or to obtain more information, please contact:
Chris Schooling – Mentoring Program Coordinator
Western Australian Young Planners Group
Email: wamentoring@planning.org.au
Close Date for Registrations
Registrations for the 2011-2012 mentoring have now closed. Applications for the 2011-2012 will open in July 2012.
Resources
Click here to download a copy of the WA Young Planners Mentoring Program Guidelines