Mentoring and the Importance

Image description: Mentoring and its importance; Image source: Okwuagbala Uzochukwu Mike Peter 

As a youth, you need at least a mentor. He will be there to guide and also correct you even when you are not getting things right. You cannot know everything. You need someone to look up to.

Of what importance is mentoring? Mentoring is very important in the life of every human, both big and small. Mentoring according to the free online dictionary is defined as the practice of assigning a junior member of a staff to the care of a more experienced person who assists the junior member in his career. Mentoring was defined as a ‘’dyadic psychosocial intervention in which an older individual is brought into a close relationship with a younger person in order to provide support, guidance, and opportunities for social and academic development’’. This definition was given by a famous author.

Mentoring is of very good importance not only to the mentee but to the country in general. A mentee is a person that is trained, guided and supported by the mentor. He can also be called a trainee. Many good things are going to be obtained if mentoring is embraced by many nations of the world.

The Importance of Mentoring

Mentors empower the young people especially the youths. They teach the trainee on how to communicate and succeed in life. The importance of mentoring is explained under the following headings:

Talent Discovery:  The good mentors teach young trainees to discover the talents in them. The later may be thinking on what to do to earn living while he has something inbuilt in him. Some young people have the gift of the grab. I mean the ability to speak well. Through mentoring, he can develop this. In anything you want to achieve in life or any level you want to attain in life, there will be a factor (s) that surrounds that goal. This hindering factor will make the goal difficult to attain. The hindering factor in this talent discovering can be shyness or stage fright. Mentors can help the trainee to overcome the shyness through constant lessons. When the trainee is trained by the mentor for a long time, that gift in the trainee will come out gradually. This will make the trainee stand out among others. This discovered talent can be a source of money for him or her.

Skills Acquisition: Trainees learn skills through their mentors. These skills help students who are youth to excel in their studies more than others. In a survey of 1302 junior medical schools faculties in 1998, those with an active mentor rated their research preparation and research skills significantly higher than those without a mentor. Mentors that are good in this area can always assist their trainees in their studies. This is why some students perform more skillful than others. Mentor assists their trainee in learning the skills they need for their living. Through mentoring, people can learn business skills. This will make them do well in their businesses. They will learn how to be good entrepreneurs and attract customers. These customers will build good relationships with the entrepreneurs and find it difficult to buy goods from any other place. Another skill that can be acquired through mentorship is a mechanical skill. This includes welding, molding, automobile repairs, fashion, and others.

Crimes limitation: Furthermore, mentors empower the trainees to abstain from crime and other illegal activities. Unfortunately, some wandering brothers are so devoured by a life of crime, gangs, drugs, and stubborn misguided mentalities that they have absolutely no desire to lead positive and productive lives. On the other hand, it is in my opinion that the vast majority of young wanderers yearn for some form of mentorship. When mentored very well, the issue of crime involvement by the young will stop. The crimes committed by many people are because they were not well mentored. Through mentoring, people are taught the negative effects of indulging in crimes. If mentoring is given good attention in different parts of the world, bet me the crime rate in many countries will be minimal.

Employment: People can get employed in their mentors' companies or factories. The mentor will have deep confidence in the trainee because he had known him for quite a long time. There may be no room for misuse of a fund if the young trainee is placed in a higher position. Mentoring can also enhance job creation in many areas and this reduces unemployment. The question may be how? A mentor who is inclined in business will teach who he coaches on the importance of job creation. With this teaching, the trainee puts it into practice and creates job opportunities for the masses. When this is adopted by many, the problem of unemployment faced by many people of different nations will be reduced. The business will grow and expand and more employment generated for the unemployed. Finally, in certain contexts, the mentor may be able to connect an older youth trainee with employment.

Image description: A mentor for every fatherless youth; Image source: Central Florida Dream Center 

Though the above inscription is on fatherless youths, but every youth needs at least a mentor. Many fatherless youths have been hit hard by unemployment globally. These are young men and women that have no adult as a father to help them grow and get themselves established. But of the truth, these youths can hook up with some wise men and women in their society that will help them get themselves into good jobs and live happy and sound lives.

Confidence: This is having self-assurance. Mentoring makes the young to have greater confidence in themselves and their well being. Some persons have in their dreams on how to have big companies which they will run in future and employ others into their company. They may meet challenges on their way of accomplishing their dreams. They can find the confidence to overcome many of these challenges through a mentor. The mentor uses the words from his mouth to change the state of mind of the trainees. In some cases, the mentor may issue financial supports to the person he mentors. This makes the trainee bounce back and believes that he can make it. Truly, every young person needs to have a mentor or mentors.

National security: Insecurity faced by many nations is because mentoring is not embraced by those nations. The citizens were not taught the negative effects of causing social disorder in those countries. To conquer insecurity issue, mentors should be assigned to the citizens. I will like to pay more interest to the youths at this moment. Many social crises have the youths as the highest partakers. This is because mentoring is given low attention. One of the means of securing national security is through mentoring. The states and Federal governments should encourage mentoring to obtain peace and unity.

Morality: This is the principles concerning the distinction between good and bad. There are many challenges confronting many nations because of their low moral standards. The young people dress naked in the name of fashion. This is because they lack moral mentoring. Many young girls have turned themselves into “walking pornography” because they lack mentoring. If they have good mentors, they will not live this kind of life. What is happening on many campuses today? Many ladies displaying their boobs and other parts of their bodies which they do not suppose to show to the public. This is the major cause of rape and the spread of many diseases in many tertiary institutions. Today, male and female who are not of the same parents live in the same room in many campuses. They “rejoice in sins” and call it a modernized lifestyle. All these bad acts are because mentoring is neglected.

Conclusion

A mentor is to be encouraged in our generation. The importance of mentoring was discussed in the above piece. Honestly, if mentoring is embraced by many nations of the world, there will be positive changes.

Parents can choose mentors for their children. This will make the children move and take the right track in their lives. Youths, on the other hand, need mentors. They can choose by themselves whom they think will guide them right apart from their parents and relations.

References

Karcher, Nakkula, and Harris, 2005, p.94

Palepu et al., 1998 ’’Having the Right Chemistry’’: A qualitative study of Mentoring in Academic Chemistry

Help Them Pull Their Pants up: How Mentors and Communities Can Empower Young African American Men by Gilbert A. Knowles, p. 72

A Guide to Youth Mentoring: Providing Effective Social Support by Pat Dolan, Bernadine Brandy, p. 49

Congress Record vol. 155, Part 1: Proceedings and Debates of the 11th Congress: First Session, p. 561