The International Tamil Engineers Forum has launched its ITEF Mentorship Programme, an initiative pairing senior members with early-career engineers within the first three years of their GCC professional journey.

The programme launches with 100 mentor-mentee pairs across the five GCC chapters and runs in twelve-month cohorts.

Each pairing receives:

• Structured monthly one-on-one sessions (in person or video, member preference).
• Quarterly group sessions with peer mentees and other mentors — building horizontal networks alongside the vertical mentor relationship.
• Access to the ITEF resource library including engineering-leadership templates, salary benchmark studies, and a curated reading list refreshed quarterly.
• Optional shadow days where mentees join mentors at their workplace for a structured technical observation.

Mentorship topics span the technical and the human:

• Technical depth in the mentee's specialisation
• Career progression — when to pursue further qualifications, when to switch employers, when to start a venture
• Navigating GCC professional culture — workplace expectations, communication norms, and the unwritten conventions every newcomer eventually learns
• Family considerations — settling spouses and children, schools, healthcare, long-term residency planning

The mentor cohort is selected on a combination of professional seniority, willingness to commit to monthly engagement, and recommendation from chapter leadership. Mentees apply through the member portal; allocation is handled centrally by the Secretariat to ensure even chapter coverage and good domain matching.

Applications for the September 2026 cohort close 31 August 2026.