Summary

The aim of the study was to assess how well the program was working, to identify the benefits of the mentoring services provided and to assess the true impact of the program on retention. A range of methods were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data including surveys and interviews with participants, mentors and stakeholders and analysis of commencement, retention and completion data from the State Training Services Integrated Vocational Education and Training System (STS IVETS) database. The program has provided mentoring support to a relatively small percentage of Aboriginal apprentices and trainees – somewhere between 2% and 5% over the last 3 years. Early findings suggest that the mentoring program can improve retention however to achieve a more significant impact the program needs to address a number of issues relating to the timeliness of the support offered and participant selection.