Background:
Embark grew as a unique partnership between Xynteo, Unilever Turkey, United Work and Gelecek Daha Net (GDN) in 2017. Our programs are implemented by GDN in Turkey. GDN increases the employability of young people in Turkey through online and offline services empowering young people. Services vary from online mentoring, coaching, training, surveys, workshops, youth camps, etc. GDN encourages youth to be proactive members of society, gears them up with 21st-century life-skills and empowers them to make more informed life, education and career choices.
What is reverse mentoring?
Reverse mentoring subverts the traditional way we think about mentorship. At its core is the belief that senior leaders have much to learn from young people with fresh insights who are often at the forefront of cultural and technological change. The practice has been adopted recently by companies such as Microsoft, Mastercard, and General Electric to give senior leaders a better understanding of generational or gender-based differences in technology, culture, values, motivation, and skills. We have learned through Embark that there is also incredible value in pairing people with different cultural backgrounds or life experiences to challenge assumptions and build bridges.
How does it work?
Each round of mentoring pairs young refugee mentors with business leaders who match their field of interest. Together each pair agrees on their objectives and meeting agenda, then engages in a series of mostly face-to-face conversations over three months. Evaluations of past cohorts found that:
- Embark helps refugee mentors gain new soft skills, develop career plans and receive support for personal growth; feel empowered to start their own business; and, in many cases, secure jobs.
- Meanwhile, business leader mentees deepen their understanding of the refugee demographics, improve their strategy for recruiting overlooked talent, and learn about new tech, trends, and social media.
Why Join Embark?
Watch a video here featuring Embark mentors and mentees sharing their experiences.