Green skills for the future: The future of Net Zero in further education is discussed at a dedicated event at the Senedd.
Students from across Wales put their green skills to the test this week (Monday, 5th February) as the future of Net Zero in further education was discussed as part of a skills event held at the Senedd.
As part of Skills Competition Wales, students took part in the Renewable Energy competition, supported by Pembrokeshire College in partnership with Gwynt Glas, where they had to problem solve real-life scenarios with renewable and energy efficient solutions in teams, showcasing their knowledge and skills with the hope of winning a bronze, silver or gold medal at the Skills Competition Wales Awards that will be held in March.
As part of the event held at the Senedd, a conference was held around the future ‘green’ skills in Wales and the input needed from FE to deliver on the Welsh Government’s Net Zero Strategy.
As part of exploring green skills for the future, the Inspiring Skills project is conducting a Net Zero research project to identify where further education can contribute to the overall Net Zero agenda in Wales.
With Further Education playing a crucial part in delivering a Net Zero Wales, key stakeholders from across colleges, training providers and industry came together to discuss the challenges, ways of collaborating and opportunities to promote ‘green skills’ to future generations.
The event was sponsored and attended by the Minister for Economy for Wales, Vaughan Gething.
Attendees included: CSG & CC, Cambrian Training, Merthyr College, Bridgend College, Nellie Carbon Capture Technologies, Cardiff and Vale College, Cardiff Capital Region – Skills Partnership, St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College, Project Director, Educ8, Net Zero Industry Wales - Chief Executive Officer, EAUC – The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education, Pembrokeshire College, Welsh Government, RLSP, Coleg y Cymoedd, ACT training, 4theregion, Careers Wales.
Keynote presentations were made to open the conference and to set the discussion points for the day, including forwards from Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales, Pembrokeshire College, Gwynt Glas and Educ8.
A thought provoking panel discussion inspired collaboration and highlighted the importance of a ‘Team Wales’ approach to identifying and tackling challenges with Net Zero objectives in the FE sector - a collaborative approach that has seen past success in building foundations for better skills standards across Wales as well as responding to the skill needs of industry.
Questions were tabled with a panel and discussed with the wider audience, including:
What are the potential challenges or risks with the delivery of net zero skills and training?
What expertise or support is needed to support delivery of net zero skills in Wales?
Who needs to be engaged to help FE deliver the net zero skills priorities?
What forums or networks need to be established?
How should net zero skills activity be coordinated?
How can Post-16 education “myth bust” or “break down barriers” around people’s understanding toward net zero skills and jobs that will support our transition to net zero?
How do we promote green Skills Careers opportunities and How do we deliver/embed Net Zero into Post-16 education?
The panel represented FE, industry and training providers- Arwyn Williams - Renewable Energy competition lead at Pembrokeshire College, Grant Santos, CEO of Educ8, Mark Hazelton, Project Director at Gwynt Glas, Charlotte/ Tovi - EAUC and Jane Lewis - RLSP.
Becky Pask, Green Skills Research Officer for Inspiring Skills said:
“Further education plays such a huge part in creating the future workforce for Wales. We’re working closely with all colleges and training providers across Wales to collect research that will help Welsh Government and stakeholders understand how we prepare the skills agenda that a Net Zero Wales needs to hit its sustainability goals.
Key to this is our engagement with the industry so that we’re able to introduce key green skills training to a high standard that prepares learners for the world of work after their education journey.”
Dr Barry Walters, Principle at Pembrokeshire College said:
“The value of green skills and skills competitions, both to individuals, the college and businesses is critical. We believe it drives up standards and inspires our learners and staff. The skills developed for competition will likely lead to UK competitions and even at a WorldSkills level.
Working with industry to develop the future skills we need is a key part of our strategy, which is why it’s great to have the support of Gwynt Glas again this year to hold the Renewable Energy competition.”
Mark Hazelton, Project Director at Gwynt Glas said:
“Renewable energy skills are needed more than ever for many reasons, with perhaps the key reason being to help accelerate us to Net Zero, with Wales’ ambition to generate all electricity from renewable energy by 2035. With that ambition comes opportunities- for inward investment, new skill areas and jobs within local communities. At Gwynt Glas we’ll be developing further projects over the coming years to address the renewable energy needs here in Wales.”
The research project findings will be presented to stakeholders in the Spring, whilst learners from across Wales will find out if they are Skills Competition Wales winners on March 14th in a hybrid event taking place at the ICC and online.
If you’re in FE or the Skills sector and would like to find our more about the research project, then please contact becky.pask@colegsirgar.ac.uk