LATINOLIFE'S MENTORING PROGRAMME

LatinoLife has been mentoring Latin creatives on an informal basis for over 20 years. Last year we launched a formal Mentoring Programme which supports creatives of Latin American or Spanish origin (either born or residing in the UK) who have embarked on a career in the UK but needed guidance, expertise and help to develop themselves professionally and/or personally. The results have been great and now we are launching our second round of mentoring. The aim of this programme is to help people of Latin American heritage through confidential sessions with a professional in their industry of interest or with the relevant experience to help the mentee shape their career.

by The LatinoLife Team

LatinoLife’s carefully selected mentors have on average 20 years’ experience in their profession, either in organisations or as freelancers, have reached high positions in their careers and are widely respected in their industries. The mentees can be either starting their careers in the UK or have professional experience in their own countries, but seek advice, knowledge or experience of the UK creative industry. The relationship is beneficial for both the mentors (who develop by guiding others) and mentees (who develop by being guided).

WHAT IS MENTORING?

Our mentoring programme matches people with expansive experience in the creative industries (mentor) with those who could benefit from this experience (mentee) in order for both to embark on a process in which the mentor supports the professional and personal growth of the mentee with encouragement, guidance and advice.

HOW DO MENTEES BENEFIT?

Mentees are generally looking for guidance and encouragement as well as knowledge and expertise from those who have had successful careers in similar areas of interest to the mentee. They seek to strengthen their toolkit and be better equipped to overcome challenges and spot and seize opportunities when they appear in order to get closer to achieving their objectives. Success can be anything from defining goals, receiving general encouragement, emotional support and professional advice to working towards those goals with view to advancing or accelerating their career/creative outputs and achieving success in the activity they love.

What do we expect from a mentee?

• A respectful attitude and commitment to active participation.

• Proaction in contacting your mentor and scheduling meetings.

• Reliability, punctuality and engagement in those meetings.

• Preparation and thought ahead of meetings with view to proposing dilemmas and relevant questions to the mentor (we advise preparing a list of questions)

• Clear and concise communication around expectations and objectives sought from the sessions, centred around a specific needs and challenges (we recommend preparing a list of objectives ahead of the first meeting)

• Responsibility for following up on suggestions made by the mentor outside of the sessions

• To share feedback on the programme when it ends with LatinoLife

THE SCHEDULE

The LatinoLife mentoring programme lasts 6 months.

Here is our calendar of events

15/08/25: Launch of programme via our database

15/08/25 - 31/09/25: reception of applications (forms sent)

31/109/25: Deadline for applications

31/09/25 - 15/10/25: evaluation/assignment of mentees to mentors

12/10/25: mentors/mentees to accept their assigned mentor/mentee.

15/10/25: Introductions made to mentors and mentees.

15/10/25 - 15/03/25: process of mentoring active

5/03/26: mentoring programme ends

15/03/26 - 01/03/26 mentors and mentees asked to give feedback End March 2026 - live networking event where all mentees and mentors will be invited

Engagement Process and Progress

LatinoLife will introduce mentor and mentee via email. After the introduction is made, the main driver of the engagement should be the mentee. The onus is on them to express to the mentor their needs and expectations e.g how regularly they should meet and general expectations of engagement. In an initial meeting with the mentor, the mentee may want to describe the challenges they are facing and needs and desires. It would also be useful for both to record a list of specific goals the mentee wishes to achieve from their engagement in the initial session in order for us track the mentee’s progress toward that goal by the end of the programme.

The onus of progress is largely on the mentee, while the mentor’s responsibility is to guide the mentee and encourage accountability. We encourage the mentee and mentor to keep notes/journal the meetings as a way to keep track of progress. LatinoLife requires a meeting at least once a month (3 meetings in total) but this should be established according to the needs of the mentee and availability of both.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST AND BE THE FIRST TO HEAR ABOUT THE LAUNCH GET IN TOUCH HERE