Mentoring Mix-Up brings generations together - Joe Pacitti

The concept of mentoring continues to find resonance with businesses and organisations. The tried and tested formula - that true and effective mentoring is delivered by someone who has been at the coalface themselves remains valid, but within our CeeD community we are seeing tangible benefits of mentor-mentee relationships blossoming through a ‘cross-fertilise’ process of pairing mentors and mentees from different member companies and the results from our initial pilot, have been exceptional.

This pilot scheme, launched in June last year in partnership with Skills Development Scotland (SDS), concluded in January. SDS is delighted with CeeD’s successful completion of the pilot, which initially tasked the group to work through a shortlist of common or industry level challenges – barriers to progress and development for the wider Scottish manufacturing sector. Addressing these formed the basis of learning and adopting innovation “can-do” amongst the cohort.

The origins of this first “CeeDucation” pilot came through a simple request from the winner of CeeD Chairman’s Award 2022, Ian McLaren, general manager of Bathgate-based whisky distillery The Glen Turner Company.

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Having worked across various industries across the UK for over 20 years, Ian recognised that although he had extensive experience and skills to offer his team, he wanted to augment the experience and so was looking to find external mentors for two members of his team.

Joe Pacitti, managing director, CeeDJoe Pacitti, managing director, CeeD
Joe Pacitti, managing director, CeeD

Ian’s idea lit the touchpaper. He felt sure that if he mentored an upcoming leader early in their career development, other business leaders may see the potential of being a mentor too.

CeeD’s structure of a large number of diverse companies in various industries means they wouldn’t raise objection across the membership, because there is no competition that might raise concern.

The initial Mentoring Mix Up cohort consisted of eight member organisations. Each selected two mentees they felt would benefit from “blended learning” sessions.

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John Cameron – Chief Executive of Livingston-based electronics company CB Technology – took an active lead in the mentoring programme. John had been mentored in his own career so sees the value it adds. He says Scotland needs more young people coming through the manufacturing industries, so we can develop and fasttrack them for the greater good of our manufacturing and industrial engineering endeavours.

His two mentees were Adam Strachan, technical sales specialist from Star Refrigeration Ltd, Glasgow, and Julie Smith, a manufacturing engineer with Dover Fuelling Solutions in Dundee.

Adam was impressed not only with John’s mentoring skills, but by the fact that even as a chief executive running an exceptional electronics business, he found the time to be hands on with him. Adam is very much on the upwards trajectory within Star Refrigeration and found the mentoring invaluable.

He stated that if you worked for an organisation which has its own mentoring scheme you cannot be as open as perhaps you would like to be when talking to a mentor from another company or industry, as working with John highlighted, a thought echoed by Julie.

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She also believes mentoring challenged her to gain more confidence and realise that so many folk embark on a similar journey facing similar business challenges. Mentoring greatly helped her focus her vision for the future.

The early stages of the programme have proven impactful, with more that 50 per cent of mentees suggesting that their career progression, and in some cases promotions, relate back to the influence of the mentoring programme. Skills Development Scotland has now tasked us to establish a second mentoring pilot and, given the success of the first, a prospect to relish.

Joe Pacitti, managing director, CeeD

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