Concerns about the isolation of youth and the decline of available social capital have given rise to a new wave of workplace mentoring programs focused on youth in poverty. Most such programs have targeted youth in school and community settings; however, youth mentoring efforts in workplace settings are becoming increasingly prevalent for several reasons, including the perceived limitations of many current mentoring arrangements and active involvement of many corporations in mentoring outside the workplace. The newer wave of workplace mentoring involves exposing noncollege-bound youth to career options, academic counseling/tutoring, and emotional support. Youth apprenticeship programs are another arena where workplace mentoring is playing a major role. Two of the biggest issues facing formal mentoring programs are social distance and time constraints. The following suggestions have been distilled from research on the best practices in workplace mentoring programs targeting youth: (1) acknowledge mentoring as an art; (2) take the time to train mentors in advance and throughout the program; (3) orient students to the mentoring concept before matching students and mentors; (4) schedule enough time for meetings; and (5) support youth and mentors once a match has been formed. (Contains 21 references.) (MN)