Finding your competence identity through peer mentoring
Finland
Organisation that has implemented good practice: Juvenia – Youth Research and Development Centre
Type of organisation: University research center
Level: National
Target group: High school and university students
Aim: to help young people to find a suitable career path based on their competences through peer mentoring.
Description
The program’s main idea is that everyone has competencies that they do not think about when selecting a career path and applying for jobs. For example, a person who has played sport actively is a great team player, or person who has helped raise their younger siblings can take responsibility for others. Therefore, the program aims to get the young people to recognize these hidden competencies and apply them when choosing a career. It is especially important since many young people think they have no skills at all.
The organization uses a stairway model of peer mentoring – e.g., senior university students mentor junior students or junior students mentor high school students. The mentor is a peer, but always someone who is in a more advanced position than a mentee. The mentees reflect on their competencies by realizing some projects under the mentors’ supervision and building their competence maps. The project started in 2019.
