What are Screening, Assessments and Profiling?

	Screening is the process of evaluating or assessing whether someone is suitable for a specific role or purpose. Schools and training programs often screen applicants based on eligibility criteria set for their program. Employers screen job candidates based on a set of predetermined requirements to identify a smaller group of potential hires. Those selected job seekers are then put through various assessments.
	Assessments, in education, refers to a wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or education needs of students. For employers, assessments are systematic methods of gathering data, under standardized conditions, with the purpose of reaching a conclusion regarding someone's qualification, competences, motivation, interests and fit for a specific job role.
	Technical competencies are a set of job-related skills, knowledge and abilities that are necessary in successfully doing the job and delivering results. Behavioral competencies ("soft skills") are a set of behaviors based on values, personal traits (attributes), attitudes, habits and experiences that are necessary for success in the job and in the workplace.
	Profiling is the recording and analysis of a person's psychological and behavioral characteristics to assess or predict their capabilities in a certain sphere or to assist in identifying a specific subgroup of people. While screening separates people into different groups based on available data, profiling often extrapolates from existing data, and groups people based on inferred characteristics.

Examples of assessments and screening

	WorkKeys Assessments by ACT measures essential workplace skills (applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace documents) that can affect job performance and increase opportunities for career changes and advancement. These assessments are the base for the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) in the United States.
	Tessera by ProExam is an online tool for measuring six noncognitive skills and character strengths in middle and high school students (tenacity/grit, organization/responsibility, teamwork/cooperation, composure/resilience, leadership/ communication, and curiosity/ingenuity).
	ELSA (English Skills Literacy Assessment) by EOH and Kaleidoprax Institute is a language, norms-based, group-measuring instrument that can quantify and diagnose a respondent's English language (and numeracy) skills performance, equating the competency-input performance level to that of a South African English mother-tongue peer. All first-year students at Tshwane University of Technology are tested using ELSA.
	Grit Scale by Dr. Angela Duckworth is a free test of grit, considered to be one of the best predictors of success in both workplace and life. Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual's passion for a specific long-term goal, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve it.
	Shadowmatch is an online assessment used by employers for recruitment. Shadowmatch is based on comparing the habits of the individual to that of the top performers to determine the anticipated propensity for the individual to succeed in doing the same job under the same working conditions as the top performers.
	Roma by CareerHarmony is a platform for recruiting, screening and managing talent, available in 21 languages, and in 50 countries. CareerHarmony offers a wide range of tests to assess capabilities and skills for specific job roles, along with psychometric tests to determine aptitudes and personality traits, and compare them with job requirements.
	Harambee is a youth employment accelerator in South Africa connecting young work seekers with employers looking for entry-level talent. Harambee screens candidates based on their age (18-34), citizenship (South African), education (matric-high school graduation), length of unemployment (at least six months) and criminal record (none). Eligible candidates are then tested and interviewed in person.

 What IS MENTORING?

Mentoring is a professional relationship between two individuals, the mentor and the mentee, in which the mentor (usually a more experienced person) supports and encourages the personal and professional growth of the mentee (usually a less experienced person).

Characteristics of a Good Mentor

• Able to commit adequate time, energy and attention to the mentee consistently over time. Enjoys helping others.
• Has patience and empathy for others.
• Has good interpersonal skills.
• Emulates well the values of the organization.
• Performs well in his/her job, enjoys respect.
• Is trusted and maintains good working relationships with others in the organization.
• Willing to share his/her knowledge and experiences, while being able to appreciate differing beliefs, opinions, behavioral styles and habits.

Examples of mentoring programs

	iMentor is a secondary school-based mentoring program in the United States that brings together low income students with college-educated mentors, with the goal of improving the probability of graduation from high school and college for disadvantaged youth. Among iMentor students, 79% graduate from high school, 65% enroll in college and 59% complete tertiary education. (Note: typically only 26% of low income youth graduate from college in the US.)
	SAYes was founded in 2008 to improve the outcomes for young people transitioning out of care (children’s homes) in South Africa. The program matches youth (aged 14-25) with trained mentors to deliver transition skills content and link mentored youth to economic opportunities.
	The USA National Mentoring Alliance is a collaboration of more than 70 YouthBuild programs in the United States, targeting young people who have dropped out of school. The program starts with three months of group mentoring, followed by 12 months of one-on-one mentoring, coupled with heavy job skills training. An evaluation of this program, focused on 16 to 18 year old participants, showed that students who were matched with a mentor were 60% more likely to complete the program.
	Established in 1999, INJAZ connects university and college students with veteran entrepreneurs and mentors, including volunteers from the private sector who support young people in establishing and growing social and business enterprises. INJAZ has developed a market relevant curriculum that advances students’ communication and interpersonal skills, critical and creative thinking, financial literacy and teamwork. INJAZ has engaged more than 30,000 corporate volunteers and served over 1.2 million youth.
	Operating for over 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is the largest volunteer-supported mentoring network in the United States, serving children ages 6-8 through community-based programs. Two independent impact evaluation studies of this highly respected program found that it reduced substance abuse and violence, and improved school attendance and performance, as well as relationships with parents and peers.

 What is monitoring & evaluation

Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information to determine how well a project or program is performing against expected results.

Evaluation is a systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed project/program to determine its relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and fulfillment of its objectives.

examples of monitoring and evaluating DDT programs

	“Opening Doors: more Guidance – Better Results? Three-year effects of an enhanced student services program at two community colleges,” is a study that examines the impact of the Opening Doors program at Lorain County Community College and Owens Community College in Ohio, Unites States, using a randomized control trial.
	“Advance Manufacturing Education (AME) Alliance Evaluation: Final Evaluation Report,” is a example of the summarized findings of an evaluation study.
	Economic Mobility Corporation conducted a multi-year evaluation of the Year Up program in the United States. Their results have been published in a series of reports, including “Sustained Gains: Year Up’s Continued Impact on Young Adults’ Earnings” and “A Promising Start: Year Up’s Initial Impacts on Low-Income Young Adults’ Careers”