September 2007 Issue
Conference Celebrates Mentors
As Program Hits Stride
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GUIDING LIGHTS |
With the Alberta economy continuing to boom, do APEGGA members and permit holders have time for mentoring? Yes they do, statistics from the Association program show.
BY GEORGE LEE
The PEGG
The stars — and the mentors and protégés — are aligning for APEGGA’s mentoring program, as the Association gears up for the second annual National Mentoring Conference. Not only has Council given mentoring a strong new endorsement, but numbers and interest in the program are climbing.
In June Council approved a new Outstanding Mentor Award, which will be presented for the first time at the Summit Awards in April 2008. “APEGGA is acknowledging that this is a really vital activity and program,” said Nancy Toth, Manager, Human Resources & Professional Development.
“Essentially Council is saying that being a great mentor is a career-defining achievement, viewed by many as being right up there with top technical achievements and innovation. That’s a powerful message.”
Added Arlene Lack, APEGGA mentoring coordinator: “This raises the profile of mentoring. It gives mentors something to work towards and something to look forward to.”
Ms. Lack calls the mentoring conference an example of APEGGA leadership on a national scale. The event attracts participants and speakers from a wide spectrum of professions, and calls are coming in from across Canada for information on this year’s conference.
Under the banner Celebrating Mentors, the conference begins with a banquet Oct. 25, followed by presentations and small group discussions the next day, Oct. 26. Featured seminar leader is Rachelle Lee, senior consultant with Einblau & Associates.
APEGGA held the first national conference in Edmonton last November, as the Association began capitalizing on new matching tools developed in-house and the addition of Ms. Lack as the mentoring coordinator.
In fact interest and numbers of registered mentors and protégés in the formalized program are returning to the peak levels achieved about a year after the 2004 debut.
The total number of protégés and mentors matched is over 160 and growing. The program has another 100 or so new or currently unavailable registrants, who will be matched in the future. And more than 40 others have expressed an interest in registering. It all adds up to about 300 participants, when everything comes together.
The upward swing comes during an Alberta boom, of course, which has APEGGA members and companies busier than they’ve been for decades. So, why are they finding time for mentoring?
Because they need to.
Said Ms. Lack: “I think smart employers realize that in boom times, what
could be better than to have your staff mentored? More inexperienced and foreign-trained
professionals are being hired than in the past, and they’re being advanced
up their career ladders quickly. A simple orientation isn’t enough.”
Companies have found that mentoring is a powerful attraction and retention tool. “Mentoring
these days is, I think, critical to a company’s survival.”
Ms. Toth added that the program has greatly benefited from Ms. Lack’s efforts. And a number of new supportive events for mentors and protégés in the APEGGA program have also made it more valuable. Recruitment events have significantly increased the numbers.
APEGGA has put on separate coaching sessions for protégés and mentors, over the last year. As well, protégés have attended recent information sessions, and this fall the Association will try out “mentoring circles” — events that foster networking and learning among matched mentoring pairs.
Celebrating MentorsAmong the many highlights of this year’s National Mentoring Conference are
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MORE INFORMATION
Mentoring Program &
National Conference
Arlene Lack
Mentoring Coordinator
alack@apegga.org
Phone 1-800-661-7020
Or 780-426-3990, Ext. 2820