How we educate and inform senior leaders in transitioning at pace to net zero

This is a huge change and it needs everyone to sign up to it. People – and particularly business leaders – need to fully understand how the change will affect them and what they can do about it. That means taking advantage of imaginative, tailored learning.

And now, leading training provider The Verdancy Group, based in Livingston, will be offering with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) senior leaders the ability to develop their net zero skillsets.

The Transitioning at Pace to Net Zero project has been created to upskill senior leaders with the climate emergency principles to enable informed workforce planning and skills development to support Scotland’s Net Zero ambitions.  Delivered by The Verdancy Group, endorsed by ESP and CPD Certified, this training is fully funded by SDS and the Scottish Government’s National Transition Training Fund.

Sarah Hunt, who is Key Sector Manager for Life and Chemical Sciences at SDS, explains that the project is being delivered as part of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.

“The Plan was led by SDS on behalf of the Scottish Government and developed in partnership with a range of stakeholders. We are conscious that the plan and our ambitions to achieve net zero by 2045 will have implications for the workforce.

“However, it’s also about helping businesses achieve their growth ambitions. We have developed this new project to support senior leaders across a number of different sectors to understand the climate emergency and what the implications may be for their workforces going forward.

“We want to ensure that influencers in this sector can bring their current and future staff up to speed.”

The Verdancy Group’s involvement takes advantage of their extensive experience in working with education, business and communities to offer an innovative range of teaching materials to build the skills needed for the future. Steven Kiakowski, its Managing Director, says: “We see ourselves as bringing together the people who have the skills and expertise to push the educational requirements of Net Zero to the forefront of our leaders’ minds.

“We’ve been chosen to deliver this project. It’s perfect for the services we can deliver and for the ambition that we have within our business.

“The project will involve a number of e-learning packages delivered through virtual classrooms supported by pre-arranged facilitated sessions. We will introduce key areas that people in senior leadership positions will have to consider.

“They will be thinking about these things now because they have a net zero plan or seeing that they will be left behind if they don’t consider the issues and the challenges they will face. These could be from an operational, procurement, delivery and revenue perspective.”

The business sectors currently being considered in the project are transport, manufacturing – with a key focus on engineering – and construction. Those participating in the courses will be senior leaders in larger organisations and managers and directors within smaller businesses who are making key decisions on a daily basis.

The aim is not to populate the courses with people who already have extensive knowledge of issues surrounding net zero, but rather with those who are at the beginning of their journey or even have not yet started it.

Those on the course can undertake their study in two different ways. There is a one-day facilitated session that involves a scene setting introduction before individual participants work through the e-learning packages.

They then come back together later in the day into a group to share best practice, answer questions and take the opportunity to talk to each other. The later part of the course will be contextualised for their sector.

The final section is all about the next steps, discussing mutual support and how best practice can continue to be shared.

The second option is an open delivery course. Those taking part are able to access the e-learning packages in their own time. They can sign in to a virtual session when it suits them best.

“In the future, we will look to record and share these team sessions as best practice. So if you don’t like dialling into online calls, you will be able to see a sample of what the courses are about.”

Mr Kiakowski believes that the reskilling requirements of the move to net zero fall into two areas. “There are the technical skills required for those using the equipment and machinery that businesses will need, and there is also the people, behavioural change and leadership part.

“With this project, they sit very close together. We want to equip the leaders with the information they need and allow them to access the content and resources they can use to help influence and change the perception within their existing organisations.”

There are a lot of reasons why people may feel under confident about the issues surrounding net zero, he adds. “It’s about addressing these and removing the impression of things being on fire.

“We have to move the narrative from the negative to the positive and emphasise the good things net zero is going to bring.

“At Verdancy we have lots of expertise internally and we work with our partners, including the Energy Skills Partnership. Even though we’ve only just launched the project, there’s been a fantastic response.”

Mr Kiakowski is confident that, despite the challenges of reaching net zero in Scotland in a relatively short timescale – the target for the UK as a whole is five years later at 2050 – the energy and ambition exists to make it happen.

“I worked in waste management for 13 years and back then it was challenging to get people to put things in the right skips, never mind to convert their entire business to a net zero model.

“However, I’ve seen a huge change in emphasis, particularly in the last two years, and there are lots of reasons for that. People now actually want it to happen. From a purchasing perspective, people can be very persuasive, whether that be from a business procurement perspective or in their personal lives.”

The leaders who still do not have the skills, desire or opportunity to decarbonise are now in the minority, he adds. “There are enough pressure points on business for them to be taking stock of what this means to them.

“It may come from public perception, or even from competitors. And governments, whether they be at Scottish, UK or local levels, are doing very well with their sustainable procurement requirements.

“I also think that at a personal level, we can sometimes forget that businesses are run by people. And I believe that more and more individuals are engaged and wanting to make this happen for the right reasons.”

www.theverdancygroup.com

UNITED GOAL OF ATTAINING NET ZERO IS POWERED BY STRONG PARTNERSHIPS

It’s not just business leaders who are getting the chance to gain green skills. Scotland’s Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan is ensuring that the national workforce also has the skills and knowledge needed to make the transition.

Another venture is the Climate Emergency Literacy Skills Training Project. This also aims to build skills and understanding related to the climate crisis in order to make a positive difference.

Two programmes are on offer. One offers general training for anyone living in Scotland who is over the age of 25 – subject to an eligibility check – and the other involves specific training for anyone living in Scotland who is more than 25 years of age and working, or has previously worked, in the transport, energy or construction sectors.

National organisation Keep Scotland Beautiful is leading the project which involves a day’s training, verified independently by the Carbon Literacy Project and delivered online. A combination of two live sessions and self-study activities are used.

In order to become Carbon Literate participants carry out an assessment in which they are asked to select both an individual and a group action to reduce carbon emissions. Those who pass will receive certification.

Catherine Gee, Deputy CEO, of Keep Scotland Beautiful, says: “We are so delighted to offer this free climate emergency training to help those over 25 gain new skills and experiences that will prove vital in securing a green recovery from Covid-19 and successfully navigating Scotland’s journey to net-zero.”

Those who have already taken the courses are enthusiastic about what they offer. One described the experience as “inspiring and very practical” and said it would certainly play a significant role in helping me reduce my carbon footprint.”

Another commented: “I enjoyed this training course, but more importantly I learned the importance of taking climate action right now and know how to start.” And yet another remarked: “It gave me a better understanding of how I can reduce my carbon footprint and inform others about climate change.”

 Another Scottish Government funded venture, the National Transition Training Fund, is administered by SDS along with the Scottish Funding Council. This gives people the opportunity to polish up their skills or develop new ones.

It offers industry recognised qualifications and is suitable for people and businesses looking for short, sharp training opportunities that will help them transition in their careers or transform their teams, making them fit for the new green future. Virtual, face-to-face and blended learning sessions are available.

 “Through this, we deliver industry recognised qualifications to upskill sectors that are potentially going through significant employment growth”, says SDS’s Sarah Hunt.

www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/cels