SCL Astra / Socla Young Constructors Mentoring Programme

SCL Astra / SoCLA Young Constructors Mentoring Programme 1. What are the aims of the programme? The programme seeks to put professionals who have moved, or will be moving, their practice from Australia to the UK, or vice versa, in touch with more senior practitioners in their new jurisdiction who are willing to offer mentoring and guidance within their sphere of professional expertise. While we do not seek to be prescriptive about the form or content of the interactions between the mentors and their mentees, in broad terms the relationship envisaged is one in which the mentor is available to the mentee to offer the benefit of their greater knowledge of the industry / profession in the jurisdiction in question and to be a source of advice on career-related decisions. For the avoidance of doubt, mentors are not expected to provide psychological support or advice to mentees – this is a matter for health, not construction, professionals. Further details on what is expected of the participants is set out in Section 3 below. 2. What are the potential benefits to the participants? The benefits of the programme may include: Mentors  contributing to the growth and professional development of their mentee and, in doing so, to the future direction of the profession  strengthening ties within the industry  improving their communication and teaching skills  giving back to the profession  being regarded as a role model  achieving personal satisfaction and re-motivation at work Mentees  developing professional skills and a better knowledge of the profession  building professional networks  improving confidence  having a trusted “sounding board”  being exposed to new areas within the profession  being provided with an avenue to discuss theoretical and practical issues  gaining advice on career planning and development

3. What is expected of the participants? Once a mentor and mentee have been paired, it is expected that that they will discuss and agree upon a common expectation as to the nature of their discussions, time commitments and mode and regularity of contact. For example:

 mentors and mentees might agree that all discussions are to be confidential  mentors might provide constructive feedback to mentees  mentees might prepare for meetings with questions / topics to discuss  topics for discussion might include career planning, goal setting, current construction law issues and/or upcoming lectures / seminars  mentors and mentees might expect to ‘meet’ every four to six weeks via Skype, teleconference or, if mentor and mentee reside within reasonable travelling distance, at a coffee shop or café In setting these parameters, both mentor and mentee should be realistic about their expectations of each other. Mentors should expect that mentees may be apprehensive approaching their mentor, particularly if the mentor is very senior and well-regarded in the profession. Accordingly, mentors should assume responsibility for arranging the initial ‘meeting’. In relation to arrangements for subsequent meetings, mentees should assume responsibility. It is strongly recommended that future meeting dates be discussed and booked well in advance. Participants should not expect that:

 arrangements for meetings will not need to change on occasion  mentors will arrange or facilitate paid or unpaid employment or work arrangements for mentees  mentors will provide extended tutorials in their field of expertise  mentees will perform paid or unpaid work for mentors  mentees are experts in their field or have the degree of knowledge and expertise of their mentor  they will form a friendship  the mentoring relationship will necessarily continue beyond the formal conclusion of the program (whilst encouraged, this needs to be a mutual decision)

4. What must the participants do / not do? Participants must:  behave ethically and professionally at all times  treat other participants in the programme – particularly their mentor or mentee, as the case may be – with respect and courtesy  comply with any relevant laws, including privacy and occupational health and safety laws  maintain confidentiality of contact details and any other information or discussions that the participants agree are of a confidential nature  not improperly use the programme to gain or seek to gain a financial advantage or to cause detriment to another participant  at all times, behave in a manner that promotes the objectives of the SCL and SoCLA

5. Who can participate? Mentees The programme is open to members of the SCL Astra or the SoCLA Young Constructors.1 Mentors

1 For information about membership please visit:  SCL – https://www.scl.org.uk/participate/membership  SoCLA – http://www.scl.org.au/pages/membership.html Mentors must be members of the SCL or the SoCLA who have at least five years’ post graduate experience. 6. How does one apply to participate? If you are interested in participating either as a mentor or a mentee, please complete the application form at https://www.scl.org.uk/eform/submit/mentoring-programme The SCL Astra council and its committee will consider all UK applications. However, we give no assurance that we will be able to match mentors to mentees either within a fixed period of time or at all, since this is a voluntary scheme. 7. How will the pairing process work? We will seek to pair mentors and mentees appropriately based on the information contained in their application forms. Once we have put a mentor and mentee in touch with one another, it is up to them to decide on the form, content etc. of their interactions (see Section 3 above). 8. How will the process be monitored? SCL Astra will not offer a supervisory role. It does not guarantee the success of any particular pair, or the programme as a whole, nor does it take responsibility for the actions of mentors/mentees. However SCL Astra considers the scheme to be valuable if invested in by its participants. If something does not work in the pair proposed, SCL Astra will endeavour to find an alternative pairing for the mentor and/or mentee.