The future is in their hands!
Dan Tingle, New Talent and STEM Manager at National Grid explores how businesses can tap into enthusiastic younger generations to enable a just response to the climate crisis.
With the world ready to descend on Glasgow in a matter of weeks, the climate agenda is firmly on everyone’s mind – from businesses, to consumers, to policymakers, to activists. A particular focus in recent weeks has been engagement with young people, with new research showing that 60% of 16- to 25-year-olds feel worried about the climate crisis. As the generation that will be facing the fallout if we fail to curtail our impact on the planet and fail to cut carbon emissions in the long-term, businesses have a responsibility to help empower them to act and do their part.
Young talent will be vital for building the net-zero workforce needed to tackle climate change and achieve a greener future. But to leverage their potential and skillsets, we need to ensure they feel able to get involved and actively make a difference. As we mark National Grad Week this year (18-22 October), one way to start is through graduate programmes that have a focus on climate and sustainability. Graduate schemes, as with apprenticeship schemes, can help young people shape and develop their skills so that they are better able to tackle challenges ahead.
At National Grid, we want to enable our graduates to be part of the workforce delivering on climate change goals, with a big focus on professional growth and skills development through different courses and training either virtually or at venues including our world-class academy in Eakring. Graduate programmes can give students from all backgrounds exposure to green jobs and roles, whether that’s driving a business’ internal sustainability agenda, supporting on external projects that will help the UK reduce emissions or developing new solutions to overcome issues on the road to net zero. They can also give young people hands-on experience of working in different green jobs and set them up for long-term careers. Read more…..
Businesses must empower young people to act against the climate crisis