{"id":17482,"date":"2025-07-07T10:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T07:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/?p=17482"},"modified":"2025-07-28T09:37:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T06:37:57","slug":"mentorship-in-the-workplace-from-business-demand-to-a-community-of-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/mentorship-in-the-workplace-from-business-demand-to-a-community-of-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentorship in the Workplace: From Business Demand to a Community of Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Mentorship in the workplace is no longer optional \u2014 it\u2019s a necessity. That was the clear message voiced by representatives of Ukraine\u2019s leading construction companies during a roundtable with the EdUP project team.<\/strong> They formally requested support in addressing this need.<\/b><\/p>

Their reasoning was straightforward: in today\u2019s labor market, retaining skilled workers \u2014 especially young ones \u2014 is increasingly critical. Workplace mentorship has proven to be a powerful tool for onboarding new employees, supporting professional development, and reducing staff turnover.<\/p>

The relevance of the topic was further confirmed by the study \u201cAnalysis of Vocational and Practical Training in Construction Professions\u201d<\/em>, commissioned by the EdUP project in response to business demand. The research revealed key challenges in transferring practical skills on the job \u2014 including the lack of trained mentors within companies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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EdUP Project Roundtable with Private Sector Partners<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Co-Creating a Mentorship Development Program with Business<\/h3>

In response, the EdUP project designed and implemented a pilot Mentorship Development Program in collaboration with seven companies \u2014 including Swiss-based GLAS TR\u00d6SCH, as well as ZS Auto Center LLC, Vetropack Group, Herz Ukraine LLC, IBK Development LLC, IVIK Engineering and Technical Center LLC, and Kapitel LLC.<\/p>

Representatives from these businesses participated in a training program designed to prepare them for their roles as mentors.<\/p>

The Program Was Structured in Three Phases:<\/h3>

Phase I: The Fundamentals of Mentorship<\/strong><\/h4>

This stage focused on building a strong foundation: understanding the mentor\u2019s role, adult learning principles, the specifics of vocational education, and developing a personal mentorship style.
The training was led by Emanuel W\u00fcthrich, an expert from the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET). Participants explored the mentoring experience in countries where it is an integral part of workforce development.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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On Mentorship Development Program <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Phase II: Mentorship in the Ukrainian Context<\/strong><\/h4>

The second phase addressed real-world challenges faced by companies in Ukraine: legal considerations, organizing the mentoring process, drafting individual learning plans, and documenting progress.<\/p>

Phase III: Mentorship Mastery \u2013 Teaching Others<\/strong><\/h4>

The final phase was a train-the-trainer module aimed at equipping participants to promote and scale the mentorship model within their companies and industries.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cOf course, you can adapt to a new job on your own. But when there\u2019s someone by your side who supports, teaches, motivates, and gives constructive feedback \u2014 the process becomes much smoother and more effective.\n\nThis course gave me an important insight: in business, the most important thing is people \u2014 those who work in it, and those for whom it works.\n\nI\u2019m proud to be part of a team of professionals who love what they do and truly understand its value.\u201d\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOlena Hryb, entrepreneur<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This program is unique among Swisscontact initiatives \u2014 developed hand-in-hand with businesses to ensure the content is aligned with real industry needs.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What\u2019s Next: From Pilot to Systemic Change<\/h3>

Based on the pilot results, EdUP is now developing a universal mentorship training program, along with a practical handbook summarizing key concepts and tools for effective workplace mentoring.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cI\u2019m really glad I was able to attend this training. I\u2019m taking away a ton of practical cases and ideas I can apply in my work. It was a great opportunity to meet inspiring and successful people, interact with different businesses \u2014 all under the thoughtful and attentive guidance of the EdUP team.\n\nThis kind of learning experience leaves a mark, and we need more of it.\u201d\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTetiana Shtelmakh, representative of Vetropack Group<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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On Mentorship Development Program <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Upon completion of the program, participants will become change agents within their companies \u2014 implementing and strengthening mentorship practices, spreading the model within their industries, and becoming mentors for future mentors.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mentorship in the workplace is no longer optional \u2014 it\u2019s a necessity. That was the clear message voiced by representatives of Ukraine\u2019s leading construction companies during a roundtable with the EdUP project team. They formally requested support in addressing this need. Their reasoning was straightforward: in today\u2019s labor market, retaining skilled workers \u2014 especially young […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,67],"tags":[],"zakupivli":[],"class_list":["post-17482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engagement-of-the-private-sector","category-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17482"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17542,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17482\/revisions\/17542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17482"},{"taxonomy":"zakupivli","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edup.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/zakupivli?post=17482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}