Employers and students take part in MidKent College ZERO and Green Careers Fair

MidKent College, a Patron of Kent Invicta Chamber, held two outstanding events on their Maidstone and Medway campuses in November to celebrate and support Green Careers Week 2023 giving employers the chance to showcase their work in sustainability and decarbonisation, and highlight potential careers to students. Every workshop was fully attended as experts from a variety of sectors explained their green agenda and what skills they need from employees.

Chris Hare, Executive Director at MidKent College, said: “The number of students who signed up for the workshops during our Green Careers Week events shows the level of their enthusiasm for the environment and future careers working in that field.

It gave students an unrivalled opportunity to hear directly from employers who specialise in environmental careers about the opportunities available to them. And of course, it gave those employers the chance to meet students from all backgrounds with a view to future vacancies or apprenticeships.

“To also have the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan visit the Maidstone campus that week to see how we have spent previous government funding on green energy training was an unexpected boost for the College.”

One of the employers exhibiting, Steve McGregor, Group Managing Director, DMA group, said: ‘The built environment presents huge opportunities for young people, not only because it is a great sector to work in both nationally and internationally, but there is a huge skills shortage too. And as MD of a local business, and local employer celebrating our 220th anniversary this year, we are keen to share our experiences and opportunities to inspire the next generation.’

Mark Bidewell, Managing Director, BISON, said the print industry faces challenges due to a significant skills gap and taking part in events like the Green Careers Week helps them initiate conversations with ambitious, curious, and talented students who may be interested in joining their team. He said: ‘Parents are not encouraging their children to explore opportunities in the print/signage industry, aside from the popular choice of becoming a “Graphic Designer.” Seventy-five per cent of our team members have found outstanding and fulfilling roles in other areas of our business that they had never considered during their education. BISON firmly believes that the individuals MidKent College educate, possess the potential to contribute to our ongoing success and grow alongside us.’

At the Maidstone campus the contributing employers were CBRE, BISON, CC Cousins, RD UK, MYA Consulting Services, with Maidstone Borough Council explaining the role of local authorities in reaching Net Zero. MYA who specialises in the role of physics in the design of new building and refurbishments hope to build an apprenticeship programme as an entry to the industry.

At the Medway campus the employers who took part were Oxbury Bank, DMA Maintenance, CC Cousins, RD UK, Vattenfall, and Actis Insulation. Students heard about the careers available in the financial services sector that support agriculture, energy saving and cutting carbon with Rye, Winchelsea & District Hospital, (the first carbon neutral community hospital in the UK), and the use of VR to see the day-to-day life of a wind turbine technician.

Visit www.midkent.ac.uk/zero for more information about MidKent College’s green agenda.