Mentor Hub

New mentors

You can apply to become a TechUP mentor on our current programme by filling out our application form. If the scheme is currently open, you can find the link on this page and on our social media channels.

Previous mentors

If you have mentored on the Click Start programme in 2023, you will only have to fill out a registration form to update your data and preferences. Your mentoring training and DBS certificates will be still valid and, depending on how many mentors we need at a given time, you will likely be matched with someone straightaway.

If you had expressed interest in continuing mentoring with us last year, you should receive an email with a link to the registration form. If you haven’t, please get in touch and we will send you the link.

Yes, for all new mentors on Click Start by TechUPWomen we require candidates to have a DBS check and complete an online mentoring and safeguarding training.

If you haven’t had a DBS check done within the last three years, we will arrange and cover this expense for you. If you have, we will need to verify your DBS certificate.

The mentoring training is mandatory and is delivered with our partners, Catch22. You will be provided with a link to watch the recording.

Unlike with previous TechUP programmes, mentoring on Click Start by TechUPWomen requires our mentors to be DBS checked.

If you don’t have a valid DBS check certificate, you will be sent an invitation from the uCheck platform to fill out your details and complete a digital ID check via a third-party app (Post Office’s EasyID or Yoti’s Digital ID, both of which are free to download).

To be able to complete the digital ID check, you will need any passport, British driving licence, or other applicable form of documentation (see full list of documents here). Please bear in mind that whichever document you are going to use will have to match the name you’d provided earlier (i.e. a passport in your maiden name will not pass the check).

(If you live around Durham, we can arrange an in-person ID check: we will contact you if you’ve selected this option in your mentor application form.)

After a successful ID verification, your enhanced DBS check will begin. The results can take anywhere between a couple of days and two months, so please make sure to follow the prompts you receive as fast as possible to avoid unnecessary delays.

Once your DBS check is complete, you will receive an email confirmation from us and your certificate will be posted to you directly from the DBS.

That’s great! We will need to verify your DBS certificate and this can be done in two ways:

• Update service: if you have registered for the update service, we will need your name as stated on the document, date of birth, and the certificate number. You will be asked to provide those on the application form, but you can always email us the details separately.
• Video call: if you are not registered for the update service or the check fails (they sometimes do!), we can arrange a brief video call to see your certificate and take down a few details.

All mentors on Click Start by TechUPWomen are required to complete mentoring and safeguarding training which is delivered online with our partners, Catch22.

You will receive a link to the recording to watch at your earliest convenience. We will receive a notification once you’ve done it and then proceed to match you with your mentee(s).

We try our best to prepare our learners for the mentoring on the programme to make sure they understand the benefits and obligations that come with it.

Midway through the course, all groups participate in an employability session dedicated to mentoring, where they are introduced to the idea and to how it works on the programme.

Following the session on mentoring, learners confirm whether they want to be mentored and sign their mentoring agreement if they do. After that, they are matched with and introduced to their mentors.

We match mentors and mentees based on a few relevant criteria. The main one is the degree of overlap between mentors’ and mentees’ choices about subjects to cover during mentoring sessions. Next, we look at the possibility of meeting in person, in case both of you would like to do that. And last, if the mentee has expressed interest in pursuing a career in a particular direction, we do our best to find them a mentor who is in a role they aspire to.

However, the matches depend on the numbers of mentors and mentees we currently have and, in some cases, we might have to prioritise one criterium.

Yes, the information and content shared between you and your mentee should remain confidential. However, mentors may seek support from the TechUP and/or Catch22 staff if they have concerns about the wellbeing or safety of the mentee.

As a mentor, you are expected to provide your mentee with developmental advice and guidance to help them identify goals and actions needed to support their education and career aims. This can involve various types of support, depending on your circumstances. As a minimum, you can discuss the topics that you and your mentee have selected to mentor on.

However, as your relationship progresses, you might want to delve into other areas too. To give you an idea, mentoring on the Click Start programme has included the following:

• mentors sharing their career journeys
• looking into similarities between mentees’ current roles and the tech roles they want
• advice on job searching strategy/timeline/planning
• soundboarding ideas
• CV advice and revision
• discussing interview techniques
• running mock interviews and giving feedback
• providing useful resources
• putting mentees in touch with useful contacts
• attending mentors’ workplace tech events
• visiting career fairs together
• work shadowing

We expect your mentee to contact you within seven days from receiving your introductory email. However, you can reach out to them first if you want to introduce yourself.

If you haven’t heard from your mentee in over a week, please get in touch with the relevant career coach and the TechUP Teaching and Learning Coordinator and we will check what is going on.

If your mentee misses sessions without cancelling/rescheduling we will consider withdrawing them from mentoring.

If you haven’t heard from your mentee in over two weeks, please get in touch with the relevant career coach and the TechUP Teaching and Learning Coordinator and we will check what is going on.

Generally speaking, there are two scenarios in which we will process withdrawal of a mentee:

• Mentee asks to be withdrawn: like everyone else, our learners can experience unforeseen circumstances which may impact their ability to complete the course or continue with mentoring. We understand that and treat every case individually to make sure they make a decision that is best for them. We will let you know if this happens as soon as we can.
• Mentee becomes unresponsive: to protect your time, we will withdraw mentees who have disengaged from mentoring by not showing up to sessions and not communicating with the mentor. If you’ve experienced this for over two weeks, please notify the TechUP Teaching and Learning Coordinator and we will check in with the mentee to confirm their withdrawal.

You were given the name and email address of your mentee’s career coach in the message introducing you and your mentee. You can also reach the career coach on the Slack channel for mentors.

Brilliant! We hope both of you enjoyed this journey and took much from it.

Please get in touch to let us know that you have finished your mentoring. We ask all mentors to submit their log sheets within a week of finishing their sessions. You were provided a blank log sheet in an email before being introduced to your mentee(s). If you can’t find it, please contact the Teaching and Learning Coordinator and they will resend it.

You will also be sent a link to our mentor survey to share how your experience has been. We would appreciate if you filled it out, as it helps us understand what went well (or not so well!) and how to improve the mentoring scheme in the future.

That’s fantastic! We facilitate support of other mentors in various ways:

• Submit blog posts: we’re always on the lookout for new content related to the mentoring experience with TechUP and in general. If you would like to write a post about your past experience or with advice/reflections about various aspects of mentoring, please get in touch at [email protected].
• Recommend mentoring resources: you can share useful, freely-available resources on mentoring with us to link on the Mentor Hub page or share them directly with other mentors on Slack.
• Support others on Slack: we would love it if you could engage with less experienced mentors in the channel, answering their questions where relevant and sharing your advice and experience with the community.
• Suggest ideas: if you have other ideas about how you would like to be involved in helping other mentors, please get in touch and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

We hugely appreciate our TechUP mentors and try to support them as best as we can:

• Mentoring training: for all new mentors signing up, we have a mandatory training customised to the needs and requirements of the programme we are currently running. For Click Start by TechUPWomen the mentoring and safeguarding training is provided with our partners, Catch22.
• Mentor Hub: we’ve created this page to bring together all the up-to-date information relevant to mentoring on TechUP programmes. We understand it can be difficult to fish out details from your inbox when you need them, so this is your place to return to when you need a reminder of anything.
• Slack channel for mentors: we set up Slack channels for all mentors involved in our current programmes. This is a place to check in with your fellow mentors to exchange ideas, advice, and ask for help. You can also communicate with Catch22’s career coaches and TechUP team members there.
• Team support: your mentee(s)’s career coach(es) and the TechUP Teaching and Learning Coordinator are here to help if you need it. You can reach them by email or on Slack.