Project overview
As part of the UKRIs Creating Opportunities through Local Innovation Fellowships (COLIF) pilot, the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Oxford, Southampton and Swansea are collaborating to address local inequalities by creating fellowships that combine academic research and evaluation with civic insights and experience.
In partnership with the New Forest National Park Authority (NFNPA), the research team, led by Dr Emma Rawlings Smith, will provide answers on what needs to change in the green employment sector. It will help key regional stakeholders – GreenPrint partners – to understand and consider the specific skills needs of key local sectors and the green economy.
The Fellowship will also serve as a catalyst to deliver behavioural change - invite education and training providers and key stakeholders across the GreenPrint area to work together to deliver a green skills system that is more responsive and closely aligned to the local labour market needs and fit for the future.
Report
The final project report is entitled: “Improving visibility and access to green careers in Hampshire and the Solent”.
The report investigates how green skills and green jobs are understood by those working in education, policy and industry in the Hampshire and Solent region. The report aims to better understand the role of careers advisors and related training and education professionals to help support implementation of Local Skills Improvement Plans and Regional Skills Strategies. Challenges and barriers to entry into green careers were identified, particularly for young people and those from underrepresented groups who lack access to important information, advice and guidance. A key finding was the need for much clearer definitions and categorisation of green skills matched with a poor level of training and education provision to reflect the scope of green skills and training requirements. This is critical to reflect the breadth of job opportunities which require green skills in the Hampshire and Solent Region.
The findings are elaborated in four key themes that that address the problems the research team and participants identified. The recommendations provided in this report detail actions and pathways with these themes that exemplify the importance of knowledge, communication and collaboration.
- Theme 1: Strengthening education and industry partnerships for green skills development
- Theme 2: Utilising policy levers for equitable green job pathways
- Theme 3: Bridging the information gap: strengthening green careers guidance
- Theme 4: Expanding access to green careers
Further work is urgently required to implement the solutions and recommendations using a collaborative approach to support green skills development in the Hampshire and Solent region. More specific work is required to develop resources and promotional materials for career consultants and schools, colleges and universities to effectively guide people towards green skills and greener careers. The Greenprint framework and partnership is ideally placed to provide a way of facilitating further progress on understanding what is needed to develop training and education for green skills and jobs in the region. Strengthening such partnerships with allocated time across participating organisations and additional funding for collaborative projects, as illustrated by this research, is fundamental to addressing the critical impacts we face due to the climate crisis.