Do work-based mentoring programs work?
Most research and evaluation on work-based mentoring has focused on adult career development. In general, this research has shown consistent associations between mentor support and career advancement.4 As Simonetti (1999) humorously observed: “Without mentors, breaking through the glass ceiling can be “paneful.”5 • Although relatively scarce, the research on youth work-place mentoring programs is also quite promising. Students involved in well-organized, work-based and apprenticeship programs have shown psychosocial, professional and educational gains.6 Research also suggests that work-place mentoring and apprenticeship can increase youth’s optimism about their occupational future and lower their levels of aggression and delinquency.7 • Linehman for example, evaluated a work-based, adult-youth mentoring program established by the Philadelphia school district. Participating in the program for more than half of the academic year was positively associated with students’ grade point averag
