The role of the mentor

The value of a workplace mentor to our apprentices is enormous. Evidence suggests that an effective mentor can, through support and supervision not only help a new employee’s orientation in the workplace, but support learners on an apprenticeship to access information, advice and guidance relevant to their learning. They also work with the apprentice, employer and training provider to ensure that problems are resolved quickly and do not threaten the Apprenticeship.

We ask that the workplace mentor:

act as the main point of contact for us
be involved in the initial stages of the apprentice’s start on our programmes, signing some of the documentation on behalf of the employer
supports the apprentice in the workplace as above
contributes to reviews of progress
‘signs off’ the apprentice’s documentation prior to end point assessment (EPA) and supports and facilitates EPA by our independent end point assessment organisation (EPAO).

We ask mentors who have any concerns about an apprentice/s to contact us immediately so that we can work together to resolve these as quickly as possible.

We ask the employer to identify a mentor who is able to:

advise, guide and support apprentices to ensure they get the most benefit from their learning on programme
communicate and collaborate effectively
use effective questioning, listen to and challenge apprentices as is appropriate
work with both us, the training provider, and workplace colleagues to help plan and implement structured and meaningful learning and work experiences
liaise with all to facilitate formative and summative assessment of learners’ skills and knowledge
collaborate with us to review learners’ progress and to provide evidence of progress and achievement
identify and refer issues relevant to learners’ progress and well-being, to both us and/or workplace colleagues.

__________________________________________________________________

Our apprenticeship programme was awarded “Good” in all areas by Ofsted in Autumn 2022. Inspectors said Ebor programmes helped apprentices “develop significant and relevant new skills, knowledge and behaviours” and that they feel valued and listened to and grow in confidence and resilience to carry out their roles.

“Trainers, who are well qualified and highly experienced in the sector deliver lessons that are interesting and thought provoking,” they said.

Ofsted noted that over half of the apprentices who completed their programme with Ebor achieved a distinction grade in their end-point assessment.

Get things moving: email Sue Hinchcliffe apprenticeships@ebor.academy