Mentoring: A Tool for Professional Development of Academic Staff in Ghanaian Polytechnics

Ghanaian polytechnics are committed to the development of their current and future academic staff and to providing a supportive structure that encourages and enables them to pursue professional development across the spectrum of their work in the polytechnics. Mentoring, arguably, provides the most personalised, work-relevant and powerful means of implementing this goal. However, there is not a comprehensive mentoring programme in place in Ghanaian polytechnics, resulting in many gaps. Mentoring enables staff to acquire skills needed to progress successfully in their work environments. This paper examined the problem of staff development in Ghanaian polytechnics and argues that this may be corrected by putting in place formal mentoring programmes. This paper offers the management of the polytechnics an insight into the benefits of introducing formal mentoring programmes. The central argument in this paper is that developing staff through mentoring programmes will improve their self confidence and self-esteem as well as uplifting the nation, which has a skills shortage and encourage more young talents to take up a career in academia. The value of this paper is that it would benefit the polytechnics, which find it difficult to attract and retain qualified staff, due to higher salaries being offered in private and other public sectors. To this end, this paper recommends that formal mentoring programmes be introduced for academic staff members.