Mentoring as a tool for improving the process of adaptation of a first-year student of a professional educational organization

The issue of using the mentoring project “Curators-students” as a tool for optimizing the process of adaptation of first-year students of the Magnitogorsk Technological College named after V. P. Omelchenko. The paper presents the etymology and definition of the adaptation process, reveals its features in a college environment. Attention is paid to the existing problems of adaptation and ways to solve them. The main content of the study is a description of the mechanism for implementing the project “Curators-students”, the functions of mentors and an analysis of the results obtained over the seven months of operation. The authors come to the conclusion that the implementation of the project made it possible to reduce the period of adaptation of first-year students from six to four months, improve the over-professional skills of mentors, include in the project components of self-determination of first-year students through a support system, informing about the professional activities of more mentors included in it.