Thursday, December 5, 2024

The Importance of Mentorship

By Jessie Clark

If at first you don't succeed . . . call your mentor. They'll know why.

That's how the saying goes . . . right?

It's true, though. When you have someone who walks alongside you, understands your behaviours and patterns, and is there for all your victories (and all your failures), then you really will have someone that you can call when you don't succeed and need a helping hand.

They'll always know exactly when and why you need help—and the best way to help YOU.

But who can be a mentor? When and where do we find the time to take part in mentorship? How do we begin? Why even bother?

These are just a few of the questions that we addressed in our Mentorship Webinar that took place on December 19, 2024. This session was advertised to CLAC members, employers, and staff who were interested in learning more about how they can better recruit qualified candidates and retain workers that care about the organization’s values and goals.

All that to say: This webinar was specifically focused on how to help employers help you!

We took the time to cover the most basic and important questions about mentorship:

• WHAT mentorship is
• WHO mentors are 
• WHERE and WHEN mentorship takes place
• WHY mentorship is important 
• HOW to effectively implement mentorship.

It can feel frustrating to be stuck in a position where you don’t necessarily know who you can ask for help or where to put all the stress of learning a new job. But at the same time, it can also be scary to ask for the help you need even if you do know who to ask.

A lot of times, we’re worried about the vulnerability that comes with asking for help. We worry about being rejected by the one we want to be mentored by, or we worry that our questions are dumb or will make us look bad.

This is why quality relationships are so important in the process of mentorship, and why we are doing our very best to teach employers and workers to engage with each other to create mentorship programs that work.

At the end of the day, you matter. Your job matters. Your safety matters. And you need to feel safe and supported enough to ask questions you need answered.

If you’re interested in this webinar and want to learn more about why mentorship is so important, click on the following link for the free recording of the session that took place: Webinar Videos

Or, even better, CLAC has its very own Mentorship Program that is free for members who are apprentices. If you don’t feel like you know who to turn to at your work site, or if you want to experience mentorship and just don’t know where to start, consider getting involved with our team.

CLAC Mentorship provides virtual sessions that you can schedule at times that work best for you. The sessions can go as long (or as short) as you need and you’re able to bring the topics and problems that you want to address to the table. Our mentor, who himself was once an apprentice and worked up to being a Journeyperson, would love to be able to help you navigate the questions and issues that you face on a daily basis.

If you’re interested in CLAC Mentorship, or you just want to learn more, please email our Mentorship team at mentor@clac.ca or fill out this quick survey to get connected today!

We’re here to support you. Always.

Need Help? At CLAC, we want to support you as best as we can as you prepare for your exam. Don’t let our resources go to waste! See how we can better support you as you prepare for your exam by emailing the CLAC Apprenticeship Team at apprenticeshipcentral@clac.ca.

The Importance of Mentorship

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