Mentors sought to support young people in Moray
The Mentoring Young Talent Programme supports young people aged 12-24-years to discover and develop their talents increasing future employment options.
The initiative was launched in March 2020 and focused on young people in two Moray secondary schools with several successful mentoring relationships established.
This year the initiative, run by coordinators who are employed by Moray Council with support from Moray Pathways, is being rolled out across Moray and is expanding to include young people up to the age of 24-year-olds who are out of work and are facing challenges.
Mentors work with care experienced young people and others who have faced challenges.
Mentors are matched with a young person and provide 1:1 time to boost confidence, offer new experiences, gain skills and qualifications.
Christine Fairbairn, Mentoring Young Talent Programme Coordinator explained: “We were delighted with the mentoring program we put in place last year which focused on Elgin and Buckie and we are now expanding on this to support young people throughout Moray.
“Mentors need to be able to commit to providing at least an hour of support a week for a 12-month period. Each young person will be matched with an individual mentor who will be an impartial adult to talk to and build a positive relationship with. In previous programmes the young mentees have seen their confidence and self-esteem increase with are personal and professional benefits for the mentor too.”
Tracey Cormack, Human Resources Manager at Diamond Offshore joined the program in 2020.
She said: “I joined this program earlier last year and it’s been a thoroughly rewarding program so far. My relationship with my mentee is great. I enjoy the time we spend together and getting to know this young person with so much potential. All it takes is for me to give up an hour of my week, and yes I am as busy as everyone else, but I can find an hour and the potential benefits are incredible. Please consider if you’re based in Moray, I can’t recommend it enough.”
If you would like to find out more about becoming a mentor or other opportunities within the programme please email: mentoring@moray.gov.uk