Today, as part of Colleges Week, we’re discussing the theme ‘Making Britain a green energy superpower’. Here Paul Emberlin, Group Director for the Online Faculty at Activate Learning, gives his view on meeting this vital mission.
The climate emergency is no longer a distant threat. With 2024 officially recorded as the warmest year in history, the urgency to decarbonise our economy and rethink how we live and work has never been clearer.
As the UK aspires to become a global green superpower, Further Education (FE) has a pivotal role to play in preparing learners to thrive in a greener future.
At Activate Learning, sustainability isn’t just a nice to have or trendy add-on. It is increasingly embedded into our curriculum, the partnerships we build, and how we work with our communities.
We’re not just teaching sustainability: we’re empowering learners, businesses and communities to lead the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The skills imperative
The UK’s Green Jobs Taskforce highlighted the potential for up to two million green jobs by 2030, spanning industries from construction and transport to energy, manufacturing and business services.
This growth is already underway: the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that employment in the UK’s green economy reached 639,400 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in 2022, an 8.4% increase on the previous year and almost 20% higher than 2020.
But growth alone won’t make the UK a green superpower and we need skills to match.
The transition to net zero demands a workforce equipped not only with technical green skills but also with the critical and systems thinking, leadership, and innovation to embed sustainability throughout and across all sectors.
This is where FE colleges really come into their own, acting as skills engines for the green transition and helping communities and employers alike adapt to a low-carbon future.
Sustainability education at Activate Learning
At Activate Learning, sustainability education is about helping people see the bigger picture and take meaningful action. Our approach embeds sustainability into a broad range of curriculum areas - from motor vehicle to hospitality, construction to land based, and across our campuses and national online and apprenticeship provisions.
We focus on:
- Critical thinking: so learners can question, challenge and innovate.
- Systems thinking: because sustainability doesn’t sit in a silo.
- Practical action: real solutions learners can apply at work and at home.
- Leadership skills: so that learners can influence wherever they end up.
This holistic approach aligns with the UNESCO framework for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which highlights sustainability education as “key to achieving all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Activate Learning’s sustainability offer
To support learners, businesses, and communities in developing these essential green skills, Activate Learning offers a comprehensive suite of online sustainability programmes and partnerships.
Skills Bootcamps in Sustainability
Bootcamps are a great example of what FE does best. They provide fast, relevant and skills-based training that directly meets local business needs.
By working closely with local enterprise partnerships and local authorities, and collaborating with local industry, including Oxfordshire Greentech, Blenheim Palace, and Siemens Healthineers, we have been able to offer a 10-week blended programme for adults, who want to develop their understanding of the policies and practices of sustainability, led through organisational case studies, to upskill in their current role or move onto new employment opportunities.
Hettie Knox, Finance Business Partner at Siemens Healthineers Magnet Technology, took part in the Skills Bootcamp in Sustainability in 2024.
She said: “We would recommend this course because it’s educated us on a broad spectrum of themes under the heading of sustainability. It’s given us the tools and language to bring this back into our workplace and apply it locally, and a network of like-minded people to discuss the topic with.”
Online Sustainability Programmes
Through our work with Bioregional, we’ve created flexible online training for business leaders and their teams. These courses help businesses embed sustainability into their strategy, delivering long-term benefits for profit, people and planet.
Programmes include:
- An introduction to sustainability
- Induction training
- Sustainability for managers
- Sustainability for Business Leaders
- Sustainability for Strategic Decision Makers
This blended approach, which offers everything from entry-level awareness to specialist leadership training, reflects our commitment to meeting learners where they are, whether they are job seekers, career changers or senior leaders shaping strategy.
Green Skills Courses
Across our campuses and industry standard facilities, Activate Learning offers a wide range of green skills and sustainability courses designed to equip learners with the knowledge and practical skills needed for careers in the growing green economy.
These include programmes in domestic retrofit, heat pump installation, electric vehicle maintenance, EV charging point installation and e-bike maintenance (leading to Cytech certification).
For land-based careers, Merrist Wood College offers diplomas and degrees in countryside management, conservation, arboriculture, and sustainable horticulture, blending practical conservation skills with sustainability knowledge.
We’re also launching a new Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) in sustainable business management, which combines leadership skills with deep sustainability knowledge. It’s ideal for anyone looking to lead green change in their organisation and ties directly into the national drive to improve every industry in this area, not just the obvious ones.
Beyond the classroom
The impact of this work goes beyond individual learners. Every time someone takes sustainability knowledge and mindset into the workplace, they become a catalyst for change. They help businesses cut waste, save money, reduce emissions, and in many cases, boost their reputation, too.
For employers, sustainability skills are no longer optional. They are essential.
Research from the World Economic Forum (2023) identifies sustainability literacy and environmental stewardship as among the top 10 skills for the future. Similarly, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) highlights green skills development as critical to delivering net zero and securing the UK’s long-term economic prosperity.
But there’s something else happening, too. Young people care strongly about this. They’re choosing who to work for (and who to buy from) based on how seriously businesses take sustainability. That’s a shift business can’t afford to ignore and it’s one more reason colleges have such a key role in shaping the future workforce.
At community level, FE anchor institutions like Activate Learning can act as local sustainability hubs, driving behaviour change not just in the classroom but across local economies.
By supporting businesses to develop more sustainable operations and communities to adopt more sustainable lifestyles, we can help to build climate resilience into the very fabric of society.
Colleges as catalysts for a green superpower
If the UK wants to lead the world in green innovation, FE must be at the heart of the plan. At Activate Learning, we believe that every learner should leave us ready to play their part, no matter what career they choose.
That’s why we invite learners, employers and partners to join us on this journey in developing practical skills, driving innovation and building the workforce that will make the UK a true green superpower.
Explore Activate Learning’s sustainability offer at: Sustainability – Activate Learning – Adult Education or contact us via 0800 612 6008.