How Manchester Met is helping businesses to tackle the green skills shortage

Carbon Literacy workshop at Manchester Met

According to LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report 2023, only one in eight British workers have green skills compared to one in seven workers in France and one in six in Germany.

The global demand for green skills is also growing faster than the supply. Of the 48 countries in the report, green talent rose by a median of 12.3% between 2022 and 2023, while job postings requiring at least one green skill grew nearly twice as quickly (by a median of 22.4%).

With ambitious targets for the UK and Greater Manchester to be carbon neutral by 2050 and 2038 respectively, it’s vital that employers invest in their workforce’s green skills now.

What can employers do to close the green skills gap?

Flexible learning programmes like our higher-level and degree apprenticeships can be ideal for upskilling staff already in the workplace. These programmes blend academic learning with direct workplace application, letting employees’ study around their workplace demands.

Employers can get support for apprenticeship funding through the Apprenticeship Levy.

Manchester Met is excited to launch its new Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practitioner Apprenticeship, with its first open cohort starting in early 2024.

This higher-level apprenticeship lets learners be a social conscience for their organisation. Apprentices will help to innovate and drive ambitions for social and environmental change and make these a reality across their organisation.  

What makes the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practitioner Apprenticeship unique?

Manchester Met is the first university in the North West to offer this programme.

Taught by university experts in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Business and Law, the programme sees apprentices develop vital green skills and put them into action through real projects in the workplace and community.

Alongside academic experts, apprentices tackle sustainability challenges relevant to their employer and apply their learning directly to their organisation.

The apprenticeship is also one of six hand-picked by industry experts to mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation, gaining recognition for its contribution to creating a low-carbon economy.

This gold-standard, sustainable apprenticeship helps to develop and meet the demand for green skills across all sectors and industries - giving organisations of all sizes the skills they need to drive change.

Contact us and learn more about how this new apprenticeship can support your business in addressing net zero goals and the climate change challenge.

What do employers tell Manchester Metropolitan University about the green skills gap?

Through our degree apprenticeship partnerships and work on employer advisory boards, the University regularly engages with over 540 employers.

This regular dialogue gives us exclusive insight into how businesses of all sizes are tackling the climate emergency. At a top level, employers tell us that they’re dedicated to the climate agenda but need more skills in their organisation to take action.

Many large businesses say they have high-level climate and sustainability strategies in place but need to empower more of their workforce to champion these approaches, while a lot of SMEs tell us that they struggle to know where to start with the climate agenda.

How else is Manchester Met helping to tackle the green skills crisis?

By 2026, every programme at Manchester Met will have Carbon Literacy and Education for Sustainable Development embedded, including our higher-level and degree apprenticeships.

The work to broaden the sustainability content of our apprenticeships has already begun, with the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship and the Laboratory Scientist (Chemical Science) Degree Apprenticeship, both including sustainability modules.

Greater Manchester Green Summit 2023

Manchester Met once again led the way at the Greater Manchester Green Summit, hosting a special discussion on how to create and support the skills needed for a future green economy. As an event sponsor the University also had the opportunity to write a blog focused on why green skills should be a top priority for UK employers.

The panel featured our recent Chartered Manager Degree Apprentice graduate, Robert McCullock, a seasoned sustainability expert with over five years of experience in the logistics industry.

Robert is a prime example of an apprentice making a difference within his workplace and community. His standout achievement includes improving waste diversion rates by changing mindsets and leveraging stakeholder support within logistics. He is a prime example of an apprentice making a difference.

You can find out more about the University’s degree apprenticeship programmes here.

If you’re interested in becoming an employer partner, please contact us.