The DAC’s Graduate Development Programme equips graduates with the necessary skills to tackle the demands of the automotive component manufacturing workplace. Over the last few years this training programme has proved successful at enabling participants’ growth and development. Participants are provided with holistic, automotive sector specific business skills and are equipped to work as competent employees in their functional areas.

This outcomes-based training will be executed by an external and internal mentor who will guide the graduate through the modular content.

EXTERNAL MENTOR

The DAC will be providing an external, experienced automotive professional to be the mentor for all graduates on the GDP. The mentor will provide:

One day of theoretical training on the content per module. This is conductedat group level with all graduates participating in the programme;

Each individual graduate will receive 2 hours of mentoring by the mentor at their firm on each module.

INTERNAL MENTOR

Firms are required to ensure adequate on-site line functioning reporting (i.e. the graduate must report to an appropriate manager during the course of the programme).

WHY MENTORING?

• Mentored employees perform better, advance more rapidly, report greater job and career satisfaction;
• 35% of employees with no mentor planned to look for new employment within the next year, while only 16% with good mentors do;
• 60% of graduates indicate that the availability of a mentoring programme weighed heavily in their decision regarding selection of employer.