Project Details

A project, completed in 2016, to determine the impact of mentoring training on the quality of the mentoring support provided by coordinators and supervisors and on apprentice learning outcomes such as retention, credit achievement, completion and progression, in the New Zealand ITO context. A collaboration of the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation and the Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation.

Aims: 

The main aim of the project was to determine whether the provision of mentoring training for apprentices, apprenticeship coordinators and supervisors positively influenced the success of the apprentice's learning journey.

Methodology: 

The project used a participatory action methodology involving:

  • a literature review
  • gathering data from apprentices’ journals
  • interviews with coordinators, supervisors and apprentices who engaged in mentoring training workshops and subsequent dyadic mentoring partnerships over a one-year period
  • monitoring apprentices’ progress over a one-year implementation period.

Team

bcito

Greg Durkin

Project Leader

Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO)
hito

Erica Cumming

Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation (HITO)
bcito

Rex McGill

Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO)
Lesley Petersen

Dr Lesley Petersen

Petersen Consulting

Status

Completed

Funding

$36,700.00 (excl GST)

$10,000.00 Regional Hub Project Fund
$26,700.00 Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO), and Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation (HITO)

Key Findings

The key findings from the project included:

  • Supporting apprentices in their training and assisting them to establish a strong foundation for their vocation is an integral part of the job for employers and training advisors in industry training organisations. How should those employers and training advisors develop the essential skills and attributes to become effective mentors? The project’s purpose was to investigate whether the provision of mentoring training for ITO apprentices, employers and training advisors (TAs) would positively influence the success of the apprentice’s learning journey.
  • The participants endorsed the value they perceived in engaging in a mentoring relationship alongside the training programme. The report outlines six key themes related to the use and delivery of mentoring in ITOs: mentor attributes; benefits of mentoring; mentoring support; logistics of mentoring; changes made by the apprentice; and support for the mentor.
  • Feedback from the participants informed the development of a mentoring model, a mentoring training programme and mentoring resources.

Key Recommendations

The project’s recommendations provide a guide for the two participating ITOs and other tertiary education providers in future apprentice mentoring activities. The key recommendations from the project included:

Resource development | Development of a Mentor’s Information (induction) Pack and a Mentee’s Handbook. Inclusion of a copy of the Mentee’s Handbook in the apprentice induction and enrolment pack.

Establishing guidelines | Encouraging employers to establish guidelines regarding the training advisor involvement in apprentice mentoring and the relationship and expectations of the relationship with the employer.

Mentoring training workshops | Providing new employers and training assistants with mentoring training workshops at the start of their mentoring role, and a follow-up refresher workshop after two-three years to extend and enhance their practice.

Explore further research avenues | Future research could include a statistical analysis of the link between mentoring provision and learner achievement in ITOs, and an investigation of different strategies and approaches for working with Māori, Pacific Islanders and English as Second Language speakers.

Exploring the impact of mentoring training on the quality of mentoring engagement and provision in the ITO context

A research report prepared by Greg Durkin, Erica Cumming, Rex McGill and Lesley Petersen.

(PDF, 430 KB, 37-pages).

  • 28 January 2015
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