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Sustainability for Students X SustainaPod

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES TOOLKIT: Empowering Youth for a Green Career

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Our Purpose

In a call to demystify the sustainability industry, we aim to create a tool to ensure that young people have access to the key takeaways from industry participants’ knowledge and experience. If you are a young person interested in a career in sustainability, this tool is for you to understand what career opportunities are out there, and what skills you would need to develop to pursue these. 

The Problem

According to the World Economic Forum, the demand for green talent, that is, workers with the relevant skills to help address the climate crisis and contribute to sustainable development, is outpacing the supply. In the UK, 70% of young people aged 16-24 surveyed for a report from Groundworks and ESS said they have never received any information on careers that could help fill the talent gap in sustainability-oriented jobs. Nonetheless, having jobs with environmental credentials has been ranked important in other global surveys with Gen Z. 

 

There has never been a more important time to upskill the next generation with ‘green skills’. Job seekers with green skills were nearly 29% more likely to be hired than the workforce average based on LinkedIn reports. ‘Green’ skills range from technical to thematic - this report is demonstrating that these need to be supplemented by a range of soft skills to truly succeed in a role.

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How to use this action-focused tool

This is not just an informative report, but an action-focused toolkit. We hope it can serve as a springboard for you to discover how you want to start your career with a focus on sustainability and impact. 

 

Throughout the report, there will be key prompts and questions for you to consider on how you can best leverage the insights from our research to consider in your own purposeful sustainability career journey. 

 

We hope this is the start of what is an exciting journey of self-discovery! 

 

For any feedback/ thoughts on how we can improve this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to hello@sustainabilityforstudents.com.

Read our complete report here

Features

01. Diverse Industry Insight

Insight from almost 100 industry professionals from all over the world on key skills in the sustainability sector. 

02. Career Testimonials

Testimonials from industry professionals for key career professions in the industry.

03. Reality Checks

Advice for developing skills along with CV and interview tips for showcasing skills.

04. Most Valuable Skills

Widely applicable skills identified to be invaluable for succeeding in diverse career paths

05. Career and Skills Mapping

Most relevant skills for specific careers are identified, with advice on how to build them.

Contents & Structure

Conceptual Underpinning

Our Toolkit is underpinned by the Inner Development Goals, developed by a global team as an open-source initiative aimed at fostering inner development for sustainable futures. 

Pathfinder Tool

London Hub III of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers have developed a tool that will lead you on a path of self-discovery through a four-step journey, guiding you through frameworks and exercises that you can use to gain clarity about your own career journey. Using Pathfinder, this interactive tool brings together a self-discovery journey that supports young people to Discover, Empower, Explore and Plan for their goals.

Soft and Technical Skills

Respondents to our survey highlighted several top soft and technical skills most valued in their line of work. These skills were mentioned the most by respondents. What is evident is that though some jobs require more technical skills than others, there are a couple of stand-out soft skills valued by the majority of respondents. 

Career Journey Showcase

When planning the kind of job you want to be applying for, use this section to get a sense of what that job might look like. 
 
Feel free to use the below sections as a reference point, but be sure to do further desktop research and conversations with professionals in your geographic area of interest, as job opportunities, experiences, and salaries will differ greatly in different countries as well as change a lot too.

Your testimonials

"The sustainable futures toolkit is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to explore careers in sustainability. It offers a clear and comprehensive overview of opportunities across industries, with detailed case studies that provide practical insights. It has given me a deeper understanding of how consulting and policy intersect with sustainability and provided me useful advice on how to showcase skills needed in the field."

The Toolkit in the Media

Meet the Team 

We want your feedback ✍🏻

We would love your feedback to help us improve the toolkit! Whether you're a student or professional, your thoughts are important to us. 

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Have you loved the toolkit? Want your experience to be featured on our website? You can use the form below to leave your feedback and/or testimonial! 

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