TABLE 1.

Participant and mentor selection criteria, Zambia, 2016–2018.

Selection metric	Participant characteristics	Mentor characteristics
Current position level	Manager or supervisor in a clinical laboratory hospital or public health laboratory (early to mid-career)	Senior-level clinical or public health laboratory professional with experience in laboratory management
Education minimum	Diploma (bachelor’s or master’s degree preferred)	Graduate-level degree (medical doctor or Doctor of Philosophy preferred)
Job experience	5+ years of laboratory technical experience 1+ years of laboratory supervisory experience and currently supervising 3+ staff	10+ years of laboratory technical experience 5+ years of clinical or public health laboratory supervisory experience
Minimum skills required	Responsible for some aspect of laboratory operations and management Minimally experienced in supervising other laboratory staff Conversant with basic statistical methods	Experienced in managing a clinical or public health laboratory including the following: Direct supervision of staff Responsibility for the management of laboratory operations including procurement and budgets Interaction with clients such as government agencies and the public Basic knowledge of the local and international legal framework, laws and regulations governing laboratory practice Experienced in analysing and communicating laboratory data in reports or manuscripts; and experienced in publishing in peer-reviewed journals
Language skills	High proficiency in reading, writing and speaking English	High proficiency in reading, writing and speaking English
Computer skills	Comfortable, daily computer user; experienced using e-mail and the internet to access the programme’s online Learning Management System and search for related materials	Comfortable, daily computer user; experienced using e-mail and the internet to access the programme’s online Learning Management System
Career potential (participants)	Envisions a career with increasing responsibilities in clinical and public health laboratory management, and the potential for roles in laboratory and public health leadership	Willing and able to commit to: Being involved with participants during the entire 9 months of the programme Weekly check-in and coach participants (vacation and family emergency time excluded) Motivating, encouraging and challenging his or her participant to ensure they complete the programme Working alongside the participant on their capstone project
Programme commitment (mentors)	Desires to mentor others	-