Mentoring scheme for Huddersfield Business School final year students returns

A mentoring scheme for final year undergraduates within the University of Huddersfield’s Business School has re-launched with a Meet the Mentors networking event.

Over the next three months, they will gain valuable career guidance, inspiration and job application support from an experienced industry mentor, as well as help to manage the transition from student to graduate.

A total of 24 mentor–mentee partnerships were secured at the event, where students first took part in a structured advice session, meeting potential mentors representing a diverse range of industries in turn.

Afterwards, the students were invited to indicate their preferred mentor, helping to create tailored mentoring relationships.

Keeley Hutton, Clinic and Stakeholder Engagement Officer within the Stakeholder Engagement Team at Huddersfield Business School, commented: “Our mentoring programme is designed to empower final-year students as they prepare for life beyond university. By connecting them with experienced professionals and alumni, we help students build confidence, identify strengths, and develop the skills employers value most. This support gives them a competitive edge in a challenging job market and ensures they leave university ready to take the next step in their careers.”

The scheme is designed to allow students to connect with an experienced industry professional who can offer advice on how to excel in their final year and how to achieve their career goals.

In addition, the mentors can be assured of making a meaningful difference in the lives of students, as well as enhancing their own professional development and growing their own network.

Each student involved then receives three mentoring sessions with their matched mentor throughout December to February.

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Feedback from students involved in the mentoring scheme in previous years has been positive. Charlie Lavelle, a 2024 Marketing graduate, said: “My mentor worked within the industry I was interested in. They helped me look for jobs and gave me feedback on my CV and cover letter. They also had meetings with me to work on my interview prep. Overall, I have learnt a lot and found my mentor’s knowledge extremely helpful when applying for jobs.”

Current student Eloise Edwards added: “I wanted to be able to talk to professionals in the industry to gather realistic feedback and advice on how to tackle the job market after graduation. It also created an environment for me to develop my networking communication skills which will be highly valuable to enhance my career prospects.”

Some of the organisations involved this time include Lloyds Banking Group, Sainsbury's, Yorkshire Water, West Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, SharkNinja and the LEGO Group.

Vicky Marsland, business owner of The Mindful Coach, commented: “I wanted to be a mentor so I can provide my knowledge to someone else, talk about the mistakes that I have made. I’d like to guide people to miss some of those out and have a better experience, or even just support some people. It’s about asking the mentee where do you want to be and how are we going to get you there. That’s what I would want and what I would offer as a mentor.”

Robina Shah, Owner of Roshah Designs, added: “One of the reasons I wanted to be a mentor was so I could pass on some knowledge that I have from setting up my own business and how I found the industry over the years, what I’ve learned from the industry, positive and negative. Also, get some input from them as well because this new generation has got a lot of new ideas. It works both ways.”

Lucy Shuttvine, Founder of The Career Remote, commented: “I wanted to be a mentor because I genuinely want all students to have the best opportunity to get a job. I know it’s not easy as there’s a catch-22 situation of companies wanting graduates to have experience, but how can they get experience if no one is willing to give them a job? Any tools, tricks or contacts they can have to help support them, I really want to give them that and support them in whichever way possible.”