Mentoring

Matching creative professionals with young people through guided in-person sessions over 6-months

Our mentoring service pairs young people across our current and recent employment and training programmes with committed creative professionals from their desired fields.

Over six months the pairings meet bi-monthly at a series of evening meet-ups designed to be informal and dynamic, held at the Good Growth Hub.

Our approach to mentoring introduces the key tenants towards building constructive and mutually-beneficial relationships with professional peers; including how to give and receive feedback, the various practical, guided, facilitatory, or sound-boarding approaches, tackling imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and more. Through facilitating purposeful relationships between mentors and mentees, the mentor acts as a 'critical friend' – with participants developing bonds that stretch beyond the programme's duration and confidently creating new networks.

Mentors frequently feedback on the reciprocity they gain from exchanging fresh ideas and perspectives and learning how to build varied working relationships across sectors, skill-sets and seniorities – whilst supporting the next generation navigate their industries.

  • Who can be a mentee?

    Eligability

    • Aged 18 – 30
    • Living in a London borough (with priority given to those from Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest)

    Your commitment

    We hold bi-monthly sessions from 6–8pm, in-person in our Hub.

    Outside of these timings, you and your mentee will mutually agree on the frequency of your meetings.

    You and your mentor are partners. While your mentor is here to support and guide you they are not here to do the work for you. It is your responsibility to follow up and to do the work between scheduled mentoring sessions.

  • Who can be a mentor?

    Anyone working in the creative, cultural, or digital sectors can become a mentor, preferably with some lived working experience in London.

    Your commitment

    We hold bi-monthly sessions from 6–8pm, in-person in our Hub.

    Outside of these timings, you and your mentee will mutually agree on the frequency of your meetings.

    The role of the mentor is to be a critical friend to their mentee – supporting, sound-boarding, and offering relevant tools and advice so their mentee can progress professionally off their own merits, and make the connections they need in a fast-changing, competitive, and highly networked workplace.

    You support, champion, encourage, and constructively challenge your mentee whilst creating opportunities for them into jobs and onto career progression. This looks different for each pairing.

  • Who supports the programme?

    Since 2016, A New Direction's Employment & Skills team has successfully matched over 300 young creatives aged 18-30 from current and recent programmes with relatable industry mentors.

    Mentoring is offered to participants in our live programmes – supported by our funders LLDC, Mayors Fund for London and Arts Council England.

    We also create sector-specific mentoring programmes for young creatives not engaged in one of our live courses. These are facilitated in collaboration with charitable organisations such as Tuskar Trust, or businesses like Thames Fremantle. If you would like to partner to enable supported pathways into your sector through mentoring, get in touch with our team at fran.plowright@anewdirection.org.uk.

  • FAQs

    What is mentoring?

    Our methodology is simple, we carefully pair up young creatives with a mentor who works in their chosen sector. With the mentor acting as a 'critical friend' we encourage mutually-beneficial supportive relationships.

    Training & Onboarding

    At the start of every mentoring programme, we provide virtual training for our mentors and mentees and a handbook containing best practices and other useful tips.

  • Programme
    Mentoring
  • Status
    Recruiting participants
  • Dates

    July – Dec 2023

  • Eligibility

    Participants aged 18–30

  • Number of Places

    Approx. 30