Various empirical studies have highlighted the difficulties new teachers have in converting the theoretical knowledge from their education within the reality they face as new teachers (Woods, 2002; Britton, Paine, Pimm & Raizen, 2003) For many novice teachers the experiences of heavy work loads, various difficulties with students and teaching can be crucial for their opinion about the teaching profession as well as affect their desire to continue in the fieldThe situation of novice teachers in Sweden has started to get attention because there are similar trends as in the United States (US) where almost 50 per cent of American teachers leave the school within the five first years (Chubbuck, Clift, Allard and Quinlan, 2001). Furthermore, in both Sweden and the US, the need for qualified teachers will increase prominently within the next few years due to multiple retirements. Mentorship programmes for novice teachers have been running since 2001 in Umea, in the northern part of Sweden. A total of six one-year programmes will be carried out during a three-year period. The purpose is both to support novice teachers during their first year and in the long run to be able to recruit and retain teachers in the municipality. In contemporary mentorship, the mentor is expected to be a model and partner who can help the novice improve professional skills. The mentor is not supposed to be a problem solver. Instead she is supposed to be an interested conversational partner who uses reflective questions to facilitate the novice's ability to make his or her own decisions (Brooks & Sikes, 1997; Lucas, 2001). Likewise it is important that the mentor does not judge the opinions of the novice. Instead she should question them in order to support the learning process and reflective attitude of the novice (Mullen & Kealy, 1999; Chubbuck, Clift, Allard and Quinlan, 2001).The mentors need to be trained in order to succeed with the tasks of guiding and supporting novice teachers. Ganser (2003) emphasized the need for mentor training through effective training strategies due to the increasing importance of mentoring. The mentors also need on-going support during their time as mentors. Feiman-Nemser (2001) recommended "teaching mentorship" which means to have a clear vision of good education in combination with teachers´ need of further education. Since the mentors have these insights, she means the focus on new teachers will be to support them to learn from their own experiences. This opinion is supported by Lucas (2001) and Kajs (2002) who both highlighted the positive effects of a successful mentorship for new teachers. Usually even the mentors will develop professionally through mentoring because they need to reflect on their choices and values in teaching. Through an interview study with six mentors from a mentorship programme in Sweden it was found that all of the mentors thought that the information they had received before the programme started had been insufficient. They had felt insecure and uncertain of what was expected of them as mentors. However, by the end of the year the experiences from the mentorship were all positive and no problems concerning time were mentioned. The mentors felt that they had become more reflective and more aware of their own professional practice, which indicates personal and professional growth. All the mentors mentioned they would consider being a mentor again. ReferencesBritton, E. , Paine, L., Pimm, D., & Raizen, S. (2003). Comprehensive teacher induction in five countries: Launching early career learning. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kulwer Academic Publishers.Brooks, V. & Sikes, P. (1997) The good mentor guide. Buckingham: Open University press.Chubbuck, S. M., Clift, R. T., Allard, J. och Quinlan, J. (2001). Playing it safe as a novice teacher, Implications for programs for new teachers, Journal of Teacher Education, 52 (5), pp 365-376.Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). Helping novices learn to teach, Lessons from an exemplary support Teacher, Journal of Teacher Education, 52 (1), pp17- 30.Ganser, T. (2003). Teacher Mentorship Programs in the United States: Shaping Trends and New Directions. In U. Lindgren (Ed.) Mentorship for learning and development. Umea University: Department of Swedish and Social Sciences. Kajs, L. T. (2002). Framework for Designing a Mentoring Program for Novice Teachers in Mentoring and Tutoring, 10 (1), pp. 57-69.Lucas, K. F. (2001). The Social Construction of Mentoring Roles, Mentoring & Tutoring, 9, (1), pp. 23-47.Mullen, C. A. & Kealy, W. A. (1999). Lifelong mentoring: The creation of Learning Rela- tionships. In C. A. Mullen & Lick, D. W. (Eds) New Directions in Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Synergy. London: Falmer Press.Woods, P. (2002). Teaching and learning in the new millennium. In C. Sugrue and Ch. Day (Eds). Developing Teachers and Teaching Practice. International research perspectives. London: RoutledgeFalmer.