KAITSEVÄE AKADEEMIA KADETTIDE OOTUSED MENTORLUSE SUHTES

Mentorship is a relationship-focused practice that plays a significant role in supporting the development of young officers. This research sets out to describe and systematise cadets’ expectations for mentorship at the Estonian Military Academy. The article examines three areas of mentorship: cadets’ experiences with the current mentorship programme, their perception of the different roles of mentors and mentees, and finally their expectations for mentorship in the Estonian Military Academy. This qualitative phenomenological research was conducted with semi-structured interviews in three focus groups. The results of the study reveal that the cadets, based on their previous experiences and role perceptions, have clear expectations for mentorship both as a programme of development and support for their studies. When we compared the results of this study with the competency model for military leaders, it revealed that the expectations of cadets for mentors are comparable with the leadership competency as described in the model. The results of this study contribute to shaping and implementing mentorship programmes because the development of mentorship will ultimately benefit all participants and the Defence Forces as a whole.