The Environment Agency
Description and aims
Coaching and mentoring is the way the Environment Agency works with its staff and it seemed to Area Environment Manager Mark Haslam to be a logical next step to mentor students who are interested in the work of the Agency. ‘It’s a way of helping them to clarify what they want out of their career or studies, making contacts for the Environment Agency with the wider community, promoting who we are and what we do and letting graduates know that we are a potential employer. There is also a lot of personal satisfaction in helping someone with their career and helping them to grow and develop.’
About The Environment Agency
The Environment Agency’s principal aims are to protect and improve the environment – air, land and water – for the benefit of people and wildlife. It is also involved in planning sustainable development and seeks to reduce climate change and its consequences.
How the project is being undertaken
The Employer Mentoring Scheme pairs students with members of staff from regional employers. Over a series of six meetings and with support from the Career Development Centre, these employer mentors help their mentees to develop the awareness, skills and experience they need in order to make a successful transition from study into graduate employment. Mentor induction, online training modules, optional workshops and the experience of mentoring enables participating staff to enhance their own personal and professional skills, increase their networks and engage with eager and talented students. The project was recently expanded to include unemployed graduates, professionals who have been made redundant and those whose jobs are at risk.
Impacts and benefits
The Environment Agency has raised its profile as an employer in the local area and forged closer links with the University of Derby. It has enabled the organisation to promote itself in a positive way and to identify quality graduates for potential employment. Chiedu, for example, was studying for his MSc Environmental Management when he was paired with the Team Leader, Environment Management; he gained a temporary placement with the Agency and subsequently secured a permanent position with his local Environmental Health Department.
On a more personal level, mentors from the Agency have developed their own knowledge and understanding, getting deeper understanding of other cultures and learning more about their own styles of mentoring and areas for improvement.
For more information about the project
For more information please contact Christine Dare on 01332 59131 or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)