An Assessment of the Mentorship Roles, Methods and Types in the Training Curriculum of the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomeini

 The continuous process of change in various aspects of social life and the rapid and impressive progress of different fields of science and technology have provided the ground for the transformation of organizational structures from the traditional forms to the more complex and specialized forms. In such a context, the primary focus of any organization is on improving its survival, Efficiency and effectiveness. Indeed, organizational longevity depends on its employees’ effectiveness and employees can be effective when they carry out their major functions. To fulfill effectively their functions, employees need to increase their capabilities, i.e. them improve their knowledge and skill and adopt a more positive attitudes. The   more transferable and practical these skills are, the more capable is the organization to adapt to the changing environment. Therefore, not only can training and development of human resources play an important role in extending special knowledge and skills of managers and employees, but also it can lead to their participation in improving organizational efficiency and effectiveness and make adaptation to the changing environmental pressures more successful. Considering this, the aim of this study was to assess the roles, methods and types of mentorship in the training curriculum in the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomeini.

1- What is the dominant role of mentors in the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomein from the learners’ point of view?
2-  What is the dominant method of mentorship in the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomein - from the learners' point of view?
3-  What is the dominant type of mentorship in the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomein - from the learners' point of view?

This study benefitted from a survey design.   The statistical population of the study were all learners who were taking the training courses in the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomein Imam Khomeini Immigrant Economic Zone based on the curriculum of the training courses. Accordingly, 106 learners were selected through simple random sampling and the Mentor Role Scale (Regens & McFarlane, 1990) was then distributed among the participants. . The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were then assessed c and the obtained data was analyzed using SPSS Statistics Version 23 and through running Repeated measures ANOVA and Chi-Square tests.

As the results of this study indicated, there was a considerable difference between instructors in their mentorship roles, but none of the roles were dominant. It was further found that dominant mentoring approach which was adopted by instructors included a combination of formal and informal methods. In addition, practical training was found to be as the most prevalent type of instructors' mentorship. Based on the overall results, following a curriculum with an emphasis on effective mentoring practices and  formal and informal practices can have a significantly beneficial effect on the learning process.

 Mentoring is an important life long process for professional development and psychological support which can be considered as one of the most important aspect of educational experience. Mentors can affect educational development and provision of considerable opportunities for trainees. Therefore, there is an increasing need for the use of effective and active guidance programs in organizational training to promote the intern's career success. Based on the overall results of this study, it seems that the main step prerequisite for teachers to enter the s Educational Guidance is familiarity with different types of mentoring roles as well as mentoring methods, evaluation of the effectiveness of each of these roles in different training contexts. It seems that adoption of different mentoring roles can lead to the most satisfactory outcomes for both instructors and learners. Additionally, due to the time and sometimes space limitations to take full-time training course, learners need to be offered Integrated guidance courses that will have the best function and effectiveness both formally and in the form of specific courses at a specific time and place and informally in the form of self-study or virtual training.  As the results of this study indicated, mentors in the Special Economic Zone of Bandar Imam Khomeini adopted guidance, counseling, friendship and coaching roles. It was also found that, from the perspective of learners, educators who performed a counseling role could help trainees to discover such personal concerns which might cause them to feel incompetent or hinder their professional development. Hall and Chandler (2007) have also argued that providing trainees with personal counseling can be especially of great importance to them in such stressful situations as entering an unfamiliar environment or learning a new role when they have not gone through such experiences before.  Therefore, a counselor who is aware of emotional needs of the mentees and demonstrates trust, encouragement, and listening skills can help them develop their self-confidence in stressful situations