My Volunatry Work – Mentoring by Neil Buchanan

During my career as a Chartered Civil Engineer, at my place of work I supervised graduates through their training and application for membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Separately, I was involved in voluntary Institution activities which included committee work, chairing the local Graduates and Students Section, advising graduates on their Written Assignments which form part of their membership application, acting as a Reviewer for ICE Member applications and serving on Boards of the national institution.

Since retiring I have been a member ofStrathclydeUniversity’s 3Ls and when the University sought volunteers for their Intergenerational Mentoring project it was an opportunity to work with school students who had ambitions to go to university engineering degree courses.  The aim of the project is for older people with experience relevant to the student’s career ambitions to mentor senior school students to help them gain access to university. The project is targeting schools in deprived areas ofGlasgowwhich have not in the past had many school leavers going on to university and achieving professional careers.

In the workshop summary session inSloveniaa question was asked about the mentoring project and I would like to share my experience in the project’s first 2 years.

My approach has been influenced by my experience as a civil engineer but in the mentoring I have not provided direct advice but I have provided information including the various branches of engineering, the different university courses available to them and the entrance qualifications required by various universities. Meetings were held on a regular basis and took the form of discussions on a variety of topics, an important part being getting to know the students, their interests, their ambitions and their strengths and weaknesses. In turn I related my own background and experiences over 40 years in engineering and management. I did not directly tutor but from time to time gave help on class work by showing where relevant information was available through the internet. This learning curve was appreciated by them and satisfying for me (I was surprised and pleased with what I found on the internet – in fact I was on a learning curve as well as the students).

In the first year of the project I had two students:-

The first came toGlasgowfromGuyanasome ten years ago and his ambition was to be a civil engineer. He had an interest in a civil engineering university course which included architecture and I was able to tell him about the wide variety of civil engineering work including structural engineering which often required close working relationships with architects. He left school after Fifth year taking a broader civil engineering course atGlasgowUniversity.

The second had set his sights on being a pilot and had contacted the Royal Air Force which recommended that he obtained an engineering degree before applying. Early during the mentoring, the Government announced cuts which caused the RAF to stop recruiting and training pilots. The emphasis turned to looking into his options and these included obtaining an engineering degree that would relate to his flying interests and after his Sixth year he has settled on an aeronautical engineering degree course atGlasgowUniversity. This gives him opportunities to be involved with aircraft and flight in his future career and, becauseGlasgowUniversitystudents can join the Air Cadets who have flying lessons, his ambitions to be a pilot can still be realised.

In the second year of the project the student’s preferred career path is in the field of mechanical engineering but he has been influenced by a desire to enter into paid employment when he leaves school. His ideal would be to go to university under the sponsorship of an employer but there are few such opportunities for this route. His preferred route now is to find an apprenticeship which will enable him to take further education on day release, which could at a later stage give him access to university courses. I have worked with him in preparation of his application forms and an important part of that has been demonstrating what experience he has gained outside school, including responsibility in leadership of group activities in the Boys Brigade. Finding engineering employers taking on apprentices is a continuing involvement with him.  

It is apparent from feedback provided by all of the students involved in the mentoring project that they see mentoring as being helpful to them in gaining access to university courses which are appropriate to their capabilities.StrathclydeUniversityhopes to continue the mentoring project and I will be very willing to support the University in any way I can.