Re energise your mentoring skills and access new resources at the IMechE’s monthly Mentor Forum!

We have all had to adapt and update our communication skills over the past year. Mentors have found themselves dealing with the challenge of building rapport with mentees, in many cases, without the benefit of face to face meetings.

At the May Mentor Forum, attendees enjoyed the varied agenda and gained tips on ‘Understanding and building rapport with Millennials and across the generations’ from Alison Roberts, Senior Programme Manager, Leadership and Management with IMechE’s L&D Team.  She shared tips on the importance of adopting a coaching approach to leadership and communication, frequent two way feedback, reflecting and developing active listening skills. It is interesting to note that in a recent survey, Millennials say they are comfortable working with older generations and value mentors in particular. But there are signs of tensions, with 38% saying that older senior management do not relate to younger workers, and 34% saying that their personal drive was intimidating to other generations. The Mentor Forum helps Mentors to develop their skills, remaining relevant and valuable to Developing Engineers and the leaders of the future.

The majority of applicants for IEng and CEng Registration are successful, currently the success rate is about 92%. However, when an applicant is not successful, it can have a devastating impact on the individual, their mentor and sometimes their colleagues too. Anne Shearer an experienced PRI Facilitator based in Aberdeen and Sandra Mulligan, BDM Scotland who established and runs the Mentor Forum, shared the secrets of success for the Professional Review Interview. They explained how good candidates prepare for a great PRI – carefully reading the guidance notes, preparing good supporting evidence to share and listening to the questions put to them by the assessors on the day. They also explained how to avoid things turning ‘ugly’ on the day. ‘What Code of Conduct?’ is a comment that no PRI assessor ever wants to hear at interview!

Another speaker at the May Forum was Emma Guy, one of the Institution’s Business Development Managers, based in Merseyside. She provided an overview of the Career Learning Assessment (CLA) pathway to registration. This is suitable for experienced engineers who sit outside the Engineering Council entry requirements. Essentially, experienced engineers may be able to use their technical work experience in lieu of formal academic qualifications through a CLA. For further information on CLA, please email bdm@imeche.org

Building on the success of the May event, the June Mentor Forum is an ‘Ask the Expert Session’ and is scheduled to take place on Tuesday June 22 from 12.30. The panel of experts includes:

Pam Anderson, Head of Institutional Engagement at AAC Clyde Space and SRS Mentor. Pam has experience of various stages of the space lifecycle working within Industry, Academia, Catapult Centres and Space Agencies over the last 11 years. Pam was the European Space Agency Business Applications Regional Ambassador for Scotland and Northern Ireland before joining AAC Clyde Space.

John Calcraft, MPDS Champion at Caterpillar, Peterborough since 2016 and an IMechE Mentor since 2013. John joined Caterpillar in 2001 after graduating from the University of Leicester with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering (with Industry). He held successive roles in industrial diesel engine component/system development from design engineer through to engineering management and is currently the Engineering Manager for Air & Fuel Systems on Cat C4.4 & C7.1 platform.

Simon Wood, Senior Capability Specialist – Professional Development at Jaguar Land Rover. Simon also ran the IMechE mpds scheme at JCB prior to joining JLR. This is in addition to a career in the Royal Air Force, where he achieved Chief Technician status.

Mick Davis, Professional Development Consultant and Professional Review Interview Facilitator. Over the last five years, Mick has played a key role on the teams responsible for the world-wide training of PRI Assessors and the introduction of UK-SPEC 4 into the IMechE processes. He previously worked in both the mining and food production sectors.

As you can see, the Experts have a vast database of knowledge and industry experience to share with attendees at the June Mentor Forum and are keen to answer your questions. All are passionate STEM Ambassadors too, it promises to be a lively and interactive event.

If you would like copies of the slides and resources that have been shared at the Mentor Forums to date or if you’d like to attend the June Forum, please drop a note to Sandra Mulligan E: sandra.mulligan@imeche.org