A Mentors’ Competence Framework for the European Solidarity Corps

The Mentor’s Competence Framework for the European Solidarity Corps is developed by the Mentoring under Construction Community. This article walks you through the most updated version of the tasks and competences of the framework. The framework is still in the process, and we are curious about your perspective on what has been created so far! Read the article first and leave your feedback in a form at the end! Thanks a lot!

Your Mentoring under Construction Community

A mentor provides support and guidance to a young person during their volunteering journey.

Mentoring is one of the main support measures of the European Solidarity Corps programme. Mentoring contributes both to the value of the volunteering project as well as the well-being of the volunteer.

This Mentor’s Competence Framework was developed by mentoring practicioners of the Mentoring under Construction Community, a community that supports learning and developing mentoring and coaching competences and helps improving the quality of mentoring and coaching within the European Solidarity Corps programme (and beyond). Find out more about how this framework was built at the end of this article.

The main purpose of the Mentor’s Competence Framework is raise the quality of mentoring support within European Solidarity Corps projects providing a clear and effective guidance for mentoring practicioners.

A Mentor’s Competence Framework in European Solidarity Corps

• helps clarify the role and tasks of a mentor,
• balances the need for clarity and the flexibility of adjusting mentoring the the local and organisational context,
• supports the recognition of mentor competences, and provides useful guidelines for designing training courses for mentors and coaches.

Let’s explore the Mentor’s Competence Framework

The structure of the Mentor’s Competence Framework

A frameworkis a basic conceptional structure (Merriam Webster Dictionary) or a system of rules, ideas, or beliefs that is used to plan or decide something (Cambridge Dictionary). A competence framework is a structure that defines competence and behaviours required by individuals working in an organisation. A competence framework ideally aligns required tasks, behaviours that are required, valued, recognized and rewarded to carry out those tasks and knowledge, skills and attitudes that individuals need to perform and fulfil their role and tasks in an organisation. Additionally a competence framework can include and touch on values, mindset and/or ethical practices if necessary.

In line with the recommendations of the Mentoring and Coaching under Research report, a Mentor’s Competence Framework should cover the following three areas: the tasks of a mentor and the competences that are needed to fullfil these tasks (mentoring competences). Additionally we described foundations of mentoring, meaning important values and mindset of mentoring and guidelines for mentoring (code of conduct).

The Tasks of a Mentor: 10 Focus Areas

A task is a usually assigned piece of work that is often to be finished within a certain time.

Merriam Webster Dictionary

Taking a very broad perspective we asked what tasks are in place to support the volunteering journey of a young person in the European Solidarity Programme. Together with the Task Force we came up with a list of 10 tasks of a mentor.

In order to get a better overview, we put them in three groups:

• Providing guidance
• Building capacity
• Increasing impact

Providing guidance

The role of a mentor in providing guidance to their volunteers is a holistic approach, addressing not only the tasks at hand but also the personal and cultural aspects of the volunteer experience. The mentor is a support person for the volunteer, giving orientation, helping navigate challenges and ensuring a positive and enriching experience. Providing guidance involves the following focus areas:

• Supporting the volunteer’s well-being
• Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
• Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts

Building capacity

The role of a mentor in building capacity for volunteers involves creating a supportive environment for learning and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement. The mentoring support aims at empowering volunteers with the skills and knowledge needed to work as a volunteer and contribute meaningfully to the organization, e.g. by providing ongoing training and giving regular feedback to the volunteer. Building capacity is about:

• Providing orientation and training
• Facilitating learning and development
• Managing groups and teams

Increasing impact

The mentor’s role in increasing impact involves creating awareness, fostering inclusivity, managing teams effectively, implementing robust communication strategies, and continually evaluating and improving the programme for greater positive outcomes. Increasing impact includes:

• Conducting monitoring and evaluation
• Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values and solidarity
• Ensuring inclusion
• Documenting, reporting and communication

Focus areas and specific tasks

Each focus area has a list of specific tasks. Here is an example:

Download: The Tasks of a Mentor | A Mentor’s Competence Framework (coming soon!)

Focus Areas and Mentoring Competences

Here, we provide an overview over focus areas and competences related to them.

Providing guidance

Focus Area: Supporting the volunteer’s well-being

• Competence 1: Supporting awareness and the practice of well-being
• Competence 2: Building trusting relationships
• Competence 3: Providing emotional guidance

Focus Area: Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration

• Competence 1: Facilitating cultural navigation and acculturation
• Competence 2: Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
• Competence 3: Building trusting relationships

Focus Area: Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts

• Competence 1: Providing support in managing difficult situations
• Competence 2: Providing support in managing conflicts
• Competence 3: Supporting the (self-)regulation of emotions

Building capacity

Focus Area: Providing orientation and training

• Competence 1: Supporting the onboarding process
• Competence 2: Facilitating the communication between volunteers and the organisation
• Competence 3: Planning mentoring support

Focus Area: Facilitating learning and development

• Competence 1: Supporting the planning of learning and development
• Competence 2: Supporting the implementation of learning and development

Focus Area: Managing groups and teams

• Competence 1: Supporting the team-integration process
• Competence 2: Supporting team cooperation
• Competence 3: Supporting the integration with the organisation

Increasing impact

Focus Area: Conducting monitoring and evaluation

• Competence 1: Monitoring progress on learning, development and well-being
• Competence 2: Documenting information

Focus Area: Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values and solidarity

• Competence 1: Raising awareness of the Programme’s values and solidarity
• Competence 2: Supporting the alignment of activities with the Programme’s values and solidarity

Focus Area: Ensuring inclusion

• Competence 1: Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
• Competence 2: Providing reinforced mentorship

Focus Area: Documenting, reporting and communication

• Competence 1: Documenting mentoring activities
• Competence 2: Reporting to the organisation

Download Mentoring Tasks and Competences | A Mentor’s Competence Framework (coming soon!)

Your feedback on Mentoring Tasks and Competences | MuC Mentor’s Competence Framework

Mentoring Foundations: Values – Mindset – Guidelines

A holistic approach to learning and development means addressing the head (thinking), the heart (feeling) and the hands (doing). „Learning by head, hand and heart” – a principles going back to Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi – can be found today in the centre of various learning and educational settings, including our field of Non-formal Learning.

We borrowed this principle to conceptualise values, mindset and ethical guidelines:

• Values – the heart – are a set of principles and standards that guide our behaviour and actions.
• Mindset – the mind (or head) is a set of intentions and beliefs that help us to orient in our decisions and actions.
• Ethical Guidelines / Code of Conduct – the hand – are a set of (written) rules and guidelines for quality mentoring.

Why are values, mindset & ethical guidelines important?

Values, mindset and a code of conduct are the foundations of a competence model for mentors. They encouraging effective and ethical mentoring relationships and mentoring practice that support and guide the learning and development of volunteers.

Values, mindset, and ethical guidelines ensure…

• guidance and consistency: they provide a clear direction and guidance for the behaviour of mentors and ensure consistency within and across mentoring relationships,
• trust and credibility: these principles help building trust and credibility between mentors and their volunteers and create a safe and supportive environment for learning and development,
• professional development: they invite and encourage mentors to reflect on and improve their behaviours and practices and contribute to their professional development and effectiveness,
• positive outcomes: these principles help fostering positive mentoring relationships that enhance the learning and development of their volunteers.

What values, mindset & ethical guidelines are important for ESC Mentoring

• What values inspire mentoring?
• What mindset fosters quality mentoring?
• What guidelines should include a code of ethics for mentors?

During our Meeting in Vienna, we brainstormed and discussed important values that drive mentoring. We had a huge collection of values. In the end we narrowed it down to four values: Integrity, Self-Agency, Dignity and Togetherness.

Your feedback on Values – Mindset – Code of conduct

Now it’s your turn: What do you think about it? Please share your impressions and feedback here.

A Mentors’ Competence Framework | Slides

A Mentor’s Competence Framework by TOSCA POOL