Mentoring Competence Framework for the European Solidarity Corps
Supported by:
Content overview
A few words of introduction
1 Seek Clarity! The Mentoring Competence Framework for the ESC Programme
2 Building the Mentoring Competence Framework
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework
- What are the benefits of the Mentoring Competence Framework?
- How do we understand competence and competence framework?
- What is the structure of the Mentoring Competence Framework?
4 Introducing the Mentoring Competence Framework
- PART A: Nine Focus Areas of Mentoring
- PART B: 22 Mentoring Competences
- PART C: 4x4 Guidelines for Mentoring
5 Exploring the Mentoring Competence Framework
6 Applying the Mentoring Competence Framework
7 The Mentoring under Construction Community
A few words of introduction
Miguel Tabera, SALTO ESC
1 Seek Clarity! The Mentoring Competence Framework for the ESC Programme
Mentoring is one of the main support measures of the European Solidarity Corps Programme: it contributes both to the value of the volunteering project and the well-being of the volunteer. The Mentoring Competence Framework provides clear and effective guidance for mentoring practitioners in the ESC Programme. The framework is for mentors who would like to develop their mentoring competence and improve their mentoring practice; project coordinators who would like to set up and offer a quality mentoring programme within their organisation; facilitators and trainers who would like to design and carry out workshops and training courses on mentoring; as well as National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres that would like to support mentoring initiatives within the ESC Programme. The Mentoring Competence Framework was developed by mentoring practitioners of the Mentoring under Construction Community, an initiative that supports learning and developing mentoring and coaching competences and helps improve the quality of mentoring and coaching practices within and outside the European Solidarity Corps Programme. This initiative was launched by the Romanian National Agency and the SALTO ESC Resource Centre, and supported by the French National Agency and SALTO EuroMed, as well as other National Agencies. The main purpose of the Mentoring Competence Framework is to improve the quality of mentoring support within European Solidarity Corps projects by offering clear and effective guidance to mentoring practitioners.
2 Building the Mentoring Competence Framework
2020
2022
2023
Seek Clarity! Building the Mentoring Competence Framework The MCuR research served as a starting point for building the Mentoring Competence Framework, with its insights and recommendations providing a clear direction. The search for clarity became the key driver for a new initiative - a group of experts from the Mentoring under Construction Community formed a Task Force to kick-start the development of a competence framework for mentoring. The framework aims to clarify the tasks of a mentor, define the mentoring competences needed to perform these tasks and provide a set of ethical principles for mentoring.
Spotlight on mentoring! The Mentoring under Construction (MuC) initiative took off in 2019 and brought together practitioners sharing a passion for mentoring and coaching. Initiated by the National Agency for Community Programmes in the Field of Education and Vocational Training (Romania) and the SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre, Mentoring under Construction aims to raise the quality of mentoring and coaching both within and outside the European Solidarity Corps Programme. Since 2020, Mentoring under Construction has been developing quality content to support the development of mentoring and coaching competences and refine practices in this area.
The state of mentoring within the ESC Programme Mentoring and Coaching under Research (MCUR) explored and documented mentoring and coaching practices within the European Solidarity Corps Programme. One of the main insights from this research was the necessity to clarify the tasks of a mentor, to specify the competences and ethical practices required to fulfil the role of a mentor in ESC projects.
The Mentoring Competence Framework contributes to the European Solidarity Corps Programme and provides clarity for the many actors in the field: mentors, project managers and project coordinators, trainers, authors and researchers.
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework
What are the benefits of the Mentoring Competence Framework? The Mentoring Competence Framework encourages the enhancement of the quality of mentoring support in European Solidarity Corps projects. The framework provides clear and effective guidance for mentoring practitioners while balancing the need for clarity with the flexibility required to adapt mentoring to the organisational and local context.
On a practical level, the Mentoring Competence Framework
- provides an architecture that aligns tasks, competences and ethical guidelines for mentoring,
- clarifies the tasks of a mentor, defines competences needed to carry out mentoring and offers ethical guidelines for mentoring,
- encourages mentors to continuously develop their mentoring competence,
- strengthens mentoring support and mentoring programmes within the organisation,
- provides guidelines for designing training courses for mentors and organisations.
In addition, the Mentoring Competence Framework
- recognises mentoring as a significant professional support measure,
- emphasises the importance and value of mentoring and the recognition of mentors,
- creates a common language for mentoring practitioners, encourages reflection, rethinking and adjustment of mentoring support,
- allows for the alignment of activities that enhance the quality of mentoring support
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework (cont.)
A Mentor or a Mentoring System? A Mentoring support can be organised in various ways. One organisation may define and delegate certain tasks to one or several mentors, while others may establish a mentoring system in which tasks and responsibilities are shared among mentors and other staff members, depending on the needs and available resources. What matters most is to ensure that the various mentoring focus areas are covered and that the division of roles and tasks is clear for everyone involved in supporting the volunteer.
From here, we are going to clarify how we understand “competence” and “competence framework”.
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework (cont.)
How do we understand competence and competence framework? Competence is the ability to do something well (Cambridge Dictionary). Competences refer to specific tasks within a specific working context and are often described as a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Competences can be trained and developed. Generally, a competence framework is a structure that defines competence and behaviours expected of individuals within an organisation. Ideally, it aligns necessary tasks with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that individuals need to effectively perform their roles and responsibilities. Modern competence frameworks go beyond merely listing knowledge, skills and attitudes. They conceptualise competences to ensure and support not only the effective execution of specific tasks (“doing something well”), but also the demonstration of specific behaviours (“how to do something well”) that are required, valued, recognised and rewarded in a specific field. Additionally, a modern competence framework encompasses values, mindset and ethical practices as needed.
The Mentoring Competence Framework includes focus areas of mentoring (mentoring tasks), mentoring competences (described as knowledge, skills and attitudes) and guidelines for mentoring (values, mindset and code of conduct).
4 Introducing the Mentoring Competence Framework
What is the structure of the Mentoring Competence Framework? In line with the recommendations of the Mentoring and Coaching under Research report, a competence framework includes the following three components: the tasks of a mentor, the competences needed to fulfil these tasks and guidelines for mentoring.
The Mentoring Competence Framework consists of three parts:
PART B: Mentoring Competence Competences identified for each focus area, describing specific behaviours along with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to demonstrate them effectively
PART A: Focus Areas of Mentoring The different domains of mentoring, each with a list of specific mentoring tasks
PART C: Guidelines for Mentoring Important values and mindsets that underpin mentoring support, along with ethical guidelines for mentoring
PART A: 9 Focus Areas of Mentoring
The Mentoring Competence Framework is a flexible guide that can be scaled up as mentors and organisations gain more experience or resources. Mentoring activities within the framework are summarised and divided into 9 focus areas, each detailing specific mentoring tasks. The areas that are identified as essential based on the MCuR results as well as the experience of many mentoring practitioners are summarised in one core category: providing guidance. Other focus areas are considered additional (increasing impact) or optional (enhancing collaboration). This provides mentors and organisations with a clear orientation highlighting where to start and what to focus on.
Let’s explore these categories!
The mentor’s role is to encourage and empower volunteers to integrate and collaborate with others, enabling them to make meaningful contributions to the organisation. This may include providing ongoing training and regular feedback to the volunteer. Mentors also plan and document their mentoring activities and give feedback to the organisation to improve the volunteer’s experience and project outcomes. Enhancing collaboration includes optional focus areas such as: - Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
- Managing groups and teams
- Planning, documenting and reporting
Enhancing collaboration (optional)
The mentor’s role in increasing impact involves fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, promoting the values of the ESC Programme and helping to create an inclusive and safe environment for the volunteer. The focus areas of increasing impact are additional and include: - Facilitating learning and development
- Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
- Ensuring inclusion
Increasing Impact (additional)
The role of a mentor in providing guidance to volunteers is holistic, encompassing not only the specific tasks but also the personal and cultural aspects of the volunteer experience. As a support person, the mentor offers orientation, helps navigate challenges and ensures a positive, enriching experience for the volunteer. The core focus areas in providing guidance include: - Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
- Supporting the volunteer’s well-being
- Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Providing guidance (core)
An effective approach to implementing and improving mentoring support is to start by providing guidance, which encompasses the core focus areas of mentoring. From there, additional focus areas can be introduced to increase the impact of mentoring, while optional focus areas further enhance collaboration.
PART B: 22 Mentoring Competences
For each of the nine focus areas of mentoring, 2-3 mentoring competences have been identified and described in terms of specific behaviours that mentors demonstrate in this area, along with a set of supporting knowledge, skills and attitudes. The behaviours and competences are organised around the three main categories:
- providing guidance (core),
- increasing impact (additional) and
- enhancing collaboration (optional).
This structure offers mentors and organisations a clear orientation on where to begin and what to prioritise.
Let's see the mentoring competences related to the focus areas
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Optional
Enhacing collaboration
Managing groups and teams
Planning, documenting and reporting
Additional
Facilitating learning and development
Increasing impact
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Ensuring inclusion
Lorem Ipsum
Core
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Details
Providing guidance
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Lorem Ipsum
Details
PART B: 22 Mentoring Competences (cont.)
Mentors embarking on their journey, along with mentoring organisations with less experience and fewer resources, can use these three categories as a step-by-step approach to implementation. These stages allow mentors and organisations to first focus on core areas of interest and mentoring competences, then gradually expand their mentoring capabilities as they develop.
Finally, in the third stage, mentors can further expand their competences to include managing groups and teams as well as planning, documenting and reporting, as their capacity and experience increase.
In the second stage, mentors can build on the core competences and move on to competences like facilitating learning and development or raising awareness of the values of the ESC Programme. This may require more training and organisational support, but it does enhance the overall volunteer experience.
In the first stage mentors focus on critical competences for mentoring, such as building trust and supporting local and cultural integration. These skills are vital for ensuring the well-being of the volunteer and are often manageable for small organisations with limited resources.
Now, we are ready to explore the third part of the framework, the ethical guidelines...
Additional focus areas
Core focus areas
Optional focus areas
Increasing impact
Enhacing collaboration
Providing guidance
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Details
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Facilitating learning and development
Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Supporting reflection and assessment of learning and development
Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Raising awareness of learning and development
Supporting the onboarding process
Building trusting relationships
Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Details
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Managing groups and teams
Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme's values
Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Supporting team-integration process
Supporting well-being practices
Supporting team cooperation
Raising awareness of well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Ensuring inclusion
Planning, documenting and reporting
Lorem Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum
Providing support in managing difficult situations
Providing support in managing conflicts
Supporting self-regulation of emotions
Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Providing reinforced mentorship
Planning mentoring support
Documenting mentoring activities
Reporting to the organisation
PART C: 3x4 Guidelines for Mentoring
The third part of the framework is a compilation of guidelines for mentoring. In line with the holistic approach to non-formal learning - recognising that we all learn with our hearts, minds and hands - we have developed a set of 12 mentoring guidelines based on this principle. Values - Mindset - Ethical practice Values (heart) represent a set of principles and standards that guide our behaviours and actions. Mindset (mind) refers to the intentions and beliefs that help us navigate our decisions and actions. Ethical practice (Hand), or the code of conduct, encompasses a set of (written) rules and guidelines that ensure quality mentoring. The four values that we consider the most important in guiding mentoring support are integrity, self-agency, dignity and togetherness. These four values serve as the first four guiding principles for the “heart”. In addition, four principles are formulated for the “mind” and another four for the “hand”. Together, these principles constitute the guidelines for mentoring.
Mindset
Ethical guidelines for mentoring
Code of conduct
Values
5 Exploring the Mentoring Competence Framework
The current introduction of the framework guides you one-by-one through the focus area and allows you to explore specific tasks, behavours and competences related to those focus aras.
In 2025, we will create various self-assessments for mentors and organisations to work with those three parts of the framework independent from one another. This will allow you to dive into a certain part of the Framework or to pick a certain aspect you would like to focus on.
6 Applying the Mentoring Competence Framework
The Mentoring Competence Framework can be used by anyone wishing to enhance the quality of mentoring support within the ESC Programme, for example mentors, project coordinators, facilitators and trainers, as well as National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres. Possible practical applications
…for organisations
- Reviewing mentoring focus areas and clarifying essential areas that should be covered by mentoring support
- Creating a mentoring profile based on the focus areas and mentoring tasks
- Agreeing with mentors on focus areas and specific mentoring tasks
- Supporting mentors in developing their mentoring competences and practices
…for mentors
- Clarifying and agreeing with their project coordinators the tasks they should focus on
- Self-assessing mentoring focus areas already covered and improving and/or extending mentoring support in particular areas
- Self-assessing mentoring behaviours and identifying knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop mentoring competences
…for TEC-trainers and NAs/SALTO
- Designing workshops and training courses for mentors and organisations based on the Mentoring Competence Framework
- Creating and disseminating guidelines that enhance the quality of mentoring supportInvestigating the quality and impact of mentoring support in ESC projects
Mentoring under Construction is committed to continuously creating and developing new mentoring content that matches the focus areas of mentoring, mentoring competences and guidelines for mentoring. This content is published in the form of newsletters, articles, podcast episodes and micro-learning sessions and is available on our MuC Learning HUB on Howspace and on the HOP Online Learning Platform.
7 The Mentoring under Construction Community
Mentoring under Construction (MuC) is a community of practitioners who share a passion for mentoring/coaching and are interested in raising the quality of mentoring/coaching within and outside the European Solidarity Corps Programme. The MuC Community includes mentors, project managers/organisers, coordinators of volunteers, learning facilitators, authors, trainers and members of National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres. The main activities, events and initiatives of Mentoring under Construction aim at:
- building a vibrant, resourceful and sustainable community of mentoring/coaching practitioners,
- developing high quality mentoring/coaching content to support the development of mentoring competences,
- and contributing to improving the quality of mentoring/coaching within the European Solidarity Corps.
Mentoring under Construction was founded in 2019 by the Romanian National Agency for Community Programs in the Field of Education and Vocational Training with the support of SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre, and is supported by the Youth and European Solidarity Corps National Agencies of France and SALTO EuroMed. For annual events, Mentoring under Construction cooperates with various other National Agencies.
Here is how you can find us and join the community:
Mentoring under Construction Community on Facebook
Join our Learning HUB on Howspace
Mentoring under Construction on SALTO
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Editorial
The Mentoring Competence Framework has been developed by the Mentoring under Construction Community. Mentoring under Construction is an initiative supported by the National Agency for Community Programmes in the Field of Education and Vocational Training (Romania), the Youth and European Solidarity Corps National Agencies of France, SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre and SALTO EuroMed. Published by SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre / OEAD Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation as part of the NET Activity 2023-NET-YOU-003 “Mentoring under Construction Experts Task Force Meeting” Ebendorferstraße 7, 1010 Vienna www.oead.at Coordination Miguel Tabera, SALTO ESC Resource Centre Coordination, concept and development Andreea Rabota-Buzec Michael Kimmig
Contributors (MuC Task Force) Orsolya Biro, Romania Lidia Chmielewska, Slovakia Vitalie Cîrhană, Moldova Iosif Csatlos Dima, Romania Nataša Diatková, Czech Republic Roxana Echim, Romania Raquel Ferreira, Luxembourg Jelena Ilic, Serbia Maria Dulce Marques, Portugal Corina Pintea, Romania Panayiotis Theodorou, Cyprus Framework introductory text Michael Kimmig Framework visualisation and graphic design Andreea Rabota-Buzec Proofreading Katarzyna Weyna-Kimmig Year 2024
Diving into the Mentoring Competence Framework
Supported by:
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Optional
Enhacing collaboration
Managing groups and teams
Planning, documenting and reporting
Additional
Facilitating learning and development
Increasing impact
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Ensuring inclusion
Lorem Ipsum
Core
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Details
Providing guidance
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Lorem Ipsum
Details
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Optional
Enhacing collaboration
Managing groups and teams
Planning, documenting and reporting
Additional
Facilitating learning and development
Increasing impact
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Ensuring inclusion
Core
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Providing guidance
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Lorem Ipsum
Additional focus areas
Core focus areas
Optional focus areas
Increasing impact
Enhacing collaboration
Providing guidance
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Details
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Facilitating learning and development
Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Supporting reflection and assessment of learning and development
Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Raising awareness of learning and development
Supporting the onboarding process
Building trusting relationships
Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Details
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Managing groups and teams
Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme's values
Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Supporting team-integration process
Supporting well-being practices
Supporting team cooperation
Raising awareness of well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Ensuring inclusion
Planning, documenting and reporting
Lorem Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum
Providing support in managing difficult situations
Providing support in managing conflicts
Supporting self-regulation of emotions
Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Providing reinforced mentorship
Planning mentoring support
Documenting mentoring activities
Reporting to the organisation
Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Local and cultural integration involves the process of acculturation to a new, unfamiliar environment. Assisting volunteers in this process includes raising awareness and supporting the volunteer in navigating through everyday life, encouraging reflection on their (intercultural) experiences and learning from them.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Local and cultural integration involves the process of acculturation to a new, unfamiliar environment. Assisting volunteers in this process includes raising awareness and supporting the volunteer in navigating through everyday life, encouraging reflection on their (intercultural) experiences and learning from them.
TASKS
Assist with practical matters (e.g. orientation in a new place, navigating public transportation, understanding local public and health services).
Support the volunteer in the transition process (e.g. understanding the local culture and language) and assist them in dealing with adjustment issues (e.g. homesickness or culture shock)
Encourage getting to know other volunteers, staff members and their social networks, and provide opportunities to build connections and network
Encourage volunteers to explore the town/city and its region, and connect with the local community
Offer guidance on discovering local culture and community (e.g. interesting places to see, local attractions, hidden gems)
Organise activities that allow volunteers to share something about their culture with the local community, promoting cross-cultural understanding
Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3: Building trusting relationships
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
The volunteer’s well-being is essential for the success and sustainability of the volunteering project and should be considered already at the planning stage. Supporting the volunteer’s well-being embraces raising awareness and encouraging well-being practices (physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being), and initiating mentoring conversations about self-care and emotional well-being throughout their stay.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
The volunteer’s well-being is essential for the success and sustainability of the volunteering project and should be considered already at the planning stage. Supporting the volunteer’s well-being embraces raising awareness and encouraging well-being practices (physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being), and initiating mentoring conversations about self-care and emotional well-being throughout their stay.
TASKS
Be aware of and pay attention to specific needs of volunteers regarding well-being
Encourage and support the volunteer’s integration with other volunteers, members of the organisation and the local community
Raise awareness within the organisation of the importance of volunteers' well-being
Propose activities promoting well-being to boost motivation, cope with stress or build resilience
Encourage the volunteer to keep track of their well-being and development, e.g. check in with the volunteer on their feelings, motivation, relationships, stress or health
Include informal meetings with the volunteer to discuss well-being, such as going out for a coffee or a walk, spending time around the volunteer’s hobbies, etc.
Facilitate the volunteer’s access to specialised help when needed and offer information and resources about well-being,such as leaflets, websites, podcasts or apps
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Raising awareness of well-being
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting well-being practices
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Problems and difficult situations are part of everyday life. Supporting volunteers in understanding and coping with such situations involves encouraging them to face and tackle difficult situations and challenges, helping them clear misunderstandings and conflicts and supporting them emotionally in tough times. This embraces empowering volunteers to find constructive solutions using their own strengths and resources. Assisting the volunteer in handling difficult situations and conflicts does not include professional mediation and crisis intervention.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Problems and difficult situations are part of everyday life. Supporting volunteers in understanding and coping with such situations involves encouraging them to face and tackle difficult situations and challenges, helping them clear misunderstandings and conflicts and supporting them emotionally in tough times. This embraces empowering volunteers to find constructive solutions using their own strengths and resources. Assisting the volunteer in handling difficult situations and conflicts does not include professional mediation and crisis intervention.
TASKS
Encourage volunteers to face and tackle challenging problems and difficult situations (e.g. lack of motivation, misunderstandings or conflicts).
Support volunteers in understanding cultural differences and their impact on difficult situations
Empower volunteers to find constructive solutions using their strengths and resources.
Encourage volunteers to learn from difficult situations and enable volunteers to see them as part of their learning journey.
Support volunteers emotionally in difficult moments, during tough times or in crises.
Support the volunteer in managing conflicts, e.g. through promoting understanding, facilitating communication and encouraging the parties toward resolving the conflict in a constructive way
Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Providing support in managing difficult situations
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2:Providing support in managing conflicts
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3:Supporting (self-)regulation of emotions
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Facilitating learning and development
Facilitating learning and development involves guiding volunteers along their learning journey and supporting their personal and professional growth by helping volunteers set personal goals, identify learning opportunities during their stay, encouraging reflection on the volunteering experiences, acknowledging the volunteers' learning progress, efforts and successes as well as assessing learning outcomes.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Facilitating learning and development
Facilitating learning and development involves guiding volunteers along their learning journey and supporting their personal and professional growth by helping volunteers set personal goals, identify learning opportunities during their stay, encouraging reflection on the volunteering experiences, acknowledging the volunteers' learning progress, efforts and successes as well as assessing learning outcomes.
TASKS
Encourage volunteers to see learning opportunities (“lessons to be learnt”) in difficult moments and challenges
Encourage volunteers to integrate their learning journey with their post-project plans
Support the volunteer to see volunteering as a learning experience
Facilitate ongoing reflection and self-assessment of learning outcomes
Support volunteers in approaching the organisation to identify and plan relevant activities in accordance with their learning goals
Initiate planning and documenting the learning process
Raise awareness of oneself as a learner
Recognise and acknowledge any progress and achievements in the learning process
Assist volunteers in the final self-assessment, formulating competence development and Youthpass writing
Facilitating learning and development
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Raising awareness of learning and development
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Facilitating learning and development
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Facilitating learning and development
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3: Supporting reflection and assessment of learning and development
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Volunteering projects reflect the values of the European Solidarity Corps programme, such as diversity and inclusion, European awareness, solidarity and sustainability. Raising awareness of and promoting the ESC Programme’s core values is about discussing them with volunteers, aligning their activities with these values and generating ideas to increase their visibility in the volunteering project. Volunteering activities should reflect shared values of the Programme and the local community and be planned and implemented with care and respect, ideally together with community members.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Facilitating learning and development involves guiding volunteers along their learning journey and supporting their personal and professional growth by helping volunteers set personal goals, identify learning opportunities during their stay, encouraging reflection on the volunteering experiences, acknowledging the volunteers' learning progress, efforts and successes as well as assessing learning outcomes.
TASKS
Stimulate reflection and discussions on the meaning of the Programme's values and their presence in common volunteering activities
Inspire and help find new ways of enhancing the Programme’s values and their manifestations outside the organisation, in the local community
Cultivate awareness of and curiosity about the core Programme’s values and how they are reflected in the volunteer’s activities and those of the organisation
Encourage the volunteer to find ways to foster the Programme's values within the project and the organisation
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme’s values
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Ensuring inclusion
Ensuring inclusion involves actively promoting and fostering an environment that welcomes and respects individuals from diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, abilities, socioeconomic status or any other characteristic. This is where mentors can support the organisation both during the setting up of the project and the hosting of the volunteer. Ensuring inclusion and reinforced mentorship In cases where volunteers need intensified personal support, experienced mentors can be assigned a more prominent role in supporting and guiding them throughout their experience, known as 'reinforced mentorship'. Mentors are expected to provide practical assistance, emotional support, professional development guidance and help with integration into the project or organisation. The term 'reinforced' indicates a higher level of commitment and dedication on the part of mentors to ensure that participants have a meaningful and rewarding experience during their engagement in a European Solidarity Corps project. As such, reinforced mentorship should also be reflected in all other mentoring tasks.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Ensuring inclusion
Ensuring inclusion involves actively promoting and fostering an environment that welcomes and respects individuals from diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, abilities, socioeconomic status or any other characteristic. This is where mentors can support the organisation both during the setting up of the project and the hosting of the volunteer. Ensuring inclusion and reinforced mentorship In cases where volunteers need intensified personal support, experienced mentors can be assigned a more prominent role in supporting and guiding them throughout their experience, known as 'reinforced mentorship'. Mentors are expected to provide practical assistance, emotional support, professional development guidance and help with integration into the project or organisation. The term 'reinforced' indicates a higher level of commitment and dedication on the part of mentors to ensure that participants have a meaningful and rewarding experience during their engagement in a European Solidarity Corps project. As such, reinforced mentorship should also be reflected in all other mentoring tasks.
TASKS
Support the organisation in creating and adapting a strategic plan for volunteers’ inclusion and adjusting it where necessary
Regularly review and adjust the support and guidance needed
Provide a true overview of the support needed
Help build a support network
Assist in creating an accessible and safe environment within the organisation
Raise awareness of diversity and inclusion among the volunteers, in the organisation and the local community
Support the organisation in creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers to be able to make the most out of their volunteering journey
Ensuring inclusion
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Ensuring inclusion
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Providing reinforced mentorship
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Orientation and integration are part of the initial steps and transition process of newcomers into a new organisation. Mentors can collaborate closely with the organisation and ease this onboarding process through supportive activities such as giving volunteers a warm welcome, introducing them to the organisation’s activities, ensuring they understand their roles, helping them discover what is expected of them, supporting integration into a new team and organisation, as well as facilitating the communication between volunteers and the organisation.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Orientation and integration are part of the initial steps and transition process of newcomers into a new organisation. Mentors can collaborate closely with the organisation and ease this onboarding process through supportive activities such as giving volunteers a warm welcome, introducing them to the organisation’s activities, ensuring they understand their roles, helping them discover what is expected of them, supporting integration into a new team and organisation, as well as facilitating the communication between volunteers and the organisation.
TASKS
Help volunteers align their motivations with the hosting organisation’s mission
Encourage volunteers to record their expectations and ensure they align with the organisation’s mission
Provide volunteers with information about available support systems, e.g. troubleshooting, mentoring
Provide clear information about the rights and responsibilities of volunteers and the organisation in accordance with the ESC guidelines
Create a supportive environment for volunteers to express and clarify their expectations about their role, activities and responsibilities
Share communication and team cooperation practices to help volunteers integrate into project teams
Provide insight into the organisation’s culture and support integration and relationship-building
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Supporting the onboarding process
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Managing groups and teams
Mentoring is primarily individual support for the volunteer. However, in some cases mentors may be asked to manage small groups and teams, including Volunteering Teams. In such situations, managing groups and teams may include supporting the organisation in helping with team integration and team-cooperation.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Managing groups and teams
Mentoring is primarily individual support for the volunteer. However, in some cases mentors may be asked to manage small groups and teams, including Volunteering Teams. In such situations, managing groups and teams may include supporting the organisation in helping with team integration and team-cooperation.
TASKS
Support team members in building a team and finding a constructive way of working together and with the organisation
Facilitate activities related to group well-being and team-building
Support volunteers in finding ways to integrate into the organisation and better understand the organisational culture
Encourage volunteers to see the bigger picture and the connection between the organisation, the project and the role of the team members
Help team members understand their roles and tasks in a team as well as the group dynamics of an intercultural team
Managing groups and teams
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Supporting team integration process
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Managing groups and teams
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting team cooperation
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Planning, documenting and reporting
Planning, documenting and reporting is about planning mentoring support, keeping a record of mentoring activities and maintaining regular communication with others in the volunteering project, such as the project coordinator and staff members. It involves reporting information obtained through monitoring and evaluation back to the organisation in order to initiate changes and adjustments to the volunteering project.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Planning, documenting and reporting
Planning, documenting and reporting is about planning mentoring support, keeping a record of mentoring activities and maintaining regular communication with others in the volunteering project, such as the project coordinator and staff members. It involves reporting information obtained through monitoring and evaluation back to the organisation in order to initiate changes and adjustments to the volunteering project.
TASKS
Define with the volunteer the mentoring process, including its objectives and expected results, expectations, boundaries, approach and timeline
Make suggestions to the volunteer, project manager and activity coordinator regarding improvements/changes in the activities, work schedule, collaboration, etc.
Process information gathered in monitoring activities and formulate conclusions both on what works well and what needs to be improved
Document the volunteer’s progress (identify strengths and resources, training needs, learning goals, learning progress, etc.)
Track and document one’s work as a mentor (preparation, meetings, support, meeting outcomes, etc.)
Update the project team regularly on mentoring activities (jointly agreed upon within the project team)
Communicate any issues related to the volunteer that may be of concern
Planning, documenting and reporting
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Planning mentoring support
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Planning, documenting and reporting
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Documenting mentoring activities
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Planning, documenting and reporting
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3: Reporting to the organisation
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Optional
Tasks
Enhacing collaboration
Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Behaviours
Additional
Competences
Focus area
Tasks
Increasing impact
Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Behaviours
Competences
Focus area
Competences
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Behaviours
Focus area
Core
Tasks
Providing guidance
Focus area
Competences
Behaviours
Details
Competences
Behaviours
Focus area
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Details
Values - Mindset - Ethical practice
Details
Imprint
Legal representative SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre This publication was co-funded by the European Solidarity Corps Programme of the European Union. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained in this publication. SALTO SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre is hosted by OEAD-GmbH, the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation, Vienna, Austria. Creative Commons licence This work is published under licence: Attribution-NonCommercial No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Competence 1: Providing support in managing difficult situations
Empowering volunteers to change perspectives, find constructive solutions and use their strengths and resources.
Competence 2: Providing support in managing conflicts
Helping volunteers understand and find solutions to misunderstandings, disagreements and conflicts through promoting understanding, facilitating communication and resolving conflicts in a constructive manner.
Competence 3: Supporting (self-)regulation of emotions
Supporting volunteers in understanding, dealing with and managing their own and others’ emotions.
Specific behaviours
The behaviours involve actively listening to volunteers' concerns, encouraging self-care and emotional resilience, promoting well-being discussions, creating supportive environments, and offering empathy and guidance in managing stress and emotional challenges.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific tasks
The tasks involved in facilitating learning and development include guiding volunteers to set personal goals, identifying relevant learning opportunities, encouraging reflection on their experiences, acknowledging their progress and achievements, and supporting them in assessing their learning outcomes.
Competence 1: Planning mentoring support
Creating a mutually agreed foundation for the mentoring relationship with a clear structure and roadmap that guides towards the desired outcomes while maintaining professional boundaries and mutual respect.
Competence 2: Documenting mentoring activities
Documenting the mentoring process in an accurate and transparent way in accordance with the organisation and the ESC Programme standards
Competence 3: Reporting to the organisation
Communicating mentoring activities and outcomes of the mentoring process to the organisation.
Specific behaviours
Behaviours involve fostering a positive team atmosphere, encouraging open communication, modeling respect for diverse perspectives, and actively supporting team-building and collaboration efforts. The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Ensuring that all volunteers, regardless of their abilities, have equal opportunities to participate and feel secure.
Competence 2: Providing reinforced mentorship
Offering consistent and tailored to volunteers support, ensuring they have access to opportunities and resources to address specific challenges they may face.
We intend to provide volunteers with support and guidance that help improve their well-being, learning and development. With our behaviour and actions we are setting a positive example for our volunteers.
We believe that volunteers seek a meaningful and fulfilling voluntary service and are ready to engage in new situations and overcome challenges. We support them in setting healthy boundaries in relationships and standing up for themselves and others.
We believe in the ability of volunteers to learn, change and grow, to take on challenges with courage and to see their journey as an ongoing opportunity for learning and development.
We believe in the power of community and the power of united actions based on a spirit of solidarity founded on diversity and inclusion.
Specific behaviours
The behaviours involve guiding volunteers in navigating difficult situations and conflicts by fostering understanding, promoting reflection, supporting emotional well-being, and encouraging constructive problem-solving.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific tasks
The tasks involve raising awareness of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Programme's values by encouraging volunteers to reflect on, discuss, and integrate these values into their activities, fostering alignment with community needs and promoting their visibility through meaningful, value-driven actions.
Specific tasks
Tasks involve guiding volunteers through their onboarding process, helping them understand their roles and responsibilities, aligning their motivations with the organisation's mission, and supporting their integration into both the team and the broader organisational culture.
Specific tasks
The specific tasks involve assisting volunteers with practical matters, providing guidance on local culture, facilitating community integration, supporting adjustment challenges, and encouraging intercultural exploration and reflection.
Specific tasks
The tasks focus on assisting volunteers in facing challenges, resolving conflicts, and managing difficult situations by providing emotional support, promoting constructive problem-solving, and encouraging self-reflection and learning from these experiences.
Specific tasks
The tasks focus on initiating conversations about self-care, promoting well-being practices, encouraging emotional awareness, supporting integration, and providing access to resources for volunteers' well-being.
Dear friends, Introducing a result of great work is always a pleasure, but introducing a possible milestone in the history of mentoring the volunteering programmes of the European Union is sincerely an honor. The Mentoring in European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Framework is the result of the hard work and commitment of the members of the Mentoring under Construction (MuC) community. The community facilitator and the community manager, together with a taskforce of mentors in ESC, members of the community, and the coordination of our resource center (SALTO ESC RC), were able to produce a framework from the mentors in the ESC to the mentors in the ESC. It took over a year of meetings, discussions, compromises, and conscious work. An essential document, the framework defines the role and responsibilities of ESC mentors and reveals their growth and potential. The framework provides guidance and perspectives to both new and experienced mentors. To do this, it defines ESC mentors' starting point and opens up a valley of opportunities for them. By improving the quality of mentoring, we are directly enhancing the learning experience for volunteers and making the deepest possible impact on the lives of programme participants and the communities where these young volunteers are active. This framework will inspire and guide you through the wonderful experience of mentoring in the European Solidarity Corps!
Specific behaviours
The specific behaviours focus on encouraging cultural exploration, facilitating social connections, providing practical support, and promoting intercultural reflection and sharing.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Supporting team integration process
Facilitating the team-building process, decision-making and communication among volunteers
Competence 2: Supporting team cooperation
Enabling team members to keep track of their tasks, facilitating communication and encouraging peer reflection and evaluation
Specific behaviours
Behaviours include engaging in open dialogue, setting clear objectives, maintaining regular communication, and ensuring confidentiality while providing feedback and support to both the volunteer and the organisation. The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific tasks
The tasks involve supporting the organisation in fostering an inclusive, safe environment while providing personalised guidance and resources to ensure volunteers thrive.
Specific behaviours
Behaviours include initiating open conversations, helping volunteers clarify their motivations and expectations, and providing continuous support to ensure alignment with the organisation's mission and values.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Supporting the onboarding process
Facilitating the orientation and integration process of the volunteer and cooperating with the organisation in supporting onboarding activities
Competence 2: Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Building relationships, facilitating networking and taking an active role in the organisation’s activities
Specific tasks
Tasks involve planning the mentoring process, documenting activities and volunteer progress, maintaining open communication with the project team, and providing insights for improvement through regular monitoring and evaluation.
Self-agency
Integrity
We value that volunteers are willing and able to shape their own path in life through their choices and actions.
We value honesty and trustworthiness. We commit to high standards and strive for authenticity.
Dignity
Togetherness
We value equality and equity, mutual respect and fairness in interactions with others, with respect for human rights being a fundamental aspect of our approach.
We value cooperation, acts of solidarity based on empathy and compassion, and empowering mutual support.
Competence 1: Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Assisting with everyday practicalities, providing orientation and support in familiarisation with the local community, helping volunteers overcome adjustment problems, such as homesickness or culture shock, and encouraging them to explore the local community and its surroundings.
Competence 2: Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Supporting the volunteer’s overall transition process, including understanding the local culture and language, facilitating reflection on their (intercultural) experiences and learning from them.
Competence 3: Building trusting relationships
Establishing and maintaining a relationship with the volunteer based on trust and mutual respect and creating a safe environment for mentoring conversations about learning and well-being.
We uphold high-quality standards in mentoring. We maintain confidentiality, and set and respect boundaries for ourselves and others, with safeguarding being at the heart of our practice, ensuring the safety and well-being of all volunteers.
We support volunteers in becoming more (self-)aware of themselves and their volunteering journey. We encourage them to take responsibility for and ownership of their choices and actions.
We engage with volunteers and others in an ethical manner. We strive for transparency, mutual respect and accountability.
We approach every interaction with kindness, empathy and compassion. We keep an open mind, respecting and including various perspectives and diverse backgrounds and help create a safe, supportive and empowering environment.
Specific tasks
Tasks include facilitating team integration, supporting clear communication, guiding volunteers in understanding their roles, and fostering collaboration and cohesion within the group to ensure effective team cooperation and alignment with the organisation's mission.
Competence 1: Raising awareness of learning and development
Initiating conversations about learning, encouraging autonomy and agency in the learning process.
Competence 2: Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Helping the volunteers set goals for their learning, create action steps and check their progress
Competence 3: Supporting reflection and asessment of learning and development
Assisting the volunteer with reflecting on their experiences, assessing their learning and formulating competences.
Competence 1: Raising awareness of well-being
Initiating conversations about self-care and well-being throughout the volunteers’ stay, promoting well-being in the organisation.
Competence 2: Supporting well-being practices
Suggesting activities to reflect on and boost volunteers’ well-being, encouraging the volunteers to check on their well-being, and, if needed, providing access to specialised resources and help.
Specific behaviours
The behaviours include encouraging reflection on the ESC Programme's values, motivating volunteers to integrate these values into their activities, fostering discussions, sharing best practices, and supporting community engagement to amplify the presence and impact of these values.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific behaviours
The behaviors involved in facilitating learning and development include initiating conversations about learning, actively listening to the volunteers' needs and aspirations, encouraging self-reflection, providing resources for skill development, and fostering an environment that supports personal growth and autonomy.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Drawing attention to, communicating and promoting the core principles and priorities of the Programme.
Competence 2: Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme’s values
Supporting the consistency of activities with the core priorities and quality standards of the Programme
Specific behaviours
The behaviours include encouraging active participation, empathy, and continuous feedback while fostering trust, safety, and personalised support for volunteers' inclusion and growth.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Mentoring Competence Framework
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Transcript
Mentoring Competence Framework for the European Solidarity Corps
Supported by:
Content overview
A few words of introduction
1 Seek Clarity! The Mentoring Competence Framework for the ESC Programme
2 Building the Mentoring Competence Framework
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework
4 Introducing the Mentoring Competence Framework
5 Exploring the Mentoring Competence Framework
6 Applying the Mentoring Competence Framework
7 The Mentoring under Construction Community
A few words of introduction
Miguel Tabera, SALTO ESC
1 Seek Clarity! The Mentoring Competence Framework for the ESC Programme
Mentoring is one of the main support measures of the European Solidarity Corps Programme: it contributes both to the value of the volunteering project and the well-being of the volunteer. The Mentoring Competence Framework provides clear and effective guidance for mentoring practitioners in the ESC Programme. The framework is for mentors who would like to develop their mentoring competence and improve their mentoring practice; project coordinators who would like to set up and offer a quality mentoring programme within their organisation; facilitators and trainers who would like to design and carry out workshops and training courses on mentoring; as well as National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres that would like to support mentoring initiatives within the ESC Programme. The Mentoring Competence Framework was developed by mentoring practitioners of the Mentoring under Construction Community, an initiative that supports learning and developing mentoring and coaching competences and helps improve the quality of mentoring and coaching practices within and outside the European Solidarity Corps Programme. This initiative was launched by the Romanian National Agency and the SALTO ESC Resource Centre, and supported by the French National Agency and SALTO EuroMed, as well as other National Agencies. The main purpose of the Mentoring Competence Framework is to improve the quality of mentoring support within European Solidarity Corps projects by offering clear and effective guidance to mentoring practitioners.
2 Building the Mentoring Competence Framework
2020
2022
2023
Seek Clarity! Building the Mentoring Competence Framework The MCuR research served as a starting point for building the Mentoring Competence Framework, with its insights and recommendations providing a clear direction. The search for clarity became the key driver for a new initiative - a group of experts from the Mentoring under Construction Community formed a Task Force to kick-start the development of a competence framework for mentoring. The framework aims to clarify the tasks of a mentor, define the mentoring competences needed to perform these tasks and provide a set of ethical principles for mentoring.
Spotlight on mentoring! The Mentoring under Construction (MuC) initiative took off in 2019 and brought together practitioners sharing a passion for mentoring and coaching. Initiated by the National Agency for Community Programmes in the Field of Education and Vocational Training (Romania) and the SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre, Mentoring under Construction aims to raise the quality of mentoring and coaching both within and outside the European Solidarity Corps Programme. Since 2020, Mentoring under Construction has been developing quality content to support the development of mentoring and coaching competences and refine practices in this area.
The state of mentoring within the ESC Programme Mentoring and Coaching under Research (MCUR) explored and documented mentoring and coaching practices within the European Solidarity Corps Programme. One of the main insights from this research was the necessity to clarify the tasks of a mentor, to specify the competences and ethical practices required to fulfil the role of a mentor in ESC projects.
The Mentoring Competence Framework contributes to the European Solidarity Corps Programme and provides clarity for the many actors in the field: mentors, project managers and project coordinators, trainers, authors and researchers.
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework
What are the benefits of the Mentoring Competence Framework? The Mentoring Competence Framework encourages the enhancement of the quality of mentoring support in European Solidarity Corps projects. The framework provides clear and effective guidance for mentoring practitioners while balancing the need for clarity with the flexibility required to adapt mentoring to the organisational and local context.
On a practical level, the Mentoring Competence Framework
In addition, the Mentoring Competence Framework
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework (cont.)
A Mentor or a Mentoring System? A Mentoring support can be organised in various ways. One organisation may define and delegate certain tasks to one or several mentors, while others may establish a mentoring system in which tasks and responsibilities are shared among mentors and other staff members, depending on the needs and available resources. What matters most is to ensure that the various mentoring focus areas are covered and that the division of roles and tasks is clear for everyone involved in supporting the volunteer.
From here, we are going to clarify how we understand “competence” and “competence framework”.
3 Understanding the Mentoring Competence Framework (cont.)
How do we understand competence and competence framework? Competence is the ability to do something well (Cambridge Dictionary). Competences refer to specific tasks within a specific working context and are often described as a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Competences can be trained and developed. Generally, a competence framework is a structure that defines competence and behaviours expected of individuals within an organisation. Ideally, it aligns necessary tasks with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that individuals need to effectively perform their roles and responsibilities. Modern competence frameworks go beyond merely listing knowledge, skills and attitudes. They conceptualise competences to ensure and support not only the effective execution of specific tasks (“doing something well”), but also the demonstration of specific behaviours (“how to do something well”) that are required, valued, recognised and rewarded in a specific field. Additionally, a modern competence framework encompasses values, mindset and ethical practices as needed.
The Mentoring Competence Framework includes focus areas of mentoring (mentoring tasks), mentoring competences (described as knowledge, skills and attitudes) and guidelines for mentoring (values, mindset and code of conduct).
4 Introducing the Mentoring Competence Framework
What is the structure of the Mentoring Competence Framework? In line with the recommendations of the Mentoring and Coaching under Research report, a competence framework includes the following three components: the tasks of a mentor, the competences needed to fulfil these tasks and guidelines for mentoring.
The Mentoring Competence Framework consists of three parts:
PART B: Mentoring Competence Competences identified for each focus area, describing specific behaviours along with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to demonstrate them effectively
PART A: Focus Areas of Mentoring The different domains of mentoring, each with a list of specific mentoring tasks
PART C: Guidelines for Mentoring Important values and mindsets that underpin mentoring support, along with ethical guidelines for mentoring
PART A: 9 Focus Areas of Mentoring
The Mentoring Competence Framework is a flexible guide that can be scaled up as mentors and organisations gain more experience or resources. Mentoring activities within the framework are summarised and divided into 9 focus areas, each detailing specific mentoring tasks. The areas that are identified as essential based on the MCuR results as well as the experience of many mentoring practitioners are summarised in one core category: providing guidance. Other focus areas are considered additional (increasing impact) or optional (enhancing collaboration). This provides mentors and organisations with a clear orientation highlighting where to start and what to focus on.
Let’s explore these categories!
The mentor’s role is to encourage and empower volunteers to integrate and collaborate with others, enabling them to make meaningful contributions to the organisation. This may include providing ongoing training and regular feedback to the volunteer. Mentors also plan and document their mentoring activities and give feedback to the organisation to improve the volunteer’s experience and project outcomes. Enhancing collaboration includes optional focus areas such as:- Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
- Managing groups and teams
- Planning, documenting and reporting
Enhancing collaboration (optional)
The mentor’s role in increasing impact involves fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, promoting the values of the ESC Programme and helping to create an inclusive and safe environment for the volunteer. The focus areas of increasing impact are additional and include:- Facilitating learning and development
- Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
- Ensuring inclusion
Increasing Impact (additional)
The role of a mentor in providing guidance to volunteers is holistic, encompassing not only the specific tasks but also the personal and cultural aspects of the volunteer experience. As a support person, the mentor offers orientation, helps navigate challenges and ensures a positive, enriching experience for the volunteer. The core focus areas in providing guidance include:- Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
- Supporting the volunteer’s well-being
- Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Providing guidance (core)
An effective approach to implementing and improving mentoring support is to start by providing guidance, which encompasses the core focus areas of mentoring. From there, additional focus areas can be introduced to increase the impact of mentoring, while optional focus areas further enhance collaboration.
PART B: 22 Mentoring Competences
For each of the nine focus areas of mentoring, 2-3 mentoring competences have been identified and described in terms of specific behaviours that mentors demonstrate in this area, along with a set of supporting knowledge, skills and attitudes. The behaviours and competences are organised around the three main categories:
- providing guidance (core),
- increasing impact (additional) and
- enhancing collaboration (optional).
This structure offers mentors and organisations a clear orientation on where to begin and what to prioritise.Let's see the mentoring competences related to the focus areas
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Optional
Enhacing collaboration
Managing groups and teams
Planning, documenting and reporting
Additional
Facilitating learning and development
Increasing impact
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Ensuring inclusion
Lorem Ipsum
Core
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Details
Providing guidance
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Lorem Ipsum
Details
PART B: 22 Mentoring Competences (cont.)
Mentors embarking on their journey, along with mentoring organisations with less experience and fewer resources, can use these three categories as a step-by-step approach to implementation. These stages allow mentors and organisations to first focus on core areas of interest and mentoring competences, then gradually expand their mentoring capabilities as they develop.
Finally, in the third stage, mentors can further expand their competences to include managing groups and teams as well as planning, documenting and reporting, as their capacity and experience increase.
In the second stage, mentors can build on the core competences and move on to competences like facilitating learning and development or raising awareness of the values of the ESC Programme. This may require more training and organisational support, but it does enhance the overall volunteer experience.
In the first stage mentors focus on critical competences for mentoring, such as building trust and supporting local and cultural integration. These skills are vital for ensuring the well-being of the volunteer and are often manageable for small organisations with limited resources.
Now, we are ready to explore the third part of the framework, the ethical guidelines...
Additional focus areas
Core focus areas
Optional focus areas
Increasing impact
Enhacing collaboration
Providing guidance
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Details
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Facilitating learning and development
Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Supporting reflection and assessment of learning and development
Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Raising awareness of learning and development
Supporting the onboarding process
Building trusting relationships
Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Details
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Managing groups and teams
Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme's values
Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Supporting team-integration process
Supporting well-being practices
Supporting team cooperation
Raising awareness of well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Ensuring inclusion
Planning, documenting and reporting
Lorem Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum
Providing support in managing difficult situations
Providing support in managing conflicts
Supporting self-regulation of emotions
Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Providing reinforced mentorship
Planning mentoring support
Documenting mentoring activities
Reporting to the organisation
PART C: 3x4 Guidelines for Mentoring
The third part of the framework is a compilation of guidelines for mentoring. In line with the holistic approach to non-formal learning - recognising that we all learn with our hearts, minds and hands - we have developed a set of 12 mentoring guidelines based on this principle. Values - Mindset - Ethical practice Values (heart) represent a set of principles and standards that guide our behaviours and actions. Mindset (mind) refers to the intentions and beliefs that help us navigate our decisions and actions. Ethical practice (Hand), or the code of conduct, encompasses a set of (written) rules and guidelines that ensure quality mentoring. The four values that we consider the most important in guiding mentoring support are integrity, self-agency, dignity and togetherness. These four values serve as the first four guiding principles for the “heart”. In addition, four principles are formulated for the “mind” and another four for the “hand”. Together, these principles constitute the guidelines for mentoring.
Mindset
Ethical guidelines for mentoring
Code of conduct
Values
5 Exploring the Mentoring Competence Framework
The current introduction of the framework guides you one-by-one through the focus area and allows you to explore specific tasks, behavours and competences related to those focus aras. In 2025, we will create various self-assessments for mentors and organisations to work with those three parts of the framework independent from one another. This will allow you to dive into a certain part of the Framework or to pick a certain aspect you would like to focus on.
6 Applying the Mentoring Competence Framework
The Mentoring Competence Framework can be used by anyone wishing to enhance the quality of mentoring support within the ESC Programme, for example mentors, project coordinators, facilitators and trainers, as well as National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres. Possible practical applications
…for organisations
…for mentors
…for TEC-trainers and NAs/SALTO
Mentoring under Construction is committed to continuously creating and developing new mentoring content that matches the focus areas of mentoring, mentoring competences and guidelines for mentoring. This content is published in the form of newsletters, articles, podcast episodes and micro-learning sessions and is available on our MuC Learning HUB on Howspace and on the HOP Online Learning Platform.
7 The Mentoring under Construction Community
Mentoring under Construction (MuC) is a community of practitioners who share a passion for mentoring/coaching and are interested in raising the quality of mentoring/coaching within and outside the European Solidarity Corps Programme. The MuC Community includes mentors, project managers/organisers, coordinators of volunteers, learning facilitators, authors, trainers and members of National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres. The main activities, events and initiatives of Mentoring under Construction aim at:
- building a vibrant, resourceful and sustainable community of mentoring/coaching practitioners,
- developing high quality mentoring/coaching content to support the development of mentoring competences,
- and contributing to improving the quality of mentoring/coaching within the European Solidarity Corps.
Mentoring under Construction was founded in 2019 by the Romanian National Agency for Community Programs in the Field of Education and Vocational Training with the support of SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre, and is supported by the Youth and European Solidarity Corps National Agencies of France and SALTO EuroMed. For annual events, Mentoring under Construction cooperates with various other National Agencies.Here is how you can find us and join the community:
Mentoring under Construction Community on Facebook
Join our Learning HUB on Howspace
Mentoring under Construction on SALTO
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Editorial
The Mentoring Competence Framework has been developed by the Mentoring under Construction Community. Mentoring under Construction is an initiative supported by the National Agency for Community Programmes in the Field of Education and Vocational Training (Romania), the Youth and European Solidarity Corps National Agencies of France, SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre and SALTO EuroMed. Published by SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre / OEAD Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation as part of the NET Activity 2023-NET-YOU-003 “Mentoring under Construction Experts Task Force Meeting” Ebendorferstraße 7, 1010 Vienna www.oead.at Coordination Miguel Tabera, SALTO ESC Resource Centre Coordination, concept and development Andreea Rabota-Buzec Michael Kimmig
Contributors (MuC Task Force) Orsolya Biro, Romania Lidia Chmielewska, Slovakia Vitalie Cîrhană, Moldova Iosif Csatlos Dima, Romania Nataša Diatková, Czech Republic Roxana Echim, Romania Raquel Ferreira, Luxembourg Jelena Ilic, Serbia Maria Dulce Marques, Portugal Corina Pintea, Romania Panayiotis Theodorou, Cyprus Framework introductory text Michael Kimmig Framework visualisation and graphic design Andreea Rabota-Buzec Proofreading Katarzyna Weyna-Kimmig Year 2024
Diving into the Mentoring Competence Framework
Supported by:
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Optional
Enhacing collaboration
Managing groups and teams
Planning, documenting and reporting
Additional
Facilitating learning and development
Increasing impact
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Ensuring inclusion
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Core
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Details
Providing guidance
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
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Details
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Optional
Enhacing collaboration
Managing groups and teams
Planning, documenting and reporting
Additional
Facilitating learning and development
Increasing impact
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Ensuring inclusion
Core
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Providing guidance
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
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Additional focus areas
Core focus areas
Optional focus areas
Increasing impact
Enhacing collaboration
Providing guidance
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organization
Details
Assisting the volunteer in the local and cultural integration
Facilitating learning and development
Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Supporting reflection and assessment of learning and development
Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Raising awareness of learning and development
Supporting the onboarding process
Building trusting relationships
Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Details
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Managing groups and teams
Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme's values
Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Supporting team-integration process
Supporting well-being practices
Supporting team cooperation
Raising awareness of well-being
Details
Assiting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Ensuring inclusion
Planning, documenting and reporting
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Providing support in managing difficult situations
Providing support in managing conflicts
Supporting self-regulation of emotions
Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Providing reinforced mentorship
Planning mentoring support
Documenting mentoring activities
Reporting to the organisation
Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Local and cultural integration involves the process of acculturation to a new, unfamiliar environment. Assisting volunteers in this process includes raising awareness and supporting the volunteer in navigating through everyday life, encouraging reflection on their (intercultural) experiences and learning from them.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Local and cultural integration involves the process of acculturation to a new, unfamiliar environment. Assisting volunteers in this process includes raising awareness and supporting the volunteer in navigating through everyday life, encouraging reflection on their (intercultural) experiences and learning from them.
TASKS
Assist with practical matters (e.g. orientation in a new place, navigating public transportation, understanding local public and health services).
Support the volunteer in the transition process (e.g. understanding the local culture and language) and assist them in dealing with adjustment issues (e.g. homesickness or culture shock)
Encourage getting to know other volunteers, staff members and their social networks, and provide opportunities to build connections and network
Encourage volunteers to explore the town/city and its region, and connect with the local community
Offer guidance on discovering local culture and community (e.g. interesting places to see, local attractions, hidden gems)
Organise activities that allow volunteers to share something about their culture with the local community, promoting cross-cultural understanding
Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in local and cultural integration
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3: Building trusting relationships
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
The volunteer’s well-being is essential for the success and sustainability of the volunteering project and should be considered already at the planning stage. Supporting the volunteer’s well-being embraces raising awareness and encouraging well-being practices (physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being), and initiating mentoring conversations about self-care and emotional well-being throughout their stay.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
The volunteer’s well-being is essential for the success and sustainability of the volunteering project and should be considered already at the planning stage. Supporting the volunteer’s well-being embraces raising awareness and encouraging well-being practices (physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being), and initiating mentoring conversations about self-care and emotional well-being throughout their stay.
TASKS
Be aware of and pay attention to specific needs of volunteers regarding well-being
Encourage and support the volunteer’s integration with other volunteers, members of the organisation and the local community
Raise awareness within the organisation of the importance of volunteers' well-being
Propose activities promoting well-being to boost motivation, cope with stress or build resilience
Encourage the volunteer to keep track of their well-being and development, e.g. check in with the volunteer on their feelings, motivation, relationships, stress or health
Include informal meetings with the volunteer to discuss well-being, such as going out for a coffee or a walk, spending time around the volunteer’s hobbies, etc.
Facilitate the volunteer’s access to specialised help when needed and offer information and resources about well-being,such as leaflets, websites, podcasts or apps
Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Raising awareness of well-being
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Supporting the volunteer's well-being
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting well-being practices
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Problems and difficult situations are part of everyday life. Supporting volunteers in understanding and coping with such situations involves encouraging them to face and tackle difficult situations and challenges, helping them clear misunderstandings and conflicts and supporting them emotionally in tough times. This embraces empowering volunteers to find constructive solutions using their own strengths and resources. Assisting the volunteer in handling difficult situations and conflicts does not include professional mediation and crisis intervention.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Problems and difficult situations are part of everyday life. Supporting volunteers in understanding and coping with such situations involves encouraging them to face and tackle difficult situations and challenges, helping them clear misunderstandings and conflicts and supporting them emotionally in tough times. This embraces empowering volunteers to find constructive solutions using their own strengths and resources. Assisting the volunteer in handling difficult situations and conflicts does not include professional mediation and crisis intervention.
TASKS
Encourage volunteers to face and tackle challenging problems and difficult situations (e.g. lack of motivation, misunderstandings or conflicts).
Support volunteers in understanding cultural differences and their impact on difficult situations
Empower volunteers to find constructive solutions using their strengths and resources.
Encourage volunteers to learn from difficult situations and enable volunteers to see them as part of their learning journey.
Support volunteers emotionally in difficult moments, during tough times or in crises.
Support the volunteer in managing conflicts, e.g. through promoting understanding, facilitating communication and encouraging the parties toward resolving the conflict in a constructive way
Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Providing support in managing difficult situations
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2:Providing support in managing conflicts
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Assisting the volunteer in dealing with difficult situations and conflicts
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3:Supporting (self-)regulation of emotions
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Facilitating learning and development
Facilitating learning and development involves guiding volunteers along their learning journey and supporting their personal and professional growth by helping volunteers set personal goals, identify learning opportunities during their stay, encouraging reflection on the volunteering experiences, acknowledging the volunteers' learning progress, efforts and successes as well as assessing learning outcomes.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Facilitating learning and development
Facilitating learning and development involves guiding volunteers along their learning journey and supporting their personal and professional growth by helping volunteers set personal goals, identify learning opportunities during their stay, encouraging reflection on the volunteering experiences, acknowledging the volunteers' learning progress, efforts and successes as well as assessing learning outcomes.
TASKS
Encourage volunteers to see learning opportunities (“lessons to be learnt”) in difficult moments and challenges
Encourage volunteers to integrate their learning journey with their post-project plans
Support the volunteer to see volunteering as a learning experience
Facilitate ongoing reflection and self-assessment of learning outcomes
Support volunteers in approaching the organisation to identify and plan relevant activities in accordance with their learning goals
Initiate planning and documenting the learning process
Raise awareness of oneself as a learner
Recognise and acknowledge any progress and achievements in the learning process
Assist volunteers in the final self-assessment, formulating competence development and Youthpass writing
Facilitating learning and development
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Raising awareness of learning and development
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Facilitating learning and development
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Facilitating learning and development
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3: Supporting reflection and assessment of learning and development
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Volunteering projects reflect the values of the European Solidarity Corps programme, such as diversity and inclusion, European awareness, solidarity and sustainability. Raising awareness of and promoting the ESC Programme’s core values is about discussing them with volunteers, aligning their activities with these values and generating ideas to increase their visibility in the volunteering project. Volunteering activities should reflect shared values of the Programme and the local community and be planned and implemented with care and respect, ideally together with community members.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Facilitating learning and development involves guiding volunteers along their learning journey and supporting their personal and professional growth by helping volunteers set personal goals, identify learning opportunities during their stay, encouraging reflection on the volunteering experiences, acknowledging the volunteers' learning progress, efforts and successes as well as assessing learning outcomes.
TASKS
Stimulate reflection and discussions on the meaning of the Programme's values and their presence in common volunteering activities
Inspire and help find new ways of enhancing the Programme’s values and their manifestations outside the organisation, in the local community
Cultivate awareness of and curiosity about the core Programme’s values and how they are reflected in the volunteer’s activities and those of the organisation
Encourage the volunteer to find ways to foster the Programme's values within the project and the organisation
Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Raising awareness of the ESC Programme’s values
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme’s values
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Ensuring inclusion
Ensuring inclusion involves actively promoting and fostering an environment that welcomes and respects individuals from diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, abilities, socioeconomic status or any other characteristic. This is where mentors can support the organisation both during the setting up of the project and the hosting of the volunteer. Ensuring inclusion and reinforced mentorship In cases where volunteers need intensified personal support, experienced mentors can be assigned a more prominent role in supporting and guiding them throughout their experience, known as 'reinforced mentorship'. Mentors are expected to provide practical assistance, emotional support, professional development guidance and help with integration into the project or organisation. The term 'reinforced' indicates a higher level of commitment and dedication on the part of mentors to ensure that participants have a meaningful and rewarding experience during their engagement in a European Solidarity Corps project. As such, reinforced mentorship should also be reflected in all other mentoring tasks.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Ensuring inclusion
Ensuring inclusion involves actively promoting and fostering an environment that welcomes and respects individuals from diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, abilities, socioeconomic status or any other characteristic. This is where mentors can support the organisation both during the setting up of the project and the hosting of the volunteer. Ensuring inclusion and reinforced mentorship In cases where volunteers need intensified personal support, experienced mentors can be assigned a more prominent role in supporting and guiding them throughout their experience, known as 'reinforced mentorship'. Mentors are expected to provide practical assistance, emotional support, professional development guidance and help with integration into the project or organisation. The term 'reinforced' indicates a higher level of commitment and dedication on the part of mentors to ensure that participants have a meaningful and rewarding experience during their engagement in a European Solidarity Corps project. As such, reinforced mentorship should also be reflected in all other mentoring tasks.
TASKS
Support the organisation in creating and adapting a strategic plan for volunteers’ inclusion and adjusting it where necessary
Regularly review and adjust the support and guidance needed
Provide a true overview of the support needed
Help build a support network
Assist in creating an accessible and safe environment within the organisation
Raise awareness of diversity and inclusion among the volunteers, in the organisation and the local community
Support the organisation in creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers to be able to make the most out of their volunteering journey
Ensuring inclusion
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Ensuring inclusion
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Providing reinforced mentorship
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Orientation and integration are part of the initial steps and transition process of newcomers into a new organisation. Mentors can collaborate closely with the organisation and ease this onboarding process through supportive activities such as giving volunteers a warm welcome, introducing them to the organisation’s activities, ensuring they understand their roles, helping them discover what is expected of them, supporting integration into a new team and organisation, as well as facilitating the communication between volunteers and the organisation.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Orientation and integration are part of the initial steps and transition process of newcomers into a new organisation. Mentors can collaborate closely with the organisation and ease this onboarding process through supportive activities such as giving volunteers a warm welcome, introducing them to the organisation’s activities, ensuring they understand their roles, helping them discover what is expected of them, supporting integration into a new team and organisation, as well as facilitating the communication between volunteers and the organisation.
TASKS
Help volunteers align their motivations with the hosting organisation’s mission
Encourage volunteers to record their expectations and ensure they align with the organisation’s mission
Provide volunteers with information about available support systems, e.g. troubleshooting, mentoring
Provide clear information about the rights and responsibilities of volunteers and the organisation in accordance with the ESC guidelines
Create a supportive environment for volunteers to express and clarify their expectations about their role, activities and responsibilities
Share communication and team cooperation practices to help volunteers integrate into project teams
Provide insight into the organisation’s culture and support integration and relationship-building
Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Supporting the onboarding process
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Facilitating orientation and integration with the organisation
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Managing groups and teams
Mentoring is primarily individual support for the volunteer. However, in some cases mentors may be asked to manage small groups and teams, including Volunteering Teams. In such situations, managing groups and teams may include supporting the organisation in helping with team integration and team-cooperation.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Managing groups and teams
Mentoring is primarily individual support for the volunteer. However, in some cases mentors may be asked to manage small groups and teams, including Volunteering Teams. In such situations, managing groups and teams may include supporting the organisation in helping with team integration and team-cooperation.
TASKS
Support team members in building a team and finding a constructive way of working together and with the organisation
Facilitate activities related to group well-being and team-building
Support volunteers in finding ways to integrate into the organisation and better understand the organisational culture
Encourage volunteers to see the bigger picture and the connection between the organisation, the project and the role of the team members
Help team members understand their roles and tasks in a team as well as the group dynamics of an intercultural team
Managing groups and teams
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Supporting team integration process
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Managing groups and teams
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Supporting team cooperation
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Planning, documenting and reporting
Planning, documenting and reporting is about planning mentoring support, keeping a record of mentoring activities and maintaining regular communication with others in the volunteering project, such as the project coordinator and staff members. It involves reporting information obtained through monitoring and evaluation back to the organisation in order to initiate changes and adjustments to the volunteering project.
TASKS
BEHAVIORS
COMPETENCES
Specific tasks
Specific behaviors
Specific competences
Specific tasks to be carried out in the key area
Specific behaviors needed to successfully carry out the tasks
Competences needed to display desired specific behaviors
Focus area
Planning, documenting and reporting
Planning, documenting and reporting is about planning mentoring support, keeping a record of mentoring activities and maintaining regular communication with others in the volunteering project, such as the project coordinator and staff members. It involves reporting information obtained through monitoring and evaluation back to the organisation in order to initiate changes and adjustments to the volunteering project.
TASKS
Define with the volunteer the mentoring process, including its objectives and expected results, expectations, boundaries, approach and timeline
Make suggestions to the volunteer, project manager and activity coordinator regarding improvements/changes in the activities, work schedule, collaboration, etc.
Process information gathered in monitoring activities and formulate conclusions both on what works well and what needs to be improved
Document the volunteer’s progress (identify strengths and resources, training needs, learning goals, learning progress, etc.)
Track and document one’s work as a mentor (preparation, meetings, support, meeting outcomes, etc.)
Update the project team regularly on mentoring activities (jointly agreed upon within the project team)
Communicate any issues related to the volunteer that may be of concern
Planning, documenting and reporting
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 1: Planning mentoring support
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Planning, documenting and reporting
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 2: Documenting mentoring activities
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Planning, documenting and reporting
Behaviours
Skills
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Competence 3: Reporting to the organisation
Knowledge
Attitudes
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Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Optional
Tasks
Enhacing collaboration
Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Behaviours
Additional
Competences
Focus area
Tasks
Increasing impact
Focus area
Behaviours
Competences
Behaviours
Competences
Focus area
Competences
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Behaviours
Focus area
Core
Tasks
Providing guidance
Focus area
Competences
Behaviours
Details
Competences
Behaviours
Focus area
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Details
Values - Mindset - Ethical practice
Details
Imprint
Legal representative SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre This publication was co-funded by the European Solidarity Corps Programme of the European Union. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained in this publication. SALTO SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre is hosted by OEAD-GmbH, the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation, Vienna, Austria. Creative Commons licence This work is published under licence: Attribution-NonCommercial No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Competence 1: Providing support in managing difficult situations
Empowering volunteers to change perspectives, find constructive solutions and use their strengths and resources.
Competence 2: Providing support in managing conflicts
Helping volunteers understand and find solutions to misunderstandings, disagreements and conflicts through promoting understanding, facilitating communication and resolving conflicts in a constructive manner.
Competence 3: Supporting (self-)regulation of emotions
Supporting volunteers in understanding, dealing with and managing their own and others’ emotions.
Specific behaviours
The behaviours involve actively listening to volunteers' concerns, encouraging self-care and emotional resilience, promoting well-being discussions, creating supportive environments, and offering empathy and guidance in managing stress and emotional challenges.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific tasks
The tasks involved in facilitating learning and development include guiding volunteers to set personal goals, identifying relevant learning opportunities, encouraging reflection on their experiences, acknowledging their progress and achievements, and supporting them in assessing their learning outcomes.
Competence 1: Planning mentoring support
Creating a mutually agreed foundation for the mentoring relationship with a clear structure and roadmap that guides towards the desired outcomes while maintaining professional boundaries and mutual respect.
Competence 2: Documenting mentoring activities
Documenting the mentoring process in an accurate and transparent way in accordance with the organisation and the ESC Programme standards
Competence 3: Reporting to the organisation
Communicating mentoring activities and outcomes of the mentoring process to the organisation.
Specific behaviours
Behaviours involve fostering a positive team atmosphere, encouraging open communication, modeling respect for diverse perspectives, and actively supporting team-building and collaboration efforts. The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Creating an accessible and safe environment for volunteers
Ensuring that all volunteers, regardless of their abilities, have equal opportunities to participate and feel secure.
Competence 2: Providing reinforced mentorship
Offering consistent and tailored to volunteers support, ensuring they have access to opportunities and resources to address specific challenges they may face.
We intend to provide volunteers with support and guidance that help improve their well-being, learning and development. With our behaviour and actions we are setting a positive example for our volunteers.
We believe that volunteers seek a meaningful and fulfilling voluntary service and are ready to engage in new situations and overcome challenges. We support them in setting healthy boundaries in relationships and standing up for themselves and others.
We believe in the ability of volunteers to learn, change and grow, to take on challenges with courage and to see their journey as an ongoing opportunity for learning and development.
We believe in the power of community and the power of united actions based on a spirit of solidarity founded on diversity and inclusion.
Specific behaviours
The behaviours involve guiding volunteers in navigating difficult situations and conflicts by fostering understanding, promoting reflection, supporting emotional well-being, and encouraging constructive problem-solving.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific tasks
The tasks involve raising awareness of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Programme's values by encouraging volunteers to reflect on, discuss, and integrate these values into their activities, fostering alignment with community needs and promoting their visibility through meaningful, value-driven actions.
Specific tasks
Tasks involve guiding volunteers through their onboarding process, helping them understand their roles and responsibilities, aligning their motivations with the organisation's mission, and supporting their integration into both the team and the broader organisational culture.
Specific tasks
The specific tasks involve assisting volunteers with practical matters, providing guidance on local culture, facilitating community integration, supporting adjustment challenges, and encouraging intercultural exploration and reflection.
Specific tasks
The tasks focus on assisting volunteers in facing challenges, resolving conflicts, and managing difficult situations by providing emotional support, promoting constructive problem-solving, and encouraging self-reflection and learning from these experiences.
Specific tasks
The tasks focus on initiating conversations about self-care, promoting well-being practices, encouraging emotional awareness, supporting integration, and providing access to resources for volunteers' well-being.
Dear friends, Introducing a result of great work is always a pleasure, but introducing a possible milestone in the history of mentoring the volunteering programmes of the European Union is sincerely an honor. The Mentoring in European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Framework is the result of the hard work and commitment of the members of the Mentoring under Construction (MuC) community. The community facilitator and the community manager, together with a taskforce of mentors in ESC, members of the community, and the coordination of our resource center (SALTO ESC RC), were able to produce a framework from the mentors in the ESC to the mentors in the ESC. It took over a year of meetings, discussions, compromises, and conscious work. An essential document, the framework defines the role and responsibilities of ESC mentors and reveals their growth and potential. The framework provides guidance and perspectives to both new and experienced mentors. To do this, it defines ESC mentors' starting point and opens up a valley of opportunities for them. By improving the quality of mentoring, we are directly enhancing the learning experience for volunteers and making the deepest possible impact on the lives of programme participants and the communities where these young volunteers are active. This framework will inspire and guide you through the wonderful experience of mentoring in the European Solidarity Corps!
Specific behaviours
The specific behaviours focus on encouraging cultural exploration, facilitating social connections, providing practical support, and promoting intercultural reflection and sharing.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Supporting team integration process
Facilitating the team-building process, decision-making and communication among volunteers
Competence 2: Supporting team cooperation
Enabling team members to keep track of their tasks, facilitating communication and encouraging peer reflection and evaluation
Specific behaviours
Behaviours include engaging in open dialogue, setting clear objectives, maintaining regular communication, and ensuring confidentiality while providing feedback and support to both the volunteer and the organisation. The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific tasks
The tasks involve supporting the organisation in fostering an inclusive, safe environment while providing personalised guidance and resources to ensure volunteers thrive.
Specific behaviours
Behaviours include initiating open conversations, helping volunteers clarify their motivations and expectations, and providing continuous support to ensure alignment with the organisation's mission and values.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Supporting the onboarding process
Facilitating the orientation and integration process of the volunteer and cooperating with the organisation in supporting onboarding activities
Competence 2: Supporting volunteers' integration within the organisation
Building relationships, facilitating networking and taking an active role in the organisation’s activities
Specific tasks
Tasks involve planning the mentoring process, documenting activities and volunteer progress, maintaining open communication with the project team, and providing insights for improvement through regular monitoring and evaluation.
Self-agency
Integrity
We value that volunteers are willing and able to shape their own path in life through their choices and actions.
We value honesty and trustworthiness. We commit to high standards and strive for authenticity.
Dignity
Togetherness
We value equality and equity, mutual respect and fairness in interactions with others, with respect for human rights being a fundamental aspect of our approach.
We value cooperation, acts of solidarity based on empathy and compassion, and empowering mutual support.
Competence 1: Facilitating cultural navigation and awareness
Assisting with everyday practicalities, providing orientation and support in familiarisation with the local community, helping volunteers overcome adjustment problems, such as homesickness or culture shock, and encouraging them to explore the local community and its surroundings.
Competence 2: Fostering intercultural learning and reflection
Supporting the volunteer’s overall transition process, including understanding the local culture and language, facilitating reflection on their (intercultural) experiences and learning from them.
Competence 3: Building trusting relationships
Establishing and maintaining a relationship with the volunteer based on trust and mutual respect and creating a safe environment for mentoring conversations about learning and well-being.
We uphold high-quality standards in mentoring. We maintain confidentiality, and set and respect boundaries for ourselves and others, with safeguarding being at the heart of our practice, ensuring the safety and well-being of all volunteers.
We support volunteers in becoming more (self-)aware of themselves and their volunteering journey. We encourage them to take responsibility for and ownership of their choices and actions.
We engage with volunteers and others in an ethical manner. We strive for transparency, mutual respect and accountability.
We approach every interaction with kindness, empathy and compassion. We keep an open mind, respecting and including various perspectives and diverse backgrounds and help create a safe, supportive and empowering environment.
Specific tasks
Tasks include facilitating team integration, supporting clear communication, guiding volunteers in understanding their roles, and fostering collaboration and cohesion within the group to ensure effective team cooperation and alignment with the organisation's mission.
Competence 1: Raising awareness of learning and development
Initiating conversations about learning, encouraging autonomy and agency in the learning process.
Competence 2: Supporting planning and implementation of learning and development
Helping the volunteers set goals for their learning, create action steps and check their progress
Competence 3: Supporting reflection and asessment of learning and development
Assisting the volunteer with reflecting on their experiences, assessing their learning and formulating competences.
Competence 1: Raising awareness of well-being
Initiating conversations about self-care and well-being throughout the volunteers’ stay, promoting well-being in the organisation.
Competence 2: Supporting well-being practices
Suggesting activities to reflect on and boost volunteers’ well-being, encouraging the volunteers to check on their well-being, and, if needed, providing access to specialised resources and help.
Specific behaviours
The behaviours include encouraging reflection on the ESC Programme's values, motivating volunteers to integrate these values into their activities, fostering discussions, sharing best practices, and supporting community engagement to amplify the presence and impact of these values.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Specific behaviours
The behaviors involved in facilitating learning and development include initiating conversations about learning, actively listening to the volunteers' needs and aspirations, encouraging self-reflection, providing resources for skill development, and fostering an environment that supports personal growth and autonomy.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.
Competence 1: Raising awareness of the Programme's values
Drawing attention to, communicating and promoting the core principles and priorities of the Programme.
Competence 2: Supporting alignment of activities with the Programme’s values
Supporting the consistency of activities with the core priorities and quality standards of the Programme
Specific behaviours
The behaviours include encouraging active participation, empathy, and continuous feedback while fostering trust, safety, and personalised support for volunteers' inclusion and growth.The specific behaviours are organized by competence so check out the next page to discover the specific behaviours targeting each competence.