The Melbourne High School Old Boys’ Association (MHSOBA) mentoring program, sponsored by The Green, Maroon and Black Patrons’ Club (GM&B), has been in place for several years to support students from Melbourne High School. The target audience was Year 12 students but later changed to the Year 11 students in 2017 due to VCE priorities.

The previous program was designed on the model where students were matched with selected mentors on a one-on-one basis. This model was dependent on a high level of engagement and interactions between the participants with little redundancy. Furthermore, there is a lack of supported structure(s) to facilitate ongoing engagement and interests. As a result, the mentoring program stalled during the COVID lockdown in 2020.

A review of the Mentoring program was conducted by GM&B in early 2022 to examine an alternative where small groups of alumni in a common career/industry are mentored in a tiered structure.

GM&B, in conjunction with The Palladians Association, collaborated and designed a new model to cater for ex-students from Melbourne High School. Input has been sought from The MacRobertson Girls High School and The Palladian Association who have conducted similar mentoring activities over the last few years. A decision has been made to conduct a joint Mentoring & Transition Program (M&T Program) under an agreed Memorandum of Understanding, to present a comprehensive program for both alumni associations.

The revised program will create better mentoring and networking opportunities, amongst other benefits to our alumni. A pilot program was rolled out in 2023 and revised as required.

The mission of the M&T Program is to establish industry based mentoring groups and host insights sessions from April to April each year, in a safe and structured environment in person or virtually, in order to maximise diverse networks to grow career opportunities and support the lives of alumni.

The M&T Program will provide guidance and personal development delivered through a framework and a structured program. In particular, the goals are to:

• Provide career guidance with a stronger focus on targeted and respective industries
• Provide genuine value and incentive to join the respective alumni associations
• Enhance school-community links