VIC Mentoring Program & Breakfast Launch 2022

We launch the Victorian mentoring program over breakfast around late February every year after applications for mentees and mentors have closed by the end of January to allow sufficient time for careful partnering of mentoring partnerships. the AWA Victorian branch has been fortunate to have received Stantec support for many years now.

With nominations now closed and the pairing complete, we are planning for the face to face launch event, which will also offer a virtual attendance option, Thursday 17 February 2022 at Stantec.

During the breakfast launch, mentoring participants will hear from Peter Robinson & Amanda Hazell, a long-term mentoring partnership, have an opportunity to ask questions before being introduced to their mentoring partner.

Event Details

Mentoring program registration costs:
Member: $45
Mentor: free

Note:  Program cost includes live or virtual attendance at breakfast launch.
Registrations for the 2022 VIC Mentoring Program have now closed. 

If you ever wished you had someone to talk to about your career; no matter what stage of your career you are in - become a mentee! Or are you now ready and keen to make a difference to an up-and-coming water professional whilst developing your coaching & leadership skills as a mentor, we would welcome your mentor application. We always hear that our mentors learn as much from their mentee as they hope to teach them; we encourage young water professionals to support graduates or students whist we seek support from senior water leaders to assist development of more experienced water professionals. 

Sign me up
Interested? If you are a mentee; you can email vicbranch@awa.asn.au to see if we can match you up to any not yet paired mentors. Alternatively you can register for 2023 once nominations open up at the end of 2022.

If you want to take part in the program as a mentee, you will need to:
1 - be eligible for the program as a financial AWA member, which means having individual membership or be listed as a Nominated Member on your employer's corporate membership
2 - register and pay before you are paired with a mentorship partner and

Only individual AWA members (professional or student) who are financial at the time of their application are eligible to take part in the AWA VIC Mentoring Program as a MENTEE. If you are an employee of a corporate member you must be listed as an Nominated Member on their membership. Water Supporter members are not eligible.

To thank mentors for their support of the program there is no cost to attend the launch event nor to take part in the program as a mentor.

The Benefits of Mentoring
Mentoring has been identified as an important professional development tool. The AWA mentoring program is a great opportunity for people in the water industry to gain advice and develop new relationships and skills from industry leaders outside their current network.  On the flip side, this program offers senior professionals the chance to further develop their coaching skills and inspire young water professionals to advance their career within the water industry.

How does the AWA mentoring program work? 
The Association pairs mentors and mentees from the information provided in application forms. The more detail provided in applications, the more accurate the match! 

Mentors & mentees will be introduced at the launch breakfast and contact information shared prior or on the day. During the breakfast, each mentoring pair will agree on how often and where to meet and we will provide information to help spark discussion points. The program runs for one year but your relationship doesn’t have to end there, some mentoring partnerships last a lifetime! Attendance at the breakfast is highly recommended to take part in the mentoring program as experience has taught us that it sets the program up for a successful year.

No training is required for our mentors. You just need to be an experienced water professional willing to provide guidance and leadership to an assigned mentee.  We will provide the introductory session, any materials you need and contact details of an experienced mentor should you need to seek advice and conduct surveys throughout the year to ensure you're all on track to meet your goals.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact your VIC Member Engagement Manager via email vicbranch@awa.asn.au or mobile 0488 344 114. 

We thank our sponsor, STANTEC for their continued support of the AWA VIC Mentoring Program.

Please note you will need to be double vaccinated and show your Covid-19 Certificate at the venue for in-person attendance.

COVIDSafe Event Guidelines 
The Australian Water Association has closely followed Government recommendations to develop COVIDSafe Guidelines for AWA events going forward. These guidelines will be in place at this event and have been developed to ensure attendee health and safety. Your support is also essential to keep this event COVIDSafe. We ask that delegates observe good hygiene and physical distancing at the event, where possible. If you are feeling unwell, please do not attend the event. Please email events@awa.asn.au at least 24 hours prior to the event if you are unable to attend due to illness. Under these circumstances a transfer of your registration to a colleague will be accepted at no cost. If Government restrictions impact your ability to attend, or AWA's ability to hold the event, an AWA team member will be in touch to discuss your registration.