Hi everybody, I'm Kay Schlesinger from KG Ed Consulting. And as part of AUSMAS's VET Resource Hub, this video looks at the benefits of mentoring and the kinds of practices that create effective mentoring programs. Let's begin together. 

 One of the 10 high-impact teaching strategies known to improve learning is a learning intention.  Our learning intention today: we are learning to evaluate the benefits of mentoring within the automotive and mining sectors. 

 An overview of the video today, we will investigate 4 areas together. Stakeholder benefits of mentoring, brain benefits of mentoring, wellbeing benefits of mentoring, and we'll finish up with some reflective questions? 

 Let's head into our first topic, which are stakeholder benefits of mentoring. 
So mentoring benefits for new educators who are often mentees are huge and the SAGE Handbook of Mentoring is a great resource for us all. It tells us that mentoring may be the single most effective method of supporting the professional development of beginning teachers. This is really important, the single most effective method. So this has big effects in terms of the new educator settling in and being effective in their workplaces. It also tells us mentoring reduces feelings of isolation, increases confidence and self-esteem, and improves self-reflection and problem solving. And these are all skills highly valued in all of our workplaces. 

 Furthermore, mentoring is really important in supporting the socialization of new educators and helping them to adapt to the norms and standards of learning environments in the mining and automotive sectors. One of the main things in investigating new educators is the feeling of them not being connected. So this is really important because it provides a connection between the mentor, the mentee and the organisation. The other thing that it is really useful in supporting is improved behaviour management skills for educators who are now working with really diverse cohorts across the automotive and mining sectors. 

 So mentoring actually benefits both the mentors and the mentees. We see improvement in areas like self-awareness, self-confidence and  those really important communication skills that include listening, the ability to give clear, accurate, fair and encouraging feedback, the notion of problem solving, which is huge in the workplace, and also that idea around professional networking and growing the network of both the mentor and the mentee. 

 Mentoring also has positive benefits for organisations, and I think this is often the one that is overlooked. So what can mentoring achieve for organisations which choose to adopt a well-organised program? Well, there's that positive organisational culture, a culture of learning, support and encouragement. It also can be a recruitment enticement as part of a job advertisement saying that part of the role will either include being a mentor, with professional learning or we will offer mentees professional learning in a mentoring program. It's known to increase retention rates, so that staff aren't continually leaving. It increases that feeling of collaboration in an organisation, where people feel confident to share ideas and even to share some of the areas they find challenging. It offers leadership, skill development, and mentoring can actually be a real step in the process towards gaining leadership skills. It’s also about smart succession planning and looking at who will move into leadership roles in the future. And of course, it addresses standard 3.1b from standards for registered training organisations in 2025. 

So it says in the standards, professional development opportunities to enable staff in the organisation to effectively perform their roles. So, mentoring offers this type of professional development. 

 So in summary for topic one, I think this is a lovely way of putting it all together. Research indicates that mentoring is a powerful tool which can accelerate the development of talent, improve staff retention and create a high-performance culture that offers a real competitive advantage.  That brings us to the end of topic one. 

 Topic 2 looks at the brain benefits of mentoring. This is perhaps not a topic you would connect with mentoring. However, there has been some really interesting research in this area. Luis Cozolino, in his book, The Social Science of Education, tells us that we are not the survival of the fittest, we are the survival of the nurtured. So in other words, our brains grow best in the context of supportive relationships, like mentoring relationships. Cozolino also tells us that our brains take into consideration not only what we are learning, but who we are learning it from.

So that role of the mentor is really important in the way that we're actually learning. Cozolino points out that our brain actually grows and develops when we're in supportive relationships, and I think that's particularly interesting in the context of mentoring. Not only that, but mentoring actually encourages the growth of good brain chemicals. When they're supported in a balanced and appropriate way, when there's challenge, but it's not too great, so mentees can actually achieve the challenges and they are reasonable. Those sort of challenges activate dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine and endorphin production, which I think is particularly interesting. So mentoring can actually affect the way the chemicals in our brain work. This brings us to the end of Topic Two. 

 Topic 3 looks at the wellbeing benefits of mentoring. 
You will all know far better than I that the automotive and mining sectors and  people in those organisations are no strangers to physically demanding and hazardous environments. Physical safety has always been a really top priority in those sectors. But now, mental health is emerging as an equally important factor. 
So mentoring has a place to play in strengthening mental health in both the automotive and the mining sectors.  

 What do we see in terms of mentee benefits? We see reduced distress, anxiety and isolation for people who are mentored. And these are some of the large issues reported by mentees or new educators. They report increased confidence and coping skills. Mentees often experienced improved self-esteem and a sense of being part of a professional identity in the workplace. Support and validation. A mentor provides a really safe space for validating and helping mentors feel understood and reducing feelings of being overwhelmed. If we all remember back to the start of our teaching careers, there were moments we all felt overwhelmed, but the use of an effective and well-trained mentor can ease that. It also provides an opportunity to confidentially share challenges and knowing that a conversation is confidential and a mentee can actually speak honestly with their mentor who has their back, really helps them also solve the issues. And I suppose most importantly in all of this, mentoring develops in mentees the important skill of resilience, to be able to bounce back when things go wrong and not lose perspective. 

 So what about mentors? What are the mental health benefits for mentors in well-organised programs? Mentors report lower anxiety levels because they often have an opportunity to share with other mentors. They report increased purpose. 
and meaning, meaning that they have a deeper satisfaction in their work, especially when they've been in their role for a long period of time. It's like a regeneration, if you like, offering some new perspectives. Also, that notion of gaining perspective. 
on their own lives and challenges and increasing their own mental resilience. 
Here's this issue of connectivity again, where we know mentoring creates supportive relationships and in fact provides a mini community, which is an essential part of wellbeing. It also normalises challenges for the mentors and being able to discuss professional challenges allows both parties to normalise their concerns and reduces the stigma of talking about problems or stressful situations. 

 It also gives mentors a chance to help navigate difficult situations and can offer practical advice that reduces anxiety. Mentoring programs really are particularly effective in reducing burnout and supporting mental wellness in high-stress roles. 
In summary then, mentoring provides significant mental health benefits by reducing anxiety, depression and social anxiety while improving self-esteem and emotional resilience for both mentors and mentees alike. These important relationships offer mutual connection and foster an increased sense of purpose. Well, to me, those reasons alone warrant developing effective mentoring organisations that work effectively within the mining and automotive sectors. That brings us to the end of Topic Three. 

 Topic 4, our reflection questions for today. 
So here are some questions for you to consider when you have completed this video today.  

What are the main benefits for stakeholders in the mentoring space? 
How can new educators in both sectors be better supported by mentoring?  

What benefits exist for organisations running well-structured mentoring programs? 
How does mentoring support brain growth and the development of good brain chemicals?  

And lastly, what are three wellbeing benefits of mentoring? 

So to review our four areas for today, we have looked at stakeholder benefits of mentoring, brain benefits of mentoring, wellbeing benefits of mentoring, and we have finished up with reflection questions. 

 Our learning intention today, we've been learning to evaluate the benefits of mentoring within the automotive and mining sectors. 

 That brings us to the end of this video. If you would like to keep building your understanding of mentoring, you can watch the other videos in the series in the AUSMASA Vet Resource Hub.  

Thank you for joining today.