More Mentors Wanted!

No less than 62 RTPI members from this region are already involved in supporting the next generation of planners, by acting as Mentors to Licentiates going through the new APC procedure on their way to becoming full members of the Institute. But more are needed!

In the country as a whole there are now around 1,000 mentors, a rapid growth rate since the new procedures were introduced about two years ago. In this region all those people who volunteered to act as a mentor have been allocated to a Licentiate, and more aspiring planners are entering the system all the time.

Mentors benefit from full written guidance, free training through www.planningmatters.co.uk, and a great CPD opportunity. Most mentors say what a lot of satisfaction they have gained from helping someone at the start of their career. Mentors report learning from Licentiates, and developing coaching skills which are often invaluable in the workplace.

Many mentors are recruited directly by Licentiates who know them already, perhaps as office colleagues, but many Licentiates benefit from a more detached relationship with a mentor from a different background. And some Licentiates, perhaps those who work in very small offices, don’t know suitable people. So the Institute keeps a database of people who have volunteered to act as a mentor, who can be “matched” to any Licentiate who asks for help in contacting a suitable person.

More information about the APC process, and about mentoring, is available on the RTPI website, but if you are interested in mentoring, why not talk to Jacqui Ward at the RTPI in Botolph Lane? You can email her on Jacqui.ward@rtpi.org.uk, or telephone 020 7929 9494.

Author:

Kay Lough

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

02-May-08

Categories:

Nations & Regions 

Sections:

Events, Awards & Networking

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