The Locus Alliance is seeking mentors and mentees for its Early Careers Network Mentoring Program.

The program is the first initiative of the recently launched Alliance, and clearly is intended to fill the gap left by the collapse of the Geospatial Council of Australia, which ran a successful mentoring scheme.

The mentoring program is to be delivered in collaboration with young and early careers groups from Earth Observation Australia, the Australasian Hydrographic Society, the Institution of Surveyors NSW, and the Institution of Surveyors Victoria.

The Alliance says the program is “designed to support the professional development of early career professionals in the geospatial profession by strengthening soft skills and supporting participants to shape their career direction and professional identity”.

“We aim to provide participants with new insights from a range of disciplines on industry trends, challenges, and ways of working,” the Alliance says.

Skills development

The mentoring program is intended to non-technical, focusing on the development of professional skills “that are transferable across all roles and sectors,” thereby making it suitable for participation from individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds.

The scheme, which will run from 16 June to 24 November 2026, will begin with a virtual event that will act as an introduction to the program.

This will be followed by five, one-hour sessions, virtual or in-person, scheduled by each mentor-mentee pairing.

There will be a virtual industry roundtable event at the mid-way stage of the program, followed by an in-person graduation event at the end of the program.

Taking part

Participation is free for mentors, while participation for mentees is free if they are a financial member for FY26/27 of one of the collaborating organisations, or $50 for non-members.

The Alliance is encouraging undergraduate students to participate, but they should be a member of Locus Alliance (which is free) or a collaborating organisation. Memberships will be verified, and invoices will be issued prior to matching.

Those wishing to take part have until 30 April 2026 register their interest as a mentor or mentee.

Questions can be directed to mentoring@locusalliance.org.au.