WSP supported and spoke at The Northern Powerhouse Education, Employment and Skills Summit 2022 (NPEESS22), where business and political leaders discussed education, employment, skills, levelling up, and the important role of apprenticeships.
Green jobs and skills gap is an opportunity to improve diversity and inclusion
WSP believes that devising solutions to help the communities of tomorrow can open up a wide spectrum of career paths. The company has a commitment to be Net Zero in its operations and knows that a highly skilled workforce will be crucial in its transition.
At The Northern Powerhouse Education, Employment and Skills Summit 2022, Kate Dougherty, Head of Net Zero & Sustainability Services with WSP, shared the importance of the built engineering to reaching Net Zero.
"At WSP we are aiming to reduce carbon output in our designs and our advice by 50 per cent by 2030," said Kate.
"What has been interesting is the engagement we have had from enthusiastic and engaged young people who want these jobs and skills and want to drive the agenda forward."
"I really believe the green jobs and skills gap is an opportunity to improve diversity and inclusion ... To reach solutions you need diversity of voice in design," she said.
Company championing for a highly skilled workforce
WSP Changemakers are at the heart of the company's transformative thinking and are setting a new agenda for a smarter, greener future that includes everyone. Additionally, its apprenticeship scheme is designed to provide specialist technical training, business and professional skills.
At The Northern Powerhouse Education, Employment and Skills Summit 2022, Alex Burghart, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, spoke about creating a skills system where the voice of the employer is more clearly heard.
“Never before in the history of the UK has there been such a hunger for skills,” commented the Minister.
WSP is committed to Net Zero
WSP is addressing green projects, harnessing tools to make lower-carbon design choices, innovating and building its teams’ skills in low-carbon thinking. It is dedicated to making every one of its employees a carbon leader.
The company helps Government shape the best policies nationally and locally. It explores emerging ideas and works with clients and academics to test, pilot and deploy new climate-friendly techniques and technologies.
WSP's Head of Economics, Jim Coleman, also spoke at The Northern Powerhouse Education, Employment and Skills Summit 2022. He discussed the crucial need for a skilled workforce capable of driving the company's transition to Net Zero, emphasising that this requires close collaboration between employers and education institutions.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.