How mentoring can help young Londoners access better opportunities.
The old adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” has proven to be true. Most recently, New York Magazine’s declaration of a “nepo-baby boom” in 2022 brought the topic back to the forefront. But aside from the spoils of celebrity connections, research shows that young professionals realise countless benefits from building networks and having mentors.
Nepo – short for nepotism – babies are the successful children of celebrities. The theory is, as a result of their parents’ success, these individuals were able to shoehorn their way to success.
While leveraging familial connections to propel yourself into big-screen superstardom is a somewhat niche experience, building a professional network is fundamental, no matter your profession. The reality is that most people land vacancies before they ever hit a jobs board. Various estimates over the last few years, including figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, suggest that as much as 85% of jobs are found through networking.
Networking is often the gateway to opportunities
Access to the internet and remote working may lead us to believe that career opportunities have been democratised. Opportunities are undoubtedly more visible than ever before, but the informal routes into careers that exist, through connections and networks, highlight that it’s far from a level playing field.
Your network is foundational to building your career, a notion that young people in the capital are discovering. And networks aren’t just beneficial for giving you access to new opportunities. Experienced professionals in your network may offer informal career advice and support that you’d ordinarily have to pay for. The residual benefit is that young professionals are typically able to find mentors through their network.
Mentoring initiatives targeting young people have proven to deliver long-term benefits, particularly for disadvantaged youth. From the mentee’s perspective, mentoring gives them access to personalised expert guidance and helps them to accelerate their professional development. But it’s not just a one-sided deal. Mentors often feel accomplished when they contribute to another person’s career, and it increases their engagement with the community.
The disparity between mentoring possibilities and opportunities
Despite the well-documented benefits that both professional networks and mentors provide, there are still barriers to accessing them. In fact, a report by HR tech company MyKindaFuture revealed that just 37 percent of UK professionals have a mentor. This is despite 79 percent of Millennials stating that they view mentoring as crucial to their success.
There’s a clear disparity between the interest young people have in mentoring, and the opportunities they have access to. The disparity only widens when we zoom in on disadvantaged young people and minority groups.
Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic only worsened inequalities in London and disproportionately restricted young people’s access to positive opportunities. A 2021 study by the British Computer Society (BCS) and Coding Black Females found that only 0.7% of Black women in the UK work in the IT industry. Those who have been successful attributed part of their success to the mentors who sponsored them and served as an ally in their careers.
Young Londoners need access to mentoring opportunities
The Mayor of London has identified the mentoring gap that we need to fill to better support young people. The ‘New Deal for Young People’ initiative aims to give 100,000 disadvantaged young Londoners access to mentoring opportunities and youth activities.
To help move the initiative forward, the Mayor of London has selected key partners to collaborate with including Coachcube, an AI-powered online mentoring platform founded by London-based entrepreneur, Sylvester Lewis.
Coachcube pairs young people with experienced professionals and academic mentors to help them build expertise in their desired sector, and expand their network. The platform donates 95 percent of the fees it generates to a UK-registered charity of the mentor’s choice. It reinvests the remaining 5 percent into the platform.
“For younger people, the world of work can feel like a different planet in which they have no way of accessing it or tapping into it”, said Sylvester Lewis. “You wouldn’t think twice about the information and experience you have built throughout your education and career. But to someone who is younger, who hasn’t got the experience or built the network, your expertise and insights are invaluable.
There are certain educational institutions, jobs and sectors which are associated with a certain socioeconomic background. As such, they are inaccessible to or unknown by a significant proportion of the UK population. Coachcube is keen to lead the way in reducing these barriers and make industries accessible to all.”
Despite launching in 2021, Coachcube already has an active membership of over 500 mentors and mentees, and raised £250,000 in seed funding. It’s clear that young Londoners are keen to access support to break into professional sectors. It’s our responsibility to make sure it’s accessible so they can realise their potential.
