The Department of Education’s sustainability and climate change strategy issued yesterday sets out the government’s clear vision for green skills across England and highlights how education and Colleges in particular with green apprenticeships, can lead the way in terms of both upskilling young people and adults to take advantage of ‘green jobs’.

Weston College has long been a champion of sustainability and social action, with all new campuses designed to BREEAM standard, and renewable technologies built into its teaching infrastructure as early as 2013 at its South West Skills Campus (Construction Centre of Excellence) for students to see sustainable construction in action – first hand.

In response to the strategy, Dr Paul Phillips CBE said ‘At Weston we are already upskilling to meet this key agenda for our young people and adults and welcome the approach shown by the government. We are also helping businesses navigate towards ‘Net Zero’ as the lead for the West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT). One of the ways we are doing this, is   through the WEIoT’s new Advanced Engineering campus, built within GKN’s new cutting edge Global Technology Centre. Based within Bristol’s aerospace heartland, it is a unique place to study as part of our higher technical skills engineering  apprenticeships, where students can learn about the decarbonisation of flight, and see the latest engineering technologies being used as they unfold for greener aviation.

The College’s ethos however, is that we also recognise that the talent needed to solve the global climate change crisis, will come from all backgrounds. More importantly, we also see that ‘green jobs’ are a great chance to level up and want to ensure that our green skills agenda is as inclusive as possible.

To this extent, learners from the Inclusive Practice faculty recently took part in an  Environmental Awareness Learner Conference. With a sustainable spotlight, this event saw learners with special educational needs and disabilities taking part in a carousel of thought-provoking games and engaging challenges to teach young people about everyday environmental impact and planet protecting, through interactive workshops and problem solving activities.’

The College is hosting its Sustainability Business Breakfast on the 12th May at the Winter Gardens Pavilion to share practice, working with key employers to build a strong network for climate change collaboration to benefit the region as a whole. The event will also mark the launch of its new ‘Sustainability and Social Action Framework.’