Your Network is your Net Worth. As a job seeker, broadening your professional horizons can be an uphill task especially in a foreign country. Think Africa provides a job market entrypoint program to ease that cross over for foreign professionals in Finland. The 5-months tailored mentorship program pursues not only a reciprocal partnership between the mentor-mentee pair but also a collective learning trajectory among diverse participants.
Aims:
Through matchmaking, young aspiring foreign professionals in Finland will be matched with a mentor who is able to provide expertise and insights into job search and career readiness. The Professional Mentorship for Foreigners program aims to:
- Widen professional networks of all foreigners including those of African descent
- Increase their employability by equipping them with relevant job searching skills
- Sensitize and educate foreign professionals on Finnish workplace culture
How does it work:
- A mentee signs up and commits to the program for a minimum of 5 months
- A mentor of good standing in society, relevant resume, and enthusiasm to mentor is matched with the mentee
- Group sessions that bring mentees together to share experiences
- The coordinator invites experts from various professional fields to give hands-on training on essential skills like Branding, LinkedIn and CV development, effective Communication, and Networking
- The program achievements are evaluated at the end of the 5 months and the learnings are used to improve the next program
Impact so far:
The program has so far been run twice, in Spring of 2019 and 2021. 60% of mentees who participated in the program got absorbed in either employment or internship positions. The 2019 and 2021 program were done in collaboration with Moniheli ry.
‘The impact of good mentors on young people is often undervalued, particularly among young professionals transitioning into the workforce’. Florence Anipa, mentee from the 2021 program. Read the full blog post of this success story Here
We are currently accepting applications for Mentors. Interested? Sign up HERE.
Next program: February – June 2022
Contact: Program coordinator, Nana Assyne: nana@thinkafrica.fi or at info@thinkafrica.fi
