A new green apprenticeships advisory panel, launched last month, aims to help to put cleaner and greener apprenticeships front and centre of the UK’s recovery from COVID-19.
The panel will advise the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education on opportunities to make existing apprenticeships greener and identify new apprenticeships in emerging green occupations as well as highlighting the green apprenticeships we already have on offer.
This will allow apprentices and employers to play their role in getting the UK’s carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050, in line with the government’s target.
It will also help the Institute to continue improving the offer of nearly 600 apprenticeships, filling skills gaps for employers across the economy with an army of high-quality apprentices.
The panel will act as ambassadors, promoting the benefits of green apprenticeships and the importance of making apprenticeships greener.
The 14-panel members have extensive knowledge across the priority sectors, which will change the most in response to the government’s net-zero commitments.
These priority sectors include energy, the shift to zero-emission vehicles, greener buildings, protecting our natural environment, green finance and innovation – all areas in which the Institute wants to do its bit to make sure apprentices can play a part and employers are equipped with the workforces they need.
Over the coming months, the green apprenticeships advisory panel will be considering each sector in turn, thinking carefully about which new apprenticeships might be needed, where changes might be needed to existing apprenticeships to bring them up to date in this fast-moving area and how existing apprenticeships in this area could be promoted.
The Institute will then seek to convene groups of employers to develop these apprenticeships.
Judy Ling Wong CBE has been named as chair of the panel. Judy is the Honorary President of the Black Environment Network and was recently named by Vanity Fair as one of their eight ‘Challenger’ award winners as part of International Women’s Day, for her work campaigning for multicultural participation in the climate debate.
She will be joined by other representatives from different sectors and industries, to provide a diverse group of experts who can really help push forward apprenticeships.
“We are lucky to have attracted such great industry and community representatives, who are passionate about green jobs,” she said.
“They will give us an idea of what is really going on out there and help us to give apprentices access to new opportunities. Apprentices are going to play a vital role in the urgent and necessary shift towards a net-zero world and our green future.”
The panel will be supported by an advisory community of employers. The community will offer greater expertise on specific occupations and the challenges within. They will share insight with the panel and help them shape their final recommendations.
Anna West, deputy director at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, said, “Green jobs and opportunities are the future and apprentices have a big role to play. The apprenticeships we will be developing are going to give people a chance to make a real tangible difference to our environment and make the world a better place.
“I’m excited that the panel and the Institute are leading this charge towards a more sustainable future.”
The panel will also work closely with the Green Jobs Taskforce set up by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Education to develop an action plan for creating the necessary new green jobs and skills.
The Green Jobs Taskforce is looking at the full range of skills needed to help priority sectors transition to the green economy. To join the green advisory community, you can email Institute.Sustainability-Team@education.gov.uk, but we would also appreciate support on social media or simply by advocating the push towards a green apprenticeship in your own organisation.
For background:
The Prime Minister set out his Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, where he outlined the importance of building back better and greener when the country recovers from COVID-19.
Skills will play a big part in this green recovery. The government is now planning to create and support 2 million good quality, green jobs by 2030 to support the UK to transition to net-zero.