Newsletter

Catch up on this month's activity on the Scottish Mentoring Network website. Click the headlines to read more...

Latest News

	NEWS: 2021 Charity Digital Skills Report Closes on 1st of June! The Charity Digital Skills report will be published in July, helping to understand the levels of digital skills and the needs of the third sector.  In order to create this report, information on the views of those working in the charity sector need to be compiled.  Read the introduction below from the team behind the Charity Digital Skills report:  25 May
	NEWS: Glasgow schools to be paired with tech industry experts A new partnership between Developing Young Force and ScotlandIS have created the 'Digital Critical Friends' initative.  This programme will match teachers working in Glasgow schools with a specialist working in the tech industry.  The aim of the programme is to strengthen the connection between tech industry experts and educators.  It will enable tech industry experts to contribute to the curriculum on digital technology and computing science, and also help to close the digital skills gap.    Karen Meechan, Interim Chair of ScotlandIS, commented:  "We know that a big reason the skills gap in our industry exists is because of the drop-off rates of school children and young people choosing the subject, or having the opportunity to. “Our aim is to become involved to help rectify this and provide industry mentors for computer sciences teachers across Glasgow. This will allow us to let teachers know what’s happening, where the new technologies are, and help them advocate for more or better funding for their department and encourage young people into the computing and tech subjects.” The programme has been launched off the back of the Logan Report, published last year.  It reviewed the Scottish techology ecosystem and found that 13,000 digital techology jobs are created every year and that filling them would contribute £1bn to Scotland's economy.   19 May
	NEWS: Mentoring programme for pharmacists supports them with career development Mentees on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's mentoring programme reported in an evaluation that seeking support with career progression was a key motivation for joining the programme.   The mentoring programme was evaluated using a semi structured interview process with 20 participants on the programme.  The report found;  “most mentees [were] seeking advice and support on career progression either within their role, or when they sought to move between different settings of practice”.  The programme has been running since 2010, and relaunched in 2019 with a new online platform which enables the participants to connect. The programme currently has approximately 1500 participants, and the main objective of the programme is to “support the professional and personal advancement of pharmacists, with a focus on career development”.   In an article about the programme's evaluation, the Pharmaceutical Journal reported:  "The study found that mentors tended to value “being able to contribute to the development of others and give back to the profession”, and some said it helped them to “reconnect with the profession”. They also generally felt that it was not a mentor’s role to tell a mentee what they should do, but rather to offer reassurance and encouragement. Some mentors reported feeling confident in their role even if they did not have expertise in the specific subject area that their mentee was looking for, as long as they were able to signpost to suitable assistance. However, others did not feel comfortable mentoring unless they had that specific expertise." 12 May
	NEWS: Inspiring Scotland are recruiting for a new member of the intandem team! *The deadline for applications to this role have been extended till the 9th of June* Our colleagues at Inspiring Scotland are recruiting for a member of their intandem team to work with them as part of their work to Keep The Promise of the Independent Care Review.   You can view the job advert below:  12 May
	NEWS: School in Shropshire launches online mentoring for pupils Concord College in Acton Burnell have launched a mentoring scheme for pupils, with the aim that senior students will mentor young students, to provide expertise to other students.  An article from the Shropshire Star describes how the mentoring scheme will work:  "They were nominated by heads of departments in the disciplines of mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics, having received online training from EasyA, an online tutoring outlet, in the use of the app, mentoring skills and safeguarding. Students described being part of the project as "truly humbling" and said it would help to bridge the gap between mentors and mentees during unprecedented times when social distancing and bubbles have limited healthy student interactaction between year groups." Read the full story here:  6 May
	NEWS: IntoUniversity opens first Scottish centres with support from University of Glasgow and Edinburgh University IntoUniversity, the education charity, have partnered up with the University of Glasgow, Edinburgh University, Accenture, Baillie Gifford and Cairn Energy to open new Education centres in Scotland.  The three new centres in Govan, Maryhill (Glasgow) and Craigmillar (Edinburgh) will provide after school academic learning, mentoring, "aspiration raising" programmes in areas experiencing disadvantage.   The organisation’s chief executive and co-founder Dr Rachel Carr said the backing of the three firms is a “tremendous boost to our work and will result in exciting opportunities for young people in Glasgow and Edinburgh to explore future careers”. 6 May
	NEWS: Business Butler are Proud to be Part of the UK Government’s Kickstart Scheme Business Butler, a tech start up based in Wales but with projects across the West of England, Oxford, Richmond upon Thames and Johannesburg in South Africa, are offering mentoring support as part of their rollout of the KickStart Scheme.  11 young people will particiapte in six month work placements, which include opportunities such as tech support roles, administrative placements, researchers and analysts.   An article from Business News Wales mentions,  "Business Butler will also be providing employability skills mentoring for successful applicants, which will be delivered by HR professionals, Deb Barrow and Rob Baker. The mentoring will ensure those employed by Business Butler gain the most from the Kickstart scheme and as well as learning valuable work-based skills they will also develop self-confidence, vital from both a personal and professional perspective. Mentoring can have such a positive effect, especially on young people starting out on their careers and the results can be truly life-changing." 5 May
	NEWS: Survey of Volunteer Involving Organisations The impact of COVID-19 on the voluntary sector and volunteering in Scotland The Scottish Government has launched a new survey for volunteer involving organisations: "The Scottish Government would like to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the voluntary sector and volunteering. If you are an organisation which has engaged volunteers in the last two years, we would really like to hear your views. Our survey will provide invaluable and up-to-date insights on both the challenges and opportunities facing volunteering and will help to guide the recovery process in 2021 and beyond. The findings will be published and widely disseminated for the benefit of all volunteer involving organisations." Please click this link to complete the survey. The survey will close on 23 May. 3 May

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