ImpleMentor is a project developed by Trinity Fields School and Resource Centre in Caerphilly, Wales, UK. They are working with partners in Nicosia, Cyprus; Odense, Denmark: Pistoia, Italy and Swansea, Wales, UK to develop the mentoring skills of Apprentices, Learning Support Assistants and those in similar roles supporting disadvantaged, disabled or disengaged children and young people in education and training.

The project aims to develop and pilot an accredited training unit for apprentice mentors, Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) or equivalent, which is specific to this context, common across the partners, and which will enhance the current training, where available, for apprentices and LSAs. The partners will research the role of Apprentices, Mentors and LSAs in the partner countries, and compare and ‘match’ the training provision available to them. Based on the outcomes of the research, they will develop a mentoring training module, based on the current “Understanding Peer Mentoring” and “Introduction to Peer Mentoring” courses developed through the Peer Mentor Support and Euromentor projects, to add value to existing provision. This will form the basis of a work-based training route focussing on the skills needed to support children and young people into education, vocational training and employment.

The project will produce a report on the variations in role of Apprentices, Mentors and LSAs in different partner countries and the training provision available to them, which will be invaluable to other countries and organisations looking at developing work-based training programmes in this field.  The main outcome of the project will be a framework for developing generic support and mentoring skills within Apprentice and LSA training, which is transferable across different countries and cultures. Practical materials will include a mentoring module with associated guidance on use, assessment criteria and moderation protocol supported by a bank of training materials.

It is hoped that this will help to increase recognition of the valuable role of Apprentice Mentors, Learning Support Assistants or other support staff in enhancing disabled and disadvantaged young people’s opportunities for education, training and progression into employment as well as increasing the employment  opportunities for the trained beneficiaries.

If you would like to learn more about this project or become involved in the training or development of the programme, please contact either Liz Heaven at: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or Carrie T Jones at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or Stefano Tirati, by clicking here.

Visit the project website at www.peermentor.org