Support
A working professional, alongside you
A professional currently working in your target role supports your plan: they review your choices, describe the real day-to-day of the job and put you in front of the decisions you will make once in post.
What a mentor brings
The real day-to-day of the role
What fills the days, what gets decided fast, what gets negotiated. A job description rarely covers those three.
A second read on your choices
On a project, an application, a specialisation choice: a view from the field, with the reasoning behind it.
The sector's codes
The vocabulary used in meetings, the expected shape of a report, how a decision is presented to a director.
How the pairing is made
- 01
You name the target role
At the level of the professional title being prepared, not a whole sector. The sharper the target, the more useful the match.
- 02
Matching on the role
The mentor holds or supervises the target role. That is the only criterion that decides, ahead of availability and region.
- 03
A framed first exchange
One hour, with a written agenda: your plan, their path, the three questions you bring.
- 04
An agreed rhythm
One appointment a month suits most pairings. The rhythm is set at the first exchange and revised at the midpoint.
The roles the register names
Every professional title in the filed register names the role it targets: that list is the basis for matching. The volumes below are recomputed on the register, never copied.
- roles named in the register
- 72
- levels of responsibility
- 4
- of teaching, cumulative
- 49750 h
Sum of the taught volumes of the register's titles.
The mentoring framework
Mentoring illuminates a career plan; assessment stays with the institute. That separation is what lets the mentor speak freely, and lets you ask the questions you would not put to a marker.
- Exchanges cover the plan, the trade and route choices
- Certifying assessment stays settled by a named marker
- The content of exchanges belongs to the pairing
- The pairing's rhythm and end point are decided by the two of you
Questions about mentoring
When does mentoring open?
As soon as the target role is named, which often happens at the guidance appointment or the mid-programme review. A pairing formed early serves more: it informs route decisions, not just a job search.
What if the pairing does not work?
You say so, and another match is made. A pairing rests on agreement between two people: keeping it out of principle would serve nobody, and saying so early is the only way to get something else out of it.
Does the mentor take part in my assessments?
Certifying assessments are settled by a named marker from the institute. The mentor reviews a project, discusses a direction, comments on an application: their contribution is professional, and that is what gives it its candour.
Explore next
- Placement searchIHETC placement search support: defining the target, preparing the file, tracked outreach and support during the period in the organisation. Sectors covered by the catalogue.
- CV and portfolioThe IHETC CV and portfolio workshop: building a file around the competence blocks of the title being prepared, with programme output and the award verifiable online. Workshop content and documents produced.
- Interview preparationIHETC interview preparation: turning programme output into short examples, practising the most frequent questions and arriving with verifiable evidence. Method and practice.
- AccessibilityStudy and assessment adjustments at IHETC: extra time, adapted material formats, adjusted exam conditions. How to request, how it is assessed, timeframes and the shared framework maintained.
- Disability leadThe IHETC disability lead: a named contact for study and assessment adjustments, directly reachable, coordinating academic teams and following the file through to the award.
- Technical supportIHETC technical support: incident reporting, acknowledged intake, fix and written confirmation. What is covered, how a submission is protected and the response commitments.