Mentoring offers experienced professionals the opportunity to support the development of others across the maritime sector through guidance, professional insight, and shared experience. 

Alongside supporting another member’s growth, mentoring can also provide an opportunity to reflect on your own leadership approach, broaden your professional network, and contribute to the future development of the industry. 

The programme is designed to remain manageable alongside professional commitments, with mentoring pairs typically meeting approximately once a month throughout the programme. 

Benefits of becoming a mentor 

• Develop leadership and communication skills  
• Share professional knowledge and industry insight  
• Support the development of future maritime professionals  
• Expand your professional network  
• Gain fresh perspectives from other members across the industry  

Mentors are not expected to provide formal coaching, recruitment support, or operational advice. Instead, the role centres around listening, sharing perspective, encouraging reflection, and helping mentees navigate professional challenges and opportunities through open discussion, professional discussion and shared experience. 

Strong mentoring relationships are built on consistency, openness, professionalism, and mutual engagement.

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The RINA Mentoring Programme provides members with the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals across the maritime industry through informal but structured mentoring relationships. 

Mentoring can provide valuable space for reflection, discussion, and professional development. Participants often use mentoring relationships to explore career progression, leadership challenges, industry insight, professional capability, networking, and broader questions about long-term development within the maritime sector. 

As a mentee, you may benefit from: 

• Professional insight and career guidance  
• Increased industry knowledge and confidence  
• Broader understanding of different sectors and career pathways  
• Support in navigating professional challenges and opportunities  
• Meaningful connections within the maritime community  

Every mentoring relationship develops differently, and there is no single “right” way to approach the experience. However, mentees generally gain the most value when they approach the relationship with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to actively engage in discussions and reflection. 

Many participants find it helpful to think about the areas they would most like to explore before meeting their mentor. This might include leadership development, career progression, industry networking, professional confidence, or understanding opportunities across different parts of the maritime sector. 

Mentoring is not intended to provide guaranteed employment opportunities, formal counselling, recruitment services, or performance management. Instead, it offers the opportunity to learn from the experience and perspective of another professional working within the industry. 

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Alongside the mentoring programme, RINA Peer Connect provides an opportunity for experienced professionals to connect with peers for informal discussion, professional reflection, and shared industry insight. 

Designed particularly for Fellows, senior leaders, executives, and highly experienced professionals, Peer Connect focuses on reciprocal peer-to-peer conversations rather than traditional developmental mentoring relationships. 

Participants engage as professional equals, creating space for open discussion around leadership, industry change, strategic challenges, governance, career development, and wider professional experiences within the maritime sector. 

Typical discussion themes may include: 

• Leadership and management challenges  
• Industry trends and change  
• Organisational culture  
• Governance and professional development  
• Strategic decision-making  
• Career transitions and progression  

The initiative is intended to strengthen professional connections across the industry while providing a trusted environment for thoughtful discussion, knowledge-sharing, and professional exchange. 

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