A special course that provides training, professional development and networking for people who wish to become a mentor is to be held in early December 2021.
It will be the last training course for the year to be held by the Mentor Support Network (MSN) which promote the value of mentoring across the Hunter community, link mentors to organisations seeking volunteer mentors and encourages volunteers to become mentors.
Course Facilitator, Matt Linnert, said MSN had already held two successful training courses in 2021 but decided to run a third course because of the need to train more mentors.
Matt said the full-day training program aims to empower and enable individuals to develop skills and confidence in their mentoring capabilities.
Details of the training day are:
Date: Thursday 2 December 2021
Time: 9.30am to 4pm
Venue: Soul Café (above Westpac Bank), Cnr Hunter & Watt Streets, Newcastle
Catering: Morning tea and lunch provided
Fee: $20 per person for MSN members; $60 per person for non-members which includes 12-month MSN membership
Details about registering for the training course can be found at Eventbrite.
Matt said more than 300 people had participated in one of MSN’s mentor training courses which had been very successful in providing necessary skills for both existing and potential mentors.
He said feedback from those attending courses this year had been encouraging and led to a third course.
“Being a mentor can be a wonderfully fulfilling experience. As a mentor, you share your knowledge, skills and life experience with young people, supporting them to learn, grow and reach their potential,” said Matt.
“Mentors help young people better cope with the challenges of school, work experience, career choices, and may direct them to support for personal and family issues.”
Topics for the December course include: What is ‘mentoring’, the aim or goal of mentoring, motivation for being a mentor, roles and responsibilities of a mentor, the phases of a mentoring relationship, self-care, support and development for mentors and pathways for mentors – where and who to mentor.
Matt, who has been mentoring for more than 18 years, knows first-hand how beneficial mentoring can be to both mentors and mentees and is looking forward to supporting his fellow mentors to develop their skills, connections and confidence.
“MSN is offering a great training course for a worthwhile cause and I’m again looking forward to facilitating what should be a great day,” said Matt.
He said the 2021 courses could not have been held without the generous support of Port Waratah Coal Services which had been a long-term supporter of MSN through its Community Investment and Partnership Program.