‘What Mentoring means for me.’

By Oris Ikomi

Hey peeps, I am Oris Ikomi, working in early talent development. I am super excited to be joining the Connect Mentors gang to support the next generation transition into the working world.

Why is mentoring important?

Mentoring is so important to me because it helps young people and early talents understand the working world, particularly in making an informed decision about their future. Having worked directly with thousands of early talents, right from Year 9 to graduate age in running employability skills training, coaching mentoring and leadership development programmes I have seen how crucial and important it is to actually have a mentor. It helps them to demystify the myths about the professional world. I have come across countless young people who felt that they needed to make a decision about their future at the age of 16 and so on. This is why I think having a mentor is so important as it helps them to know they don’t need to put themselves under so much pressure so early on.

Also, not only does it mean that professionals can pass on and transfer what they have learnt to the next generation, but there is also a long term benefit to the economy. The more we pass on what we have learnt to the next generation it helps us to maintain and sustain the economy in the long run and maintaining consistency.

These are the reasons why I think mentoring is so important and why I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to be a Connect Mentor.