Directors UK – Case Study
Directors UK got in touch with us last summer as they were looking for a training provider to run some training sessions for their mentors. This was as part of their brilliant Inspire mentoring scheme which facilitates and supports structured mentorships for directors looking to reach the next stage in their career over a 12-month period.
They were keen to support their mentors through the process, especially as the majority of them hadn’t had any formal training in how to get the best out of being a mentor. This saw us provide two bespoke training sessions in September and November, including one recorded session for those who were unable to attend the live session. The sessions were offered to over 40 mentors who volunteered their time as part of the Inspire mentoring scheme.
The Directors UK team approached us as we had previously provided this training as part of our two ScreenSkills training programmes – ‘Production Co-ordinator Training Programme for Unscripted TV’ and more recently the ‘Production Assistant Training Programme for Unscripted TV’. Trainees on those programmes were matched with industry mentors in PM, LP, PE and HOP roles to support them in their new career in production management. We trained approximately 107 mentors in how to get the best out of being a mentor as part of those programmes. All of whom found it incredibly useful and also found they incorporated elements of the training in their day-to-day management practices.
We adapted the mentor training we provided as part of the ScreenSkills programmes to meet the Directors UK teams needs. This resulted in a 1.5hr bespoke session which we ran twice to allow the mentors flexibility to join. The training included what mentoring is and what it isn’t, the mentoring cycle, active listening and how to ask open questions, setting goals, confidentiality/safeguarding and useful models and frameworks that the trainees could practice during the session and incorporate into their sessions with their mentees.
The training was run by Anna Wynn Roberts, who was our Mentoring Coordinator on the ScreenSkills PCUTV and PAUTV programmes. She also runs the Bectu ‘Mentoring 4 Screen’ programme for freelancer workers in scripted and unscripted TV and film. Anna previously worked as a video-journalist, documentary Producer/Director and self-shooting PD for 14 years, making programmes with independent production companies for BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and S4C. After completing an ILM level 7 in Coaching and Mentoring at the University of South Wales in 2015, she has since worked mainly in this field. She also runs our ‘Become a better manager with coaching & mentoring skills’ course, open to anyone who wants to learn more about incorporating these skills into their day-to-day management practices.
‘We know how important mentoring is to our director members and how vital training and guidance is for directors who are giving up their time and sharing their expertise. We are delighted to be working with Media Career Advice on these pilot sessions that are offering so much tailored advice and instilling confidence in our members and ourselves.’
Andrea Corbett, Head of Career Development and Skills, Directors UK
“We were delighted to be asked by the Directors UK team to provide the training for their mentors. We’re passionate about how beneficial mentoring is, having seen proven results from previous mentoring programmes we have run. It of course is invaluable for mentees, but really benefits the mentors as well. As a mentor myself, I initially found it really daunting to undertake mentoring sessions without a framework or guidance in place. Learning about these really improved the sessions that I ran for my mentors and massively improved my confidence that I was providing the best possible sessions for the mentee. So we were very excited to provide that support and guidance to the Directors UK Inspire mentors to help improve the quality of the mentoring they provide to their mentees and their confidence in the process.”
Hannah Gosney, Company Director, Media Career Advice
Media Career Advice offer a variety of support around mentoring. We can run bespoke sessions for mentors, to provide those useful frameworks and models to get the best out of the sessions. We also provide bespoke sessions for mentees to prepare them for the process and manage expectations around what mentoring is and isn’t. We can also oversee and run mentoring programmes both small scale and large scale, recruiting mentors and providing the relevant training for the mentors and mentees, match the mentors and mentees, plus run catch up sessions with both the mentors and mentees to talk through the process and any concerns they have. You can get in touch with us at – contact@mediacareeradvice.co.uk to discuss your requirements.