Babcock Mentoring Pilot Scheme

Providing the skills and opportunity to explore a career with Babcock International
Mentoring image - Babcock mentoring scheme

The Babcock Mentoring Scheme, a flexible programme spread out over six months, was developed through collaboration between the Plymouth Business School and the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics at the University of Plymouth and Babcock International. The Mentoring Scheme, aimed at first year Business and Engineering students, provides the participating students with the skills and opportunity to explore a career with Babcock International.

Benefits of the scheme

  • A mentor, chosen specifically to help the students gain relevant skills, knowledge and experience, who will offer four flexible mentoring sessions covering a variety of useful topics.
  • A Mock Assessment Centre with preparation given beforehand and an Insight Day panel of interesting and knowledgeable speakers, bespoke to Babcock Mentoring Schemes.
  • A supportive and passionate team, comprising of the mentors, the University of Plymouth Careers Service, the Academic team and staff from Babcock International.
  • The Babcock Mentoring Scheme provides the students with transferable skills that can be applied in employment and within their CV. It also provides them with an understanding of the application process and behind the scenes knowledge of Babcock International.

“Mentoring has encouraged me to consider personal development and see issues I encounter from a new perspective. Both Alex [the mentee] and I found that an honest and open conversation, prompted by open questions, helped us to challenge each other’s perceptions and line of thinking and instilled confidence to make decisions” 

Matt, Mentor and Commercial Officer at Babcock, on his experience of mentoring a BA (Hons) Business Student

Babcock Mentoring Scheme

What is the Babcock Mentoring Scheme?

In 2020, Babcock International partnered with University of Plymouth’s Careers Service to design a pilot programme; working with Dr Rumbi Mokonoweshuro, Dr Ming Dai, Dr Jahir Rizvi the scheme has been designed to provide eighteen first year students from Business and Engineering with the opportunity to be matched with individual mentors from Babcock International.

In September of 2020, the students were chosen to join the scheme. The students were carefully paired through a process that matched the mentor’s experience with what the mentee hoped to gain from the scheme. The mentors were employed through Babcock’s Graduate Programme and, therefore, were able to provide excellent support and experience to the mentees.

The students who were chosen for this year’s Babcock Mentoring Scheme were partnered with their mentors in November 2020 at a “meet your mentor event” which, due to COVID-19 restrictions, was held virtually. Between November 2020 and April 2021, the students are given four mentoring sessions; covering a range of areas such as practising interview skills, tailoring CV or LinkedIn profiles and learning how their mentors progressed into their graduate schemes, working with Babcock International. Alongside this, and bespoke to Babcock, is the opportunity to attend both a mock Assessment Centre and an Insight Day.

Due to the challenge of the current climate that Babcock International, the University of Plymouth and the students have had to overcome, the four mentoring sessions offered as part of the scheme will be delivered online. The students have also attended the Insight Day, which for this year took the form of a morning panel of a variety of speakers from the Graduate Programme and employees of Babcock International. The Insight Day was an opportunity to inform the students about their experiences and opportunities, such as the Summer Internship one of the speakers had undertaken. At the end of this Scheme, in April 2021, there will be a celebration event for the students across all the Mentoring programmes completed this year.

Plans for the future

The Babcock Mentoring Scheme Pilot has provided students with knowledge and opportunities they otherwise might not have received and it is a scheme that the University of Plymouth would like to continue in the future, with plans to make the scheme bigger each year to include and benefit as many students as possible.

This scheme is one of many packages of support available to students via the University of Plymouth Careers Service, which offers a wide variety of opportunities for students to gain experience and build their employability skills during their time at University.

Find out more about the mentoring scheme.

International Business Economics

Learn how to become an organisation’s best asset by successfully coordinating people, projects and resources. Deepen your knowledge of the business environment and your understanding how organisations operate in both multicultural and world contexts. Discover how and why businesses innovate and why enterprise is critical in the global market, and prepare for a career in your choice of what the business world has to offer, while improving your professional and business communication skills.

Find out more about the Business degrees available at the University of Plymouth.

Civil engineering students on a site visit to the Tamar Bridge.

Imagine, design and create structures and the technical approaches necessary for realising large-scale projects that provide shelter, clean water, sanitation, transportation, energy security and safety from natural hazards. Play a vital role in tackling problems that affect us all such as energy security; efficient manufacturing and smart cities. Our engineering students are taught by enthusiastic academic staff who use live site visits and laboratory work to reinforce your academic learning.

Find out more about the Engineering degrees available at the University of Plymouth

This case study was written by Olivia Templeton, a student at the University of Plymouth. Connect with Olivia on LinkedIn.