The number of paraplanners looking to join The Paraplanner Club’s mentoring programme increased in 2023, with 76 applications received for the service, up 50% on 2022.
Once a mentee is accepted, they are normally allocated to a mentor within a week, explains Siân Davies Cole, co-founder of the Club. “We try to match what the mentee wants help with to a mentor who can best give them the guidance they need.
“The scheme is free for paraplanners and all conversations are strictly 100% confidential.”
The top three topics raised by paraplanners in 2023 were:
- Help with exams techniques and strategies
- How and where next to progress in a paraplanning career
- Moving from administrator to paraplanner
Siân says: “There has been a widening of topics from 2022, where the main topics were exams and changing jobs. It seems that people have either moved firms to the job they want or become adjusted to firms wanting them to go back into the office. So what we are seeing now is people saying, ‘I’m where I want to be, now I want to progress my career through further qualifications or looking at promotion or the next stage for me’.
“What we’ve also seen in 2023 is people who have been through the programme before, coming back for help with a different area.
Mentor numbers stayed around 23 during the year, as some mentors stood down and others joined, says Sam Patterson, head of mentoring for the Club. “Mentors volunteer to take part and we expect to see them take a break now and then, he says. “We have more mentors joining soon, which will take us up to 25.”
Paraplanners looking for a mentor or to become one can find out more at: https://www.theparaplannerclub.co.uk
The Paraplanner Club is sponsored by Professional Paraplanner
