Mentoring information for mentees

Our mentoring programme

Arts Emergency provides 16-18 year olds with free mentoring, support and community to help them explore a creative career they’re passionate about.

Mentees get a year of 1:1 support from a trained, volunteer mentor who has experience of the creative or cultural industries. Our mentors provide information, advice and guidance, supporting young people’s next steps after compulsory education; school or college.

The mentoring programme is available to young people living in Greater Manchester, London and Merseyside. We engage underrepresented and under-resourced young people who most need the support of an Arts Emergency mentor.

As part of our young community, young people can access networking and development opportunities until their 26th birthday.

In 2025, 95% of mentees believed they could achieve their creative ambitions.

Who can apply?

✅ Young people aged 16-18 who are preparing to take their first steps out of compulsory education (e.g. college or sixth form). 

✅ Young people interested in exploring a career in the creative and cultural industries. 

✅ Young people living in Greater Manchester, London or Merseyside. 

✅ We support young people most in need of an Arts Emergency mentor. Young people must meet at least one of our eligibility criteria (listed below). 

Mentee Applications will close on Friday 2nd October. 

Our Eligibility Criteria

• Your parents or careers didn’t attend university in the UK or abroad.
• The main household earner when you were 14 had a ‘working class’ occupation (i.e. a technical or craft occupation; a routine, manual, or service occupation; or was long-term unemployed)
• You have been eligible for free school meals
• You are receiving the government's 16-19 bursary
• You consider yourself as being from an ethnic minority background
• You consider yourself to be disabled*
• You consider yourself to have a learning disability or special education need. 

*Under the Equality Act 2010, you are 'disabled' or 'learning disabled' if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

If you are not sure about your eligibility please email: mentoring@arts-emergency.org

How to apply

Visit our Get a Mentor page and fill out the application form at the bottom of the page.

We would recommend spending around 30 minutes completing your application form. You can save your progress at any point - just click ‘Save my progress and resume later’.

It is possible to complete the form using a mobile or tablet, but you will find it easier using a computer or laptop. 

You will be asked to tell us about yourself, your interests, and why you would benefit from an Arts Emergency mentor. 

We are looking for young people who are curious about the creative and cultural industries, and committed to participating in a year of mentoring with Arts Emergency. 

If you need any support with completing your application form, please email: mentoring@arts-emergency.org

After the application deadline, all young people will be informed of the outcome of their application. If you have been successful you will be invited to a mentee interview. Our mentee interviews are an opportunity for us to get to know you better. Mentee interviews will take place at school or college or online, and you will be provided with the questions in advance. 

If successful, we will then match you with a mentor, and our mentoring team will be in touch to share details of your mentor with you. 

You will then be asked to confirm your participation in our mentoring programme. 

You will then be invited to an introduction event, in-person or online, where you will meet your mentor for the first time, along with other mentoring pairs in your region. 

What does mentoring do?

Mentoring pairs meet once a month, for about an hour, from January. Mentoring meetings usually take place in-person, always in an appropriate public space (for example, a coffee shop, public library, or arts organisation). Although we do have some mentoring pairs who meet remotely online. 

Young people are able to make better informed choices as they navigate higher education, vocational training, and early careers in a safe and supportive environment. 

Already in 2026:

• 90% of mentees have more knowledge of routes into the creative and cultural industries, 
• 83% of mentees have more experience and understanding of the creative and cultural industries,
• 90% of mentees have more confidence in articulating their skills, strengths and talents.

We make this happen through programmes that connect, develop, and empower young people to live out their creative ambitions. 

Who are our mentors?

Our volunteer mentors are friendly and passionate, patient and reliable. They give up their time each month to provide 1:1 support to a young person. 

Mentors provide information, advice and guidance, share their skills, experience and knowledge, encourage mentees to access new opportunities and networks, act as a positive role model, support goal setting, provide a non-judgemental space, build confidence and celebrate success. 

Most have studied an arts or humanities subject at university or have worked in the creative and cultural industries. They come from all walks of life, from all over the country, and the world - but are mostly living or working in the regions we deliver our mentoring programme (Greater Manchester, London and Merseyside). 

Mentors represent career areas across the creative and cultural industries, in different job roles and at different points in their careers. 

All of our mentors are trained by us and supported by our dedicated mentoring team. All of our mentors share our vision and uphold our Code of Conduct. 

Career areas

Below is a list of the areas mentors might have experience in:

Matching mentoring pairs

We aim to match each young person to the most appropriate mentor. We hand-match mentoring pairs based on combined interests, experience, location and needs, using the information mentees provide in their application form.

We pay attention to the young person’s interests, aptitudes, and  any special educational needs. If a young person’s interest is in writing, we would try to match them with a writer. 

Matching takes place throughout November with mentors and mentees being informed of their match by the winter break, in December. 

The mentoring year starts in January with an introduction event, in-person or online, where you will meet your mentee for the first time, along with other mentoring pairs in your region. 

Introduction events provide mentoring pairs the chance to introduce themselves, learn more about their mentor, swap contact details, schedule their next meeting, and network with other professionals, supported by Arts Emergency’s mentoring team. 

How do we support young people?

All of our mentoring pairs are supported by a dedicated regional mentoring officer. You can see our smiling faces here. 

We provide regular check-in opportunities throughout your mentoring year. If young people ever need support, want to chat about their mentoring experience, or have any questions or queries, all they have to do is drop us an email. 

Young people receive a mentee handbook with access to resources and all of the information you might need to participate in mentoring. 

We can connect mentoring pairs with other members of our network for additional information, advice and guidance. 

We repay any travel costs incurred via public transport. 

As part of our young community, young people can access networking and development opportunities until their 26th birthday.

Keeping young people safe

Keeping young people safe is our number one priority. 

Arts Emergency has a Designated Safeguarding Team, trained by the NSPCC. All of our staff team and volunteers are trained and DBS checked. You can access our safeguarding policy here.

Arts Emergency works with partner organisations to share information and pass on any safeguarding concerns. Parents/guardians/carers of young people are informed about the mentoring programme. 

Mentoring pairs are made aware that in-person mentoring meetings must take place in an appropriate public space, and are advised how to safely conduct meetings online. Mentoring meetings are monitored via mentor reports and regular check-ins with mentees. 

All mentors are trained to recognise signs of abuse and report any disclosures or concerns. All mentors complete reference checks, an enhanced DBS check, and uphold our Code of Conduct. 

For more information, questions or queries, or support with completing your application form, please email: mentoring@arts-emergency.org.