Researcher Peter De Cuyper lays out a conceptual framework for mentoring-to-work using empirical data from Belgian research, among wich research conducted at DUO for a JOB by Lisa Bagnoli.
While more traditional labour market integration tools focus mainly on economic capital (= formal education, work experience, hard skills), the author finds evidence of the added value of mentoring on 5 additional kinds of capital:
🤝 social capital: a mentor expands the network of the mentee
🏛️ cultural capital: mentees receive job interview advice, often tailored to a specific sector
ℹ️ information capital: mentees learn to better use tools in the job search, know better where to find job openings and gain insight into specific sector knowledge
🗣️ language capital: the informal meetings with the mentor help mentees to boost their language knowledge
🤯 psychological capital: mentees increase self-confidence, are more persistant and deal better with setbacks in their jobsearch