In 1993, at the height of the recession, students finishing their Master of Social Work degree faced a bleak job market. To counteract the despair that these graduates and alumni felt about their slim prospects in the workplace, a pilot mentoring program was launched. Now, 250 mentorships later, the program is still going strong even in a brightening job market. The mentoring program matches new graduates with social work professionals who help them develop job-search strategies and make contacts. Mentors also offer support, from providing guidance on work-related issues to developing on-the-job skills. The program offers career seminars and presents guest speakers on a variety of social work topics; it also allows mentors, many of whom are alumni, to reconnect with their faculty, says Sylvia Miller, program co-ordinator. “Mentors get a sense of what the university’s program is like, and a sense of the calibre of the students graduating into the profession,” she says.
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