Benefits of becoming a mentor

Mentoring is a fantastic way to offer your skills and experience to help support and inspire other chemical engineers, as well as, gaining new or sharpening your existing mentoring skills. 

There are many benefits of mentoring – not just for the mentee, but also for the mentor. By supporting the development of other chemical engineers, you’re not only helping to advance the profession, but also giving yourself the opportunity to reflect and enhance your own professional development while improving your people management skills. Volunteering as a mentor contributes towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). 

Mentoring roles

We offer three types of mentoring (some mentors will be able to provide more than one):

• mentoring for professional registration, eg helping other IChemE members towards becoming Chartered
• ACTS mentoring, eg, supporting trainees in Accredited Company Training Schemes
• career and development mentoring, eg helping others towards a particular career goal, or offering advice and support.

Professional registration mentor

IChemE Professional Registration Mentors are Chartered Members (or Fellows who are Chartered) assisting others, usually towards their Chartered application, which may include:

• helping your mentee develop their skills and knowledge 
• sharing your own career story 
• guiding your mentee as to when they are ready to begin their application 
• supporting the mentee through their application​
• acting as a referee for their application for Chartered Member (MIChemE) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) registration. 

ACTS mentor

ACTS mentors play a vital role in supporting trainees enrolled in Accredited Company Training Schemes. As an ACTS mentor, you will:

• guide trainees through their training and development within the scheme
• provide advice on achieving professional milestones, including registration as Chartered Chemical Engineers
• support the application of theory into practice, fostering growth and confidence in trainees
• offer tailored feedback to help trainees meet their development goals.

To learn more about how ACTS mentors support trainees and enhance the scheme, read our article ACTS now and share in a graduate’s growth.

Career and development mentor

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference to someone's professional journey while gaining valuable personal and professional rewards of your own.

As a mentor, you will:

• give back to the profession by sharing experiences and insights you have gained throughout your career
• develop your leadership and coaching skills by supporting others to achieve their goals
• gain fresh perspectives by hearing about the experiences, ambitions and challenges faced by engineers at different career stages
• enhance your communication and interpersonal skills by acting as a trusted sounding board and helping others navigate important career decisions
• support a more inclusive profession by helping individuals overcome barriers, including those related to returning to work after a career break, disability, neurodiversity and other equity, diversity and inclusion challenges
• experience the satisfaction of helping others succeed, whether that means achieving a promotion, changing career direction, building confidence or realising long-term ambitions.

Mentoring is a rewarding two-way relationship. While you help your mentee explore their skills, aspirations and opportunities, you will also gain new insights, strengthen your own professional capabilities and contribute to the future of the profession.

Is being a mentor the right role for me?

Mentors would ideally have:

• good listening, questioning and feedback skills 
• ability to facilitate goal setting and learning 
• analytical skills 
• an approachable manner 
• willingness to share expertise and time 
• a desire to make a difference 
• commitment to the profession.

How to get involved

Mentor Match is an online tool that facilitates the establishment of mentoring relationships, find out more about Mentor Match.

To enrol as a mentor please activate your profile on IChemE Connect and navigate to Mentor Match.

If your company has an Accredited Company Training Scheme (ACTS), speak to your ACTS manager about registering as an ACTS mentor to help trainees through the scheme.