Career advice at Leo Baeck College is integrated in the programme and available through the tutorial process. All students at LBC are assigned a personal tutor, most of whom are practitioners in a relevant field. In the case of rabbinic students it will be a working rabbi. In addition to the experience the tutor brings to the tutorials, the tutorials are used to help students engage in Personal Development Planning, thereby encouraging them to reflect upon and plan their future professional development.
Rabbinic students, all of whom are engaged in apprenticeships, internships and placements, are also able to use their tutorials to reflect on their experiences with their personal tutors, in order to help plan their future career. Towards the end of the rabbinic programme, students are also allocated a mentor who supports them in their final two years of placement. The mentor not only hones the students’ skills and techniques and offers them opportunities to reflect on their development but also encourages them to look at their decisions, judgements and interactions in the placement. The mentor continues to be available to the student three years post-ordination, thus easing the transition from student rabbi to working rabbi.
Leo Baeck College also works in co-operation with the staff of the Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism in order to provide career guidance and information. Staff from both movements are involved in the Admissions Board for rabbinic students and help them in congregational work. The exposure which rabbinic students have during their High Holy Day placements as well as their placements in the fourth and fifth years offer additional opportunities to learn about the rabbinate and to meet lay leadership in the synagogues.