Mentoring: A Lever for Social Transformation

Introduction

Mentoring, to put it simply, can be defined as a supportive relationship between two or more people. There is an experienced person, the mentor, and one or more people who are learning or evolving, the mentee(s). The aim of this relationship is to share advice, experience and a network, in order to help the mentee progress educationally, professionally and personally. According to UNESCO – TVETipedia, UNESCO's dictionary dedicated to key TVET terms, mentoring is defined as "the activity of guiding, advising and supporting". (Source: UNESCO – TVETipedia). According to the Terminology of European Education and Training Policy, mentoring is "support provided in various forms to a young person or novice (for example when entering a new community or learning organisation) by an experienced person acting as a role model, guide, tutor, coach or confidant". (Source: Cedefop) Although somewhat more popular in recent years, the notion of mentoring is not new and has its origins in the figure of Mentor in Homer's Odyssey, who was a guide and adviser to Telemachus. Today, mentoring is found in many contexts, namely education, business, entrepreneurship and social inclusion, as a tool promoting equal opportunities, social mobility and empowerment. Let us begin by looking at the regulatory framework of mentoring, then its power as a multidimensional tool, before finishing with a case study that will lead us to conclude on the limits and prospects of this process.

I – The regulatory framework and mentoring as a multidimensional tool

A – The regulatory framework

All international institutions in charge, closely or remotely, of questions of inclusion, promotion of equal opportunities or gender equality, education, youth employment, skills development and social justice in a broader sense agree on the relevance of mentoring and the urgent need to develop and democratise this lever.

B – Mentoring: a multidimensional tool

Mentoring is a powerful tool with several facets:

1. A tool for inclusion and equal opportunities

In education: mentoring for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds helps reduce school dropout and supports vocational as well as academic guidance, because many times, despite motivation, many young people lack precise information about the choices available to them and how to proceed once the choice is made to reach the goal. In the professional world: here, mentoring promotes the inclusion of women, minorities and people with disabilities.

1. A tool for individual empowerment

It acts as a tool for developing self-confidence and relational and professional skills. Indeed, having a mirror to identify with allows the mentee to develop a more positive and nuanced approach to the challenges and obstacles in the process. It also allows the transmission of knowledge and social capital (networks, opportunities). Role in creating more diverse leadership: it widens access to positions of power by helping reduce the impact of the glass ceiling and opening these positions to profiles initially "excluded".

1. A lever for social and collective transformation

It helps reduce structural inequalities (e.g. access to employment, social mobility) and thus contributes to community development and the strengthening of the social fabric. Mentoring is therefore a formidable weapon in the service of Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5, 8 and 10 (SDG 4: quality education; SDG 5: gender equality; SDG 8: decent work; SDG 10: reduced inequalities).

II – Case study

Now, let us look in a slightly more practical way at some cases of mentoring around the world, starting with France, which stands out as a model in this area. France is characterised by a social elevator (the possibility for a person from a modest or disadvantaged background to move up the social ladder thanks to education, work, merit or opportunities. In short: changing social status; for example, a child of workers who becomes a doctor, executive, entrepreneur, senior civil servant, etc.) that has, in my view, proved itself to a certain extent with the Grandes Écoles of Business or Engineering, where it is absolutely not rare to see young people from immigrant backgrounds, or who grew up in difficult neighbourhoods or in families where, unfortunately, the parents had not studied. Having seen it myself during my student years, I can confirm the reality of this phenomenon, even though obviously a long way remains to be travelled in this area.

It is important to stress that general opinion agrees that this social elevator is "broken down", precisely to express the idea of "let us not rest on our laurels, let us continue the fight".

A. The French model

Several emblematic associations occupy the French landscape in terms of mentoring, notably: Article 1, Chemins d'avenirs, Nos Quartiers ont des Talents (NQT). We can also mention Le Déclic and JobIRL, of which I was a member, Télémaque and ORA, to name only those. Through the "1 young person, 1 mentor" plan launched in 2021 by the government as part of the "1 young person, 1 solution" plan, a clear framework was put in place with the aim of generalising mentoring in France and making it a new social norm, accessible to all young people, to strengthen equal opportunities and professional integration. At the launch of the plan in 2021 by Emmanuel Macron, the target was 100,000 mentored young people, and the figures are constantly evolving according to INJEP publications.

How it works: A young person is matched with a volunteer mentor (professional, advanced student, retiree, etc.). The mentor shares their experience, network and advice, and helps the young person gain confidence, find direction and find opportunities. Mentoring can last several months, with regular meetings (in person or online). The target audience is made up of middle-school pupils, high-school pupils, students, apprentices and young jobseekers, with priority for young people from working-class neighbourhoods, rural areas or disadvantaged backgrounds.

B. Other countries embrace the same dynamic

Other countries are not left behind, since other programmes are observed elsewhere, for example:

In the United States: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the pioneer of educational and social mentoring for more than a century.

In Africa: mentoring initiatives for young leaders such as: the Mentoring Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa launched by the FAO and the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN), which selects 50 women entrepreneurs each year operating in the agri-food sector in sub-Saharan Africa; UNESCO's Mentoring Programme for African natural and cultural heritage professionals in collaboration with ICCROM; and the Young Innovation Leaders Fellowship, a mentoring programme that trains and supports young professionals in innovative leadership. It takes place mainly in Nigeria and Ghana, in collaboration with multilateral organisations and local institutions.

In Europe and Asia: corporate programmes to promote diversity and inclusion (women's mentoring, cultural diversity).

III – Limits and prospects of mentoring

Although public policies increasingly encourage mentoring around the world, some limits should be noted.

A. Limits

Access still restricted for some groups, notably those in rural areas and low-resource countries where mentoring policies do not necessarily exist yet. Access to information is sometimes restricted, because many young people, including in countries where mentoring is becoming widespread, do not always have access to information on the existence of this concept. There is therefore a risk of elitism somewhere. The need to train and support mentors to avoid an unbalanced or paternalistic relationship, because some mentors sometimes lose sight of the limits of their scope as mentors and can find themselves victims of abuse.

B. Prospects

Public policies are working strongly to generalise and popularise mentoring and make it an essential lever of social action. Setting up intergenerational and international mentoring could also have its place, to broaden the perspectives of those who benefit from it in a constantly globalising world. The use of digital tools and online platforms also appears as a powerful lever, insofar as distance is no longer a barrier and young people from some remote regions can also benefit from the advantages of mentoring.

Conclusion

Progress in mentoring, although uneven depending on the country, deserves to be welcomed and encouraged. We observe an alignment of the vision and policies of international institutions and states in this area. However, harmonising these policies by democratising them as much as possible while making access to information easily available remains an absolutely essential element to get the best out of this strategy, with a non-negligible advantage: digitalisation!