Innovative partnership to plant seed in pupils about gaining green skills
A partnership between Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Bertha Park High School and The James Hutton Institute is helping teachers educate young people about skills and careers to support the climate transition.
Hutton researchers collaborated closely with SDS Careers Advisers and High School teachers to run an innovative event that brought together young people, teachers, academics and business professionals.
The Hutton is renowned for its pioneering science that finds solutions for the challenges posed by the climate and nature crises and is committed to the training and development of the next generation of researchers.
Having a workforce equipped with green skills expertise will be critical to reaching Scottish Government’s target of net zero by 2045. Whilst LinkedIn’s 2023 Global Green Skills Report stated that one-third of all jobs advertised in the UK required at least one ‘green skill’, only 1 in 8 British workers possessed any, which is behind other major economies.
All participants at the workshop held in in Perth were challenged to think differently about making education fit for the future.
Dr Alison Karley, Head of Ecological Sciences at the Hutton and one of the event organisers, said, “Young people feel anxious and powerless in influencing the direction of travel on the climate transition.”
Dr David Boldrin, Soil Scientist at the Hutton, added, “Teachers, tasked with preparing children for the future, feel similarly ill-equipped to fulfil this role and uncertain on how to guide young people towards the skills needed for climate-adaptation, so we have an increasing gap between industry demand for skills to respond to net-zero targets and the capacities of the workforce to fulfil these needs.”
Phd sponsored student based at SDS, Ana Kaufman also attended the workshop to present her research on meta skills, which helped pupils understand and reflect on the skills they were developing through collaborating and learning with the experts at the event.
Skills Development Scotland Careers Adviser, Maxine Scott said: “The workshop was designed to help young people explore and develop their meta skills, which are increasingly valued by employers. By encouraging research and linking learning directly to industry, we’re supporting young people to build confidence, understand real-world applications, and prepare for success in how to adapt their skills into their rapidly evolving careers.”
Katrina Cuthbertson, Principal Teacher of Guidance at Bertha Park High School said, “The workshop exemplified the transformative potential of cross-sector collaboration in advancing sustainability, fostering innovation and equipping learners with future ready skills.”
This workshop built on another event, held in November 2023, at which researchers from the Hutton, teachers from Bertha Park High School and Skills Development Scotland Careers Advisers joined 69 S5 and S6 pupils from 11 schools in Perth & Kinross, Dundee and Edinburgh to design a unique model for participative knowledge exchange.
The model of knowledge sharing delivered through both these events was funded by SEFARI Gateway, the Scottish Government’s Centre of Expertise Knowledge Exchange and Innovation for the Scottish Government’s Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Research Portfolio.