At MCR, we are passionate that organisations of all types recognise the importance of shaping the workforce of tomorrow and ensuring its diversity and equality. That’s why we’re thrilled to see more organisations, like legal firm Morton Fraser, who are using mentoring as a way to help achieve this as highlighted during this year’s National Mentoring Day.
MCR’s CEO, Graeme McEwan, was invited to appear on the Morton Fraser Podcast to discuss mentoring and the impact it has for our young people. Graeme was welcomed by Chair, Jenny Dickson, and HR Director, Martin Glover who is also an MCR mentor and keen supporter of the programme.
Graeme was eager to highlight how important business partners are to MCR’s success and sustainability. With one third of MCR’s mentors coming from businesses, our partners are vital in making the difference to young people across the country and, as we expand into more local authorities, we’re always looking for more partners.
In the interview, Graeme said:
“We work in partnership with businesses to deliver our programme and the success of our programme is down to the strength of the relationships we have with the individual businesses and all the people that work there. One third of our mentors come from businesses. We rely on strong links to make sure that people want to come and help us and help young people to achieve all that they can in life.
“Partnerships with businesses are incredibly important. The sense of self-worth and feelings towards their own business improve through mentoring… The key thing is helping young people to achieve everything they want to in life and that’s what businesses help us to do.”
From a people development perspective, Martin knows all about the benefits of mentoring and coaching. When the partnership with MCR was created, he was one of the first people to sign up. Martin reflects on his experiences of mentoring his young person:
“Mentorship is happening right across the country. So we have mentors in Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and we’re hoping to have more in the lowlands. That gives us a nice spread across Scotland.
“I work in HR, I’m used to mentoring and coaching and right before my first session, I had a fear that I too wasn’t going to be able to do the job. What I would say to people is that this is a very natural thing to experience. Very quickly though, I got into the process and I’m thoroughly enjoying learning things about myself. Just try it, I’m sure you’ll learn something about yourself through the process and that you’re doing something incredibly positive that will improve the life chances of young people.”
Interested in MCR’s origin story? Listen to MCR Founder, Iain MacRitchie, who was interviewed by The Braw and Brave podcast.
We would like to extend a huge thanks to both Morton Fraser and The Braw and The Brave podcasts for welcoming the MCR team and supporting us.
If you would be interested in speaking to the MCR team or are interested in becoming a partner, please get in touch.
