Mentoring for engineers
Do you want to develop the mentoring skills of your mentors?
Are you looking for training resources for mentors?
We create award-winning training materials for mentors that have been used by many engineering organisations to train their mentors.
What our customers say
Find out more about:
- Our training products
- Our clients
- How to set up a mentoring programme
- FAQ for mentoring in engineering:
- Why do engineers need mentoring?
- What is the value of mentoring to people in engineering?
- Do you need a mentor to be a Chartered Engineer?
- What is Initial Professional Development?
- Transition from technical to management roles for those working in engineering
- UKEC regulations on mentoring in engineering
Why do engineers need mentoring?
Mentoring is a very effective way of transferring knowledge and skill from more experienced engineers to other colleagues in the organisation. Especially in the engineering industry, people need a lot tacit knowledge, (knowledge of ‘how to do things in the real world environment’) that is not written down in training manuals or on the corporate intranet. Mentoring is the best way to transfer this unique combination of knowledge, skill and experience.
What is the value of mentoring to people in engineering?
Engineers can find themselves quickly becoming specialists in a particular area. So having a mentor who does not work directly in their particular area is an excellent way of developing more general engineering knowledge. They can also develop their understanding of the important links between the different fields of engineering knowledge.
Does the mentor need to be a Chartered Engineer?
Mentoring partnerships need to be decided based on the needs of the individual mentor and as long as those needs are met by their mentor, the mentor’s qualifications are not relevant. If a mentee is working towards a particular professional qualification, then that professional institution may specify that the mentor must be a Chartered Engineer. All major professional institutions have such information on their websites.
What is Initial Professional Development (IPD)?
Initial Professional Development is the term used to describe the first few years of development that lead to an engineer becoming an autonomous professional. The development required is often a mix of academic qualifications and competency-based professional development. Professional bodies may recognise the successful completion of IPD by awarding chartered or similar status.
How can an engineer manage the transition from technical to management roles?
Like any profession, as engineers gain experience the nature of their role can change. For example, they may take on a team leader role, leading a team of engineers and then progressively take on more management roles and spend less time on the technical engineering work that they did when they started their career. Some engineers prefer not to take on such roles and continue developing their technical expertise to a very high level. Mentors can help engineers make the transition from a technical to a management role and they can also help engineers develop their technical expertise to a higher level.
What are the UK SPEC regulations on mentoring in engineering?
The Engineering Council in the UK sets the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). It describes the value of becoming registered as an Engineering Technician (EngTech), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng). The 35 registered professional institutions that award these qualifications often specify the importance of the role of a mentor while working towards these qualifications.