To what degree is there utility in mentorship in the British Army?

In academia and the arts, master-apprentice relationships have been instrumental in producing world-class thinkers and creators, from Aristotle learning under Plato to the studio mentorships that shaped Renaissance artists. From the apprentice-master relationships of medieval guilds to the structured mentorship programmes in modern corporate and military institutions, the transfer of knowledge and experience has been essential to organisational success. In the Roman legions, for example, centurions mentored junior officers and soldiers, passing down battlefield wisdom that ensured tactical superiority and unit cohesion. Similarly, outside of the UK, in contemporary elite special forces, such as the US Navy SEALs, mentorship is integral to developing the next generation of operatives, ensuring operational excellence and mission effectiveness, as well as successfully being used for scaffolding transition from military to civilian careers. In the corporate world, companies like Google and General Electric have institutionalised mentoring programmes, recognising their role in leadership development, innovation, and retention. Across all sectors—military, business, academia, and sport— throughout the ages, mentorship remains a proven method for accelerating development, enhancing performance, and preserving institutional knowledge.

It is also commonly understood that the current generation places significant value on mentorship as a strategy to enhance their professional development. A considerable 3/4 of Gen Z individuals view learning as critical to their career advancement, with 83% eager to acquire skills that improve their current job performance. Additionally, 1/5 want supervisors/superiors to possess mentoring abilities, whilst 2/3 privilege mentoring opportunities for their career growth (Winstanely, 2025). Almost 50% of employees who engage in mentoring claim they are unlikely to leave their organisations, which highlights the potential impact on retention (Smith, 2022). Furthermore, organisations that invest in mentorship programmes foster stronger workplace relationships, develop leadership skills, and align employees with company culture far more effectively than those that do not, all of which contribute to increased employee retention whilst enhancing cohesion in large, dispersed organisations (GPAC, 2024).

Despite the Army People Strategy of 2019 admirably setting out plans for, “The Army Mentoring Capability… being developed, enabling opportunity and support for personnel to take part in both formal mentoring schemes with external partners, as well as semi-formal and informal mentoring schemes internal to the organisation”(AFF, 2019), a quick search of the, public-facing, British Army webpage for ‘mentorship’ currently delivers one hit - for the Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM) (MoD, n.d).

How different is it ‘on the inside’?

Clearly, the Army know that mentorship could play a critical role in the professional and personal development of British Army soldiers and officers, providing guidance, support, and the transfer of experience across ranks. There is, indeed, an internally accessed dedicated DC page for mentoring and coaching which hosts several resources (some of the links for which are unworkable) and signposts SP to the formal training course on offer, accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which results in a Level 5 Award in Professional Mentoring Practice. Accredited courses are invaluable (and subsidised for SP potentially through Standard Learning Credits), but completing them inevitably requires either support from the Chain of Command to complete during working hours, or the sacrifice of personal time, which is not always easy, and given the lack of recognition for trained mentors, not necessarily prioritised (Defence Academy, 2025).

While often associated with officer development, mentoring is just as vital, if not more so, for soldiers (who can often lack the agency and influence of officers) — especially in navigating the transition from training to operational service and ultimately reaching SNCO ranks and beyond. So, what is on offer for all SP?

With many examples on the DC page of opportunities for officers and senior ranks, albeit a large proportion of the page is out of date, it would be easy to think, as a soldier, that mentoring is simply not for you. That said, even as an officer, or SNCO, the ability to apply (or be selected) for formal mentoring appears exclusive and very focussed, with the exception of ‘The Army Multicultural Network’, which launched a fully inclusive Mentoring Programme, aimed to improve workplace performance and enhance the lived experience of participants (although this information was last updated in 2022).

‘The Mission Include’ programme, aimed at diverse and under-represented groups to increase diversity of thought, pairs individuals with someone in a different organisation, with different experience and with different perspectives. Advertised throughout diversity networks it seeks self-referred applicants in the OR6 – OR9 and OF1- OF3 rank range who identify as a member of an underrepresented group, only. ‘The Women in Defence’ mentoring programme is designed to improve diversity and gender balance within UK Defence. It is only open to female mentees who are matched with more senior male or female mentors from a different Defence or civilian organisation. Advertised through the Servicewomen community, it seeks applicants in the OR6-7 and OF2-3 rank range. ‘Mission Gender Equity’, a global, cross-organisational mentoring programme matches female mentees to a more senior male or female mentor from another organisation. This is only open to those that the Army targets, “high-potential” females in a specific rank range. A pool of potential candidates is identified in conjunction with APC who are female OF3/OF4s who have received a ‘High’ or ‘Excp’ 2Up recommendation on their most recent OJAR, or who have been successful on the most recent unit command board. Those fulfilling this criterion are approached and invited to apply (that said, this information was last updated in 2023). ‘Business in the Community’ offers serving Army BAME personnel the opportunity to take part in a mentoring programme which aims to “assist individuals to attain their professional goals and focus on opportunity and career development” (the programme information has not been updated since 2021 and was only open to 10 mentees with 2 mentors also being required). ‘The General Staff Centre’ runs a mentoring programme for COs who can apply for a General Staff Officer to become their mentor (the information on this was last updated in 2022).

There was a review of efficacy into the final mentorship scheme flagged on the DC page because, following the success of the ‘Pan Defence Servicewomen Mentoring Programme’, which aimed to match mentors of a minimum of two ranks/grades up from their female mentees across defence (trialled in 2021 and 2022), plans were put in place for a further year. This page was last updated in 2022, however, and may not have been implemented.

The DC page asserts that “Mentoring…is a critical developmental activity…” paving “…the way for a more inclusive, connected and diverse workforce where individual talent is nurtured and maximised.” In addition, it states that mentorship will provide “… broader, through-life development predominantly outside of the chain of command”. Yet this rhetoric is undermined by the outdated content, which is also not representative of all corps/regiments. Admittedly, research is currently being conducted to understand the unfolding mentoring picture across the Army, in addition, work is currently being done in regiments/corps and not yet being shared, for example, the Intelligence Corps Mentoring Scheme (the ICMS). 

A vignette of this corps-level mentoring programme (not currently on the DC page or widely known) indicates that it could be one of the most promising new mentorship initiatives in the British Army, and eminently replicable. Since its formal inception in 1940, the Corps has been at the forefront of military intelligence, contributing to key operations, not just at Bletchley Park with codebreaking and cryptographic efforts in World War II, but also in Cold War Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Operations and, in contemporary battlespaces, counterinsurgency and cyber warfare strategies. The Corps has rapidly adapted to the evolving geopolitical landscape, pioneering new intelligence-gathering techniques and methods of working which often eschew the hierarchical structure in favour of subject matter, product or outcome. Building on this irrefutable legacy of innovation and adaptability, the ICMS continues the tradition of dynamic thinking and working in unusual ways. 

Though in its infancy, the ICMS is rapidly gaining momentum and beginning to demonstrate measurable impact across all ranks, aiming to embody the key tenets of mentorship, fostering a culture of continuous professional development and leadership growth. It is going to great lengths to effectively pair junior analysts and officers with experienced intelligence personnel to accelerate learning and guide career pathways. Working with leadership individuals external to the British Army, as well as those within it, the ICMS seeks to encourage cross-specialism mentoring within the Intelligence Corps, strengthening information-sharing and strategic thinking, breaking new ground in terms of potential and output. Integrating reverse mentoring to ensure senior personnel remain attuned to emerging intelligence methodologies and technologies will further the interests of not just individuals but also the Corps, wider Army and Britain’s allies. Early feedback suggests that the ICMS is contributing to increased retention, improved analytical skills, and stronger professional relationships. As it evolves, it has the potential to serve as a model for other Army branches seeking to enhance leadership development through structured mentoring for soldiers and officers.

Do we need differing mentorship models for officers and soldiers?

The answer is both yes and also no. The key difference between British Army officers and soldiers undertaking career mentoring primarily lies in scope, purpose, and structure, shaped by expectations within their respective roles, responsibilities, and career trajectories. While both officers and soldiers should engage in mentoring, officers may focus on strategic leadership development, whereas soldiers could concentrate on practical leadership skill development, trade proficiency, and team-building. That said, reverse mentoring inverts this and creates other opportunities not necessarily career linked.

Newly trained soldiers, for example, can often experience a steep learning curve when integrating into their first unit. A structured mentoring system could ease this transition by pairing them with an experienced soldier or junior NCO who could guide them through the early challenges of military life, embedding the values and standards they have been exposed to during their training and modelling how to navigate the unique micro-culture of the unit and their role within it.

Soldiers who engage in mentoring relationships can gain valuable insights into career progression pathways, the benefits of education and accessing information about career/life-enhancing qualifications through opportunities such as SLCs which they may not proactively be searching for or fully aware of. Mentorship can help to prepare soldiers for promotion boards, qualifications (such as SNCO courses), and leadership development programmes, where awareness of, and discussions about, potential barriers to success with a mentor can prevent unnecessary anxiety or failure.

Mentorship from experienced SNCOs can also ensure soldiers build the skills and knowledge needed for not just promotion to leadership positions, from Section Commander to Platoon Sergeant (and beyond), but also enable effective delivery at that rank, once promoted and in post.

Learning from experienced mentors, people with not just a proven track record but also the requisite character traits for mentorship, can also support soldiers to develop resilience, enhance decision-making skills, and increase adaptability — crucial qualities for operators in high-pressure environments, from frontline operations to peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.

That said, mentorship is not necessarily a one-way relationship (mentor to mentee). Junior soldiers can provide fresh perspectives to more senior ranks, particularly in areas like digital literacy, diversity, and the evolving culture of younger generations in the military. This way of working can create an environment where learning is mutual, fostering versatility and adaptability among leaders at all levels, not to mention shared cultural knowledge.

Despite the current absence of formal mentoring programmes in the British Army (as illustrated, there are very few formal mentoring opportunities for SP at any level on the DC page), junior soldiers can actively seek informal guidance from experienced soldiers or junior NCOs, who have a moral obligation to give their support when asked to. Leading by example, and paying it forward are vital. Soldiers who have benefitted from mentoring could equally offer peer mentoring by supporting newer soldiers joining the unit, and could reach out to ‘onboard’ people – as many already do as a matter of course. Soldiers who are keen on their career development can speak to corporals and sergeants about potential trade qualifications, leadership courses, and career pathways in the margins of daily life, as seniors can seek opportunities for these ad hoc conversations and have them with juniors. Soldiers can be proactive and maintain awareness of the direction of travel of the Army in relation to ‘mentoring writ large’ by bookmarking the DC page, in the first instance and actively interrogating their unit pages for opportunity, alongside completing the DLE-delivered Mentoring Fundamentals course. They can thus remain alive to, and engage in, unit-sponsored mentoring schemes (as mentors and mentees), if and when the opportunities become available. Equally, ‘networking’ is not just for business or for the Officer’s Mess, junior soldiers can begin to build a professional network early, both within their unit and through a wide range of Army initiatives (including AT and career courses).

Once in senior roles, SP who have experienced the benefit of mentoring could advocate for, and support the establishment/maintenance of, formal mentoring programmes within their units – and be rewarded for doing so via their annual report. They could participate in initiatives such as reverse mentoring to stay attuned to the perspectives and needs of junior ranks. Equally, it is important they use their experience to shape the next generation of leaders, ensuring a legacy of strong leadership across the Army.

It is all in the art of the possible, as others have demonstrated, perhaps we just need to recognise the value and reward those who engage with it?

Research from other military and uniformed organisations provides compelling evidence of the benefits of structured mentorship programmes, and could offer some pause for thought when considering practical limitations, logistics and implementation in the British Army.

The United States Army has implemented The Army Mentorship Program (AMP), which institutionalises mentorship, linking SP across ranks and specialisms, for example. Studies have shown AMP participants report higher leadership confidence and career progression rates, with the caveat that this is influenced by gender (Krings, 2022). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) also have a Formal Mentorship Program. This has led to increased retention, particularly among underrepresented groups, by providing targeted support. Furthermore, a study on mentorship within the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) found that mentorship helps strengthen both mentors and mentees against challenges related to engagement, retention, motivation, and connectivity to service life (RCMP, n.d.). The US Navy Mentoring Scheme has integrated mentoring as a key element of leadership development, improving communication and operational effectiveness (Phares, 2022). Reverse mentoring in the Royal Air Force (RAF) has been trialled at RAF Cranwell. The RAF has already implemented a formalised mentoring scheme and begun work with external agencies to bridge generational and technological gaps (seen as a result of evolving digital tools and contemporary cultural challenges), improving decision-making and modernisation efforts (RAF Cranwell, 2021). All of this bodes well for future implementation in the British Army.

To summarise, mentorship has great utility – it is not mission critical, but could be a powerful tool for SP at every level. From easing transitions into Army life to preparing for leadership responsibilities, mentorship strengthens professional development and contributes to a more cohesive, resilient force. By embedding mentoring within Army culture, and embracing innovative approaches, the British Army can ensure that its people continue to grow, adapt to new challenges, and uphold the highest standards of military excellence.

References:

AFF (2019) Army People Strategy, https://aff.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/pers_sub_strat_booklet_final_screen.pdf

Defence Academy (2025) Mentoring in Defence - Virtual, https://www.da.mod.uk/courses/mentoring-in-defence-virtual

GPAC (2024) How Mentorship Programmes Increase Employee Retention, https://gogpac.com/knowledge-center/how-mentorship-programs-increase-employee-retention/

Krings (2022) Study finds men, women in Army view mentorship differently, as way to advance or survive, https://news.ku.edu/news/article/2022/03/14/study-finds-men-women-army-view-mentorship-vastly-differently-way-advance-or-survive

MoD (n.d.) Royal Military School of Music, https://www.army.mod.uk/learn-and-explore/about-the-army/formations-divisions-and-brigades/field-army-troops/land-warfare-centre/royal-school-of-military-engineering-group/royal-military-school-of-music/

Phares (2022) Mentoring: It’s Not Rank Specific,https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/january/mentoring-its-not-rank-specific#:~:text=The%20Navy%20has%20adapted%20the,sailor%20can%20be%20a%20mentor

RAF Cranwell (2021) Reverse Mentoring Event, https://www.facebook.com/RAFCollegeCranwell/posts/raf-cranwell-has-just-held-its-first-speed-reverse-mentoring-event-led-by-the-di/2122881071183340/; https://uk.leonardo.com/en/news-and-stories-detail/-/detail/leonardo-raf-pioneering-joint-mentoring-programme

RCMP (n.d.) Enhance RCMP leadership culture https://rcmp.ca/en/change-rcmp/enhance-rcmp-leadership-culture

Smith, A (2022) Driving Employee Retention Through Mentorship, https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/07/14/driving-employee-retention-through-mentorship/

Winstanely, G (2025) Mentoring Statistics You Need to Know – 2025, https://mentorloop.com/blog/mentoring-statistics/

More about Dr Carr

Dr Victoria Carr is a Reserve Officer in the British Army Intelligence Corps; a successful primary school Headteacher; a Chartered Manager and member of the CMI (shortlisted finalist for CM of the Year 2023); a CollectivEd Senior Fellow, Leeds Beckett University; a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching; a Senior Research Fellow, the Centre for Army Leadership; an author and TEDx speaker who focuses on leadership, the power of language and how we all have the power to change lives. Vic advocates that there is a social imperative for those in leadership positions to actively create opportunities for transformational interactions with others.

She has been a keynote speaker at a multitude of military and educational leadership events and brings her passion and insight, gained through decades of leadership in a range of environments, to each bespoke brief she delivers. She has lectured part time at Master’s degree level. She has 3 MAs: in Equality and Diversity, Leadership, and Modern War Studies/ Contemporary Military History, and is currently working on her fourth, in Global Security. Her doctorate is in leadership and politics in education.

She published her first two books, Leading with Love and Authentic School Improvement, with Routledge, and is working on a third with a co-author, about the history of British Army officer recruitment since 1660, titled ‘The Steps to Glory’, due to be published by Helion, early 2026.