Ask anyone who has moved up through the NHS, the Civil Service or local government how they did it, and most will mention a person before they mention a course. Someone explained how things really worked. Someone told them about a role before it was advertised. Someone read a rough application and made it sharper. That kind of help has a name, mentoring, and public-sector employers take it more seriously than most.
The good news is that you do not need to be senior, well connected or on a graduate scheme to benefit. Mentoring, staff networks and talent programmes exist at every level, and many are free to join and open to all staff. The less good news is that nobody hands them to you. You have to know what exists, and you have to ask.
This article explains the main options, from formal and informal mentoring through reverse mentoring, staff networks, Civil Service talent programmes and NHS leadership development. It ends with practical advice on finding a mentor and being worth mentoring.
What a mentor actually does
A mentor is an experienced person who meets you regularly to help you develop. They are not your manager, and that matters. Because a mentor has no say over your pay or your workload, you can be honest with them in a way that can feel risky with a boss.
Good mentors do a few simple things. They listen. They ask questions that make you think. They share how they handled similar situations. They point you towards opportunities, people and training you would not have found alone. What they do not do is your job, your application or your thinking for you.
Mentoring is different from coaching, though the two words often get mixed up. A coach helps you work through a specific goal or problem, usually over a fixed number of sessions, and does not need to know your field at all. A mentor usually knows your world well and stays with you for longer. Many public-sector employers offer both, so it is worth knowing which one you are asking for.
Formal and informal mentoring
Formal schemes
Most large public-sector employers run structured mentoring schemes. You apply, fill in a short profile, and get matched with a mentor, often from a different team or even a different organisation. There is usually a suggested length for the relationship and some light training for both sides.
Formal schemes are a good starting point because the awkward part, asking someone, is done for you. Ask your line manager, your HR team or your intranet what is available. In the Civil Service, mentoring is a normal part of development conversations, and many departments take part in schemes that match people across departments. In the NHS, trusts often run their own schemes, and professional bodies add more on top. Councils vary more, but many run schemes themselves or through regional partnerships.
Informal mentoring
Informal mentoring is simply a relationship you build yourself. You notice someone whose work or manner you respect, and you ask them for a conversation. If it goes well, you ask for another. Over time it becomes mentoring without anyone ever using the word.
Informal arrangements are often the ones that last, because both people chose them. They can also reach places formal schemes cannot, such as a mentor in a profession you want to join, or in an organisation you hope to move to one day.
Reverse mentoring
Reverse mentoring flips the usual arrangement. A junior member of staff mentors a senior one, perhaps on the experience of newer staff, on technology, or on what it is like to be part of a group the senior person does not belong to. Many NHS organisations, government departments and councils use reverse mentoring to help leaders understand issues such as race, disability and social background.
If you are early in your career, reverse mentoring is worth considering for a selfish reason as well as a generous one. It puts you in regular, honest conversation with a senior leader. You learn how they think, and they learn your name. Treat the role with the same care you would want from your own mentor. Turn up prepared, be honest, and keep confidences.
Staff networks
Staff networks are groups run by employees, for employees, usually built around a shared identity or interest. Common examples include networks for disabled staff, minority ethnic staff, LGBT+ staff, women, carers, people of faith and people early in their careers. Most large public-sector employers support them, and they are typically open to allies as well as members.
Networks matter for your career in three ways:
- They are where informal mentoring starts. Networks are full of people at different grades who share something with you and want fellow members to succeed.
- They give you visible experience. Chairing a network, running an event or leading a project shows leadership without waiting for a promotion.
- They carry information. Networks often hear about development schemes, shadowing offers and vacancies early, and the senior sponsors who champion networks are usually willing to help members who step forward.
Joining costs little more than an email. Look on your intranet, or ask HR which networks exist where you work.
Talent schemes in the Civil Service
The Civil Service runs structured talent programmes at several levels, from schemes for people early in their careers through to programmes that prepare experienced staff for the most senior leadership roles. Some are open to anyone at a certain grade. Others focus on groups that are under-represented in senior grades. Names, entry rules and timings change from year to year, so always check current details with your department rather than relying on older descriptions.
What these programmes share is a mix of development activity: workshops, coaching, mentoring, peer groups and stretching work assignments. Getting a place usually involves an application and an assessment, so treat it like a job application, with evidence, structure and honest reflection. Understanding how Civil Service grades work helps you see which programmes fit your stage.
The Fast Stream is the best-known talent programme of all, a multi-year leadership scheme that rotates people through different roles and departments. It is not the only route up, and plenty of senior civil servants never went near it, but if you are early in your career it is worth understanding what it offers.
If you are not yet a civil servant, note that most talent programmes are internal. The usual path is to join first, in whatever role you can win, and then apply for development schemes from the inside.
Leadership development in the NHS
The NHS invests heavily in leadership development, from programmes for people leading a team for the first time through to schemes for aspiring directors and executives. There are also programmes aimed at clinical staff moving into management, and graduate management training that brings people in from outside the health service. Provision is organised nationally, regionally and locally, so the same kind of programme may look slightly different depending on where you work.
As with the Civil Service, names and details change over time. The reliable approach is to ask three questions inside your own organisation. What does my trust or employer run itself? What regional programmes can I access? What national schemes am I eligible for? Your line manager, your appraisal and your organisation's learning and development team are the right starting points, and the NHS Leadership Academy lists national programmes.
One quiet tip: appraisals in the NHS are the doorway to most funded development. Go into yours with a specific request, not a vague wish to develop, and you are far more likely to come out with something concrete.
Mentoring or sponsorship: knowing the difference
A mentor talks with you. A sponsor talks about you. The difference sounds small and is enormous.
A sponsor is a senior person who puts their own credibility behind you. They recommend you for a role, mention your name when a project needs a lead, or insist that you are interviewed. Mentoring makes you better at your job. Sponsorship makes your work visible to the people who make decisions. Careers that move tend to have both behind them.
You cannot demand a sponsor, but you can make sponsorship likely. Do excellent work where senior people can see it: write the summary, present the findings, volunteer for the task nobody else wants. When someone senior takes an interest, keep them informed about what you did with the chances they gave you. Sponsors keep backing people who deliver.
How to find a mentor and be worth mentoring
Finding a mentor is mostly a matter of asking well:
- Start with schemes. Apply to your employer's formal scheme first. It is the lowest-effort route and removes the awkwardness of asking.
- Ask for a conversation, not a commitment. "Could I have half an hour to hear how you got into this work?" is easy to say yes to. "Will you be my mentor?" is not.
- Look one or two steps ahead, not ten. Someone recently promoted into the role you want still remembers exactly how they did it. A director may not.
- Use networks and professional bodies. Staff networks, trade unions and professional bodies all run or quietly support mentoring.
Being a good mentee is what turns one meeting into a lasting relationship. Come to each session with a specific question. Do what you said you would do between sessions. Tell your mentor what happened as a result of their advice, because that is the reward they are working for. And put the advice to use: keep your CV and applications up to date as your experience grows, so you are ready when a chance appears.
Mentors open doors, but you still have to walk through them. Keep an eye on live vacancies across the NHS, Civil Service, councils, police and more on our public-sector jobs board, so that when your development starts to pay off, you know exactly what to aim for.
Sources and further reading
- Civil Service Careers — official information on Civil Service roles, schemes and development.
- NHS Health Careers — the official NHS careers service, including development and training routes.
- National Careers Service — free, government-backed careers advice for everyone.
- GOV.UK — departmental pages list current talent and development programmes.
This article is general careers information, not formal advice. Always check the official source and the specific job advert for current details.
