Mentoring WORKSHOPS
Workplace mentoring relates to everyone - teaching and learning skills in the workplace is a shared responsibility. The Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency is focusing attention on mentoring to assist with teaching and learning skills at work. Workplace Mentoring is now a REQUIRED part of ALL Apprenticeship Programs. However, a focus on mentoring also involves working with journeypersons, experienced tradespersons, and industry employers in order to build a sustainable workforce for today, and tomorrow. Part of how this will happen by building on strength and offering free mentoring workshops.
 WHY? The Rationale
Teaching and learning in the workplace is a part of EVERY job. Since the majority of apprenticeship training happens on the job, it makes sense to provide supports to help strengthen workplace skills training. For the new workers (the apprentices), mentoring will help in getting the most out of workplace training today, and preparing them for being future trainers. Initially, the focus is on learning the skills, and later the focus is on teaching the skills. For the experienced tradespersons (the journeypersons), mentoring will help to build on their strengths in conducting workplace skills training. The focus is on teaching skills, but always with a focus on learning because learning is a part of every job. For employers, mentoring will help to enhance the workplace training of today and to build for the future. Workplace mentoring involves everyone: The new workers, the experienced workers, and the employers who provide the work ALL share the responsibility for making the most of workplace skills training.
WHAT? The Workshop
The mentoring workshops will be offered by the Apprenticeship Agency and will have the following outcomes:
- Apply strategies to assist with learning skills in the workplace
- Apply strategies to assist in teaching skills in the workplace
WHO? The Target Audience
The target audience for this session is journeypersons and/or employers in industry. The workshop audience can be comprised of different group combinations:
- Multiple employees from one workplace within one trade
- Multiple employees from one workplace across trades
- Multiple employees from several workplaces within one trade
- Multiple employees from several workplaces across several trades
- There are all kinds of possibilities...
WHEN? The Scheduling
Workshops will be scheduled throughout the year and will be offered, as requested and/or required by industry. The workshops are generally two to three (2-3) hours in duration and can be set up using different formats:
- scheduled around the work day: i.e., 6PM to 8PM on a weekday evening
- Scheduled around the traditional work week: i.e., 9AM to 11AM on a Saturday
- Scheduled during the work day (at request and discretion of employer)
WHERE? The Location(s)
Workshop sessions can be facilitated in a variety of locations including but not limited to the workplace site and/or a training provider location.
HOW? The Resources
Workshops will be conducted by recognized department facilitators who are members of the Association of Workplace Educators of Nova Scotia and/or recognized trainers for their particular trade group or organization, and have completed the facilitator process.
The Mentoring Workshops will be offered using a consistent costing model for all Apprenticeship Training and Skill Development Workplace Education initiatives. Facilitators are responsible for conducting the workshop, collecting Workshop Completion Forms from all participants and forwarding these forms to the Office of the Association of Workplace Educators of Nova Scotia. Facilitators then follow up, one to two weeks after the workshop with each of the participants to discuss and reflect upon integrating mentoring strategies in the workplace.
The province has worked in partnership to develop resources relating to Workplace Mentoring. The content for the workshops will be based on this suite of resources. Included below are the resources relating to the implementation of the mentoring workshops.
 NOTE: Many of the resources require the Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin to view.
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Workshop Outline: The single page outline of the workshop including description, outcomes and learning objectives.
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Workshop Plan (for Facilitators): A document that outlines the workshop learning activities.
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Workshop Resources (for Participants): A host of workkshop resources for participants.
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Workshop Checkpoints: Forms for the completion of the workshop.
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OTHER Resources
There is an ENTIRE SUITE of resources to assist you with workplace mentoring. Please take the time to review the materials below, complete some of the activities and reflect on learning and teaching in the workplace. These resources are available at: http://apprenticeship.nscc.ca/mentoring/index.htm
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