expresso: mentorship

YOUNG ENGINEERS KNOW THE PRESENT

he’s figured out the solution before I even walk into his office with the question. He knows so much and has had so many adventures. He’s our departmental dad,” says Jocelyn with admiration. A committed mentor, focused on the future To date, Gaétan has mentored over 30 engineers under the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec’s mentorship program. At the Sherbrooke office, he mentors every young engineer joining the bridges and structures team. “He’s generous, dedicated and he wants to take the time to do it,” says Jocelyn. Mentoring is an opportunity for Gaétan to sum up what he learned over several years and pass that knowledge on to the younger engineers in a matter of months. “I explain the role of engineers in a team, a firm and society. I start with the history of our company, our team and the bridges sector. I try to make them understand that the profession

BECAUSE THEY’RE LIVING IT, TOO. BUT NEITHER OF US KNOW THE FUTURE. WHEN I REFER TO THE PAST, I DON’T MEAN TO SAY THAT THINGS USED TO BE BETTER, BUT RATHER THAT IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM NOW, AND TOMORROW WILL DEFINITELY BE DIFFERENT FROM TODAY. AS A MENTOR, I TRY TO RAISE YOUNG PEOPLE’S AWARENESS OF CURRENT EVENTS THAT COULD AFFECT THE FUTURE.” Gaétan Couture, P.Eng.

is constantly changing, and that it’s important to spot trends fast,” says Gaétan. Jocelyn confirms that every conversation with his mentor is a lesson. “He’s the person with whom I have the highest ratio of learning to conversation time. His experience and endless knowledge mean Gaétan can explain and condense several elements very quickly. He’s a visionary, and he relies on past learning to plan future strategy. For example, he really likes to show us graphs on his iPad to explain the history of civil engineering works in Quebec. Around the department, we often tease him, asking him to take out his iPad to show us pictures or a graph,” he adds, laughing.

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