Ask HN: What's a good way for my employer to offer a programming mentorship?

The basic concept is to take someone inexperienced and over the course of some period of time, like maybe 5 months (a semester), and help improve his or her employability. We cannot really provide a curriculum or any sort of real instruction, but more provide them the opportunity to work in a professional setting on a non-profit project that they create, manage, and develop, and be able to consult with other professionals (us) on an at least weekly basis for feedback on their progress and code.

This means we are finding someone who already knows how to program at some sub-junior level, but maybe does not have professional experience or a professional quality project in their portfolio. The idea is that we provide guidance through this process, the mentee proves to us that they are competent for a junior level position, and we "certify" them using the credentials of our employer (who is very reputable in the area). Being a smaller company (~4 developers) means that we cannot necessarily hire these people ourselves, which is why we're offering a "certification" and a referral for their job applications.

Do you think this program has value for the mentee?

Is calling this a mentorship misleading? Is there a better term?

Should we try target a different type of person (with less experience)?

Are there similar programs you know of that we could model ours after?