Mentoring: a powerful tool for tackling inequality

​​In this European Year of Skills 2023, designed to stimulate lifelong learning, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted at its plenary session an opinion on mentoring.

In its opinion, the CoR describes mentoring as “a powerful and meaningful tool” for many parts of the population – including entrepreneurs – and argues that mentoring has demonstrated its positive effects in terms of personal and professional empowerment and civic engagement, success rates, access to employment and the fight against social and economic inequalities.

The opinion calls for mentoring practices to be standardised across the European Union, advocating for the creation of an EU label that would ensure “greater visibility and recognition to quality mentoring programmes” and stressing the importance of ensuring the continuity of European, state, local and regional authority funding, and support the strategic use of existing EU funds, such as the European Social Fund (ESF). Members of the CoR also encouraged companies, private entities and training and apprenticeship organisations to promote a supportive mentoring ecosystem.

The rapporteur, Anne Rudisuhli (FR/Renew), member of the Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council, said: "Mentoring does not only transform youth, it transforms society, breaking prejudices related to age, origin, gender, education, the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods and the world of work. It would be inexplicable not to use such a tool across the EU, especially at a time of digital and energy transition and in the face of increased migration flows. This is in essence what I wanted to communicate to European, national and sub-national decision-makers."

Cities and regions play a central role in steering mentoring programmes, in particular by ensuring implementation adapted to the local needs of the population and responding adequately to local demands and specific situations.

In France, mentoring has reduced the risk of dropping out in the first year of tertiary education by 30% and increased the chances of finding a job six months after completing studies by 18%, the opinion states. The opinion also cites examples of successful mentoring schemes in Italy and the Spanish region of Navarra, and notes that mentoring has proven benefits for people in work, students, job-seekers, immigrants, and people with disabilities. Recommendations in the opinion include a proposal to create a European mentoring network, to enable the exchange of best practices.

The CoR’s Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC) works closely with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) on a range of issues.

The European Skills Agenda is designed to help individuals and businesses develop more and better skills and to put them to use.

The European Pillar of Social Rights aims to help build fairer and more well-functioning labour markets as well as good welfare systems.

Joint activities are also being organised between the CoR and the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA), which unites governments and key stakeholders with the aim of strengthening the quality, supply and overall image of apprenticeships across Europe, while also promoting the mobility of apprentices.​​