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Marks & Spencer to launch alumni mentoring programme

By Rachel Douglass

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Business

Image: Marks & Spencer

British department store Marks & Spencer has announced the launch of its first alumni mentoring programme, designed to aid in the development of its former and current colleagues.

Coming as an extension of its ongoing mentoring scheme, the new programme hopes to keep the retailer’s network of alumni as active members and further allow current colleagues to benefit from their experience.

Made in partnership with Guider, the programme will ask former colleagues if they wish to attend its Alumni Network and opt to become a mentor. They will then be matched with a current colleague who they can mentor on a regular basis.

The new scheme links in with Marks & Spencer’s Alumni Network Family initiative which it launched last year with the goal of supporting individuals who leave the business. According to the retailer, the network has now grown to around 10,000 international members.

“Marks & Spencer is founded upon a strong family spirit that has been passed down from generation to generation, and that’s what our alumni network is all about,” said Katie Bickerstaffe, joint-chief operating officer and sponsor of the network programme, in a statement.

Bickerstaffe continued: “That’s why I’m really excited we’re launching the world’s first alumni mentoring scheme in retail, allowing us to utilise the rich knowledge and experience that lies within our alumni to support our current colleagues in shaping the future of Marks & Spencer.”

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