The mentoring program – which now also has mentors beyond the ARM – has mentors and students meeting together at the school for about an hour and a half once a week. The meetings take place during school hours. During the sessions the students and mentors work together either researching, making enquiries, writing letters, organising and taking excursions to workplaces, and similar. They keep in touch by telephone.
From the beginning, the criteria for involvement by students were tightly specified. They are required to:
attend every session with their mentor – if ill and cannot attend school they must notify the school AND their mentor. The students are reminded that mentors are offering their involvement (and travel) at their own expense;
participate in at least one excursion beyond the school – these should be designed so the student can work for a short time alongside someone who does the type of work they are interested in or provides an opportunity to research a number of employment opportunities;
share what you have learnt by making a presentation to a group of people – how they do this is up to them; and
catch up on work missed in the classes that occur whilst they are involved in the project.
Initially mentors were offered half a day of training where they were introduced to the concept of the project and given some strategies for helping young people. The evaluation of that first program indicated that a significantly enhanced training program for mentors was wanted. The mentors now complete a 27-hour Mentor Training Course through TAFE Outreach (over a three-month period) before meeting the students. They must also pass the NSW Department of Education and Training Probity Check and complete the Child Protection Legislation Course run by the Department prior to working with students. Matching mentors and students also follows a carefully structured procedure which includes an activity session for potential mentors and students in which the dynamics of the interactions can be gauged.
Following the weekly session with students, the mentors debrief, sometimes over lunch or a cup of coffee, with relevant school staff. One of the exciting things about the project, according to one observer, is that the mentors have developed a real sense of belonging to the school. There is no doubt that the mentors feel they have profited from their experience. Two examples:
I found the program completely startling. My idea of mentoring was completely different, so learning to wait for someone to tell me what they want rather than me telling them what I think they should do is quite a change for me — it's teaching me a form of patience I never had before.
In most cases they [the kids] just need someone to talk to. Often that someone is not an authority figure — not a teacher or a parent — just someone who doesn't judge them." He went on to say, "These opportunities are helping to change attitudes about our young people. And I think young people's attitudes about us oldies are changing too. This can only be for the better.
At the end of the term, the students are required to share their learning by making a presentation at the formal celebration. "This public demonstration of learning has become a key component of the program," according to Wilson, "it makes the students accountable to themselves and their mentors."
Each young person is offered personal mentor support for a period up to 12 months. The mentor will keep a record of the career development of the young person and look out for opportunities and contacts. This support is monitored and encouraged by the project coordinator.
As with the mentors, students report many positive outcomes. The experience of Michael, a Year 11 student, is not unusual:
I was one of the first to complete the program. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I wasn't thinking of leaving school, I just had no real direction. I got a really good mentor and he helped me to check out a range of career opportunities that he thought I should consider, given my academic ability. He found contacts for me and set it up so I could speak to Dick Smith. Together we went to Bankstown Airport and researched many types of aviation-related jobs. I'm still in touch with Tom. As a result of his assistance I want to do something in aviation or navigation and it has influenced my subject choices for this year — otherwise I may not have had the right combinations of subjects to even consider a career in this field.
The description of the original Berkeley Vale program did make one point under the heading ‘issues and dilemmas’. It was that gaining the initial funding from the Department and the support from Dusseldorp Skills Forum was instrumental in kick-starting the program. The key resourcing issue is providing the time in terms of teacher release to get programs like this up and running and to maintain them.
Since the original Berkeley Vale program, Plan-It Youth has expanded into 8 high schools in the Central Coast Area and 6 other areas in NSW. Over 550 students have participated in the mentoring program on the Central Coast and over 400 mentors have been trained on the Central Coast.
The NSW Department of Education and Training provide funding for Plan-It Youth co-ordinator positions, which is done on a year to year basis so continuity of funding remains an issue for all areas. However, one of the strengths of the Central Coast program is the strong partnerships that exist between Plan-It Youth, the community, DET, TAFE, Dusseldorp Skills Forum, schools and business.
SOURCES:
Reforming Schools Through Innovative Teaching ‘Plan-It Mentoring Program’ Feb 2001, by Jim Cumming and Christine Owen available from: http://www.dsf.org.au/papers/80.htm 
The Dusseldorp Skills Forum has developed many resources for Plan-it Mentoring programs which can be retrieved from http://www.dsf.org.au/
Additional information added by Debbie Coleman, Plan-it Youth Co-ordinator (April 2004)