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Mentors Who Make a Difference: Real Stories from Workpays Learners
- Humaira Makda
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
At Workpays, mentoring is about more than helping someone into work or supporting them through a course. Mentoring at Workpays is about listening, building trust, and walking alongside people as they rebuild confidence, skills, and belief in themselves. This National Mentoring Month, we’re celebrating the tutors, employment coaches, and support staff who make a lasting difference every day, and sharing real stories from learners whose journeys have been shaped by that support.
Learner Voices: The Impact of Support
For many learners, the encouragement and guidance of a tutor or coach plays a vital role in their progress, confidence and motivation.
“I significantly improved my English and became more confident in communication.” - All
“Robyn is a good tutor who doesn’t push learners past their limits and is as helpful as possible.” - Salli Jo
“I’ve learned a lot that I didn’t know before.” - Ataullah Rohan
Creating a safe and supportive learning environment can make all the difference, especially when learners are building new skills or returning to education. For many learners, the encouragement and guidance of a tutor or coach plays a vital role in their progress, confidence and motivation.
Why Mentoring Matters at Workpays
Our tutors and employment coaches often support individuals during some of the most challenging periods of their lives. Luke Simmonds, Employment Coach explains that mentoring goes far beyond job searching alone.
“It’s about helping participants overcome barriers, whether they feel big or small. By reducing those barriers, we help build confidence and motivation, which creates a pathway towards sustainable employment."
Advice for Aspiring Mentors and Tutors
Luke’s advice for new mentors is simple: focus on the person, not the outcome.
“Participants often join programmes at challenging points in their lives. You need to take the time to really listen, understand their circumstances and meet them where they are.
He also highlights that progress doesn’t always follow a straight line.
“Progress isn’t always linear. Sometimes the biggest achievement is simply attending an appointment, completing a course or starting to believe in yourself again, and those moments really matter.
Trust, patience and consistency, Luke explains, are at the heart of effective mentoring, alongside understanding barriers beyond employment alone.
A Moment That Made a Difference
Luke recalled supporting a participant who joined the Restart Programme during a vulnerable time in his life.
Through barrier removal, specialist signposting, and consistent coaching, he gradually rebuilt confidence, regained stability and eventually secured full-time employment, all while continuing his sobriety journey and repairing family relationships.
“Seeing that impact on someone’s life, not just their employment outcome, reinforced why I love what I do.”
Another Mentor’s Perspective: Seeing Potential in Every Journey
Sam James, Contract Lead in Wolverhampton and former Employment Coach, shares a similar passion.
“I enjoyed being an Employment Coach because it allowed me to get to know people and support them into sustainable employment.”
For Sam, mentoring is about helping people recognise their potential, especially those facing long-term unemployment or difficult circumstances. He recalled supporting a single parent back into work by helping her identify her strengths and explore suitable roles.
“She messaged me after getting the job to thank me, knowing you’ve had that impact is incredible.”
For Sam, experiences like this show why mentoring is central to everything Workpays does.
“Mentoring is of utmost importance in all of our work.”
Celebrating Mentors This National Mentoring Month
Mentoring at Workpays is about recognising small wins, building trust, and supporting people at their own pace. Whether it’s a tutor helping a learner gain confidence in the classroom or an employment coach supporting someone back into work, these moments create meaningful, long-term change.
This National Mentoring Month, we want to say thank you to all our mentors, tutors and employment coaches, and to the learners who trust us with their journeys.
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