Supporting and mentoring young people is key to developing a talented and diverse workforce to drive the Energy Transition forward, now and into the future.
By engaging early, we can help give an understanding of real world applications, showcase diverse career paths and provide pathways into the industry.
During my career, I have been fortunate to have received support and guidance from a variety of mentors. They encouraged me, challenged me and nudged me in the right direction. We all need that.
Providing the same kind of support to the next generation of talent is something I feel really passionate about, and that Neptune has fully endorsed.
That’s why I’m proud the company has thrown its weight behind the Young Person’s Guarantee, joining employers across Scotland to help create those all-important opportunities for young people.
It’s a simple yet really effective approach.
The guarantee is a joint commitment between Developing the Young Workforce and a variety of employers including Neptune. We provide opportunities for 16-24 year olds in Scotland including jobs, apprenticeships, further and higher education support, access to training programmes and volunteering opportunities.
Arguably, the most obvious way to support young people is through job creation, graduate programmes or work placements, but supporting young people takes many forms. Engaging with local schools to help pupils understand the potential opportunities that are available to them through a career in energy is just as important and really rewarding.
We have worked closely with DYW for several years now, from hosting skills workshops and running mock interviews, to giving presentations in schools to supplement the curriculum. It’s all about helping prepare students for the world of work, opening their eyes to diverse career paths they may not have known about or considered, and understanding their choices and routes into the industry.
We also work with the SSERC – the not-for-profit organisation supporting the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas of the national curriculum. Through their Education Industry Partnership, we have STEM ambassadors mentoring local school pupils and discussing their ideas on how companies can support the UK’s net zero targets.
One of the activities we were involved in was a project where the pupils designed their own renewable energy power station, researched where and what to build, considered local funding and logistics of the project, and how it could contribute to climate change targets. It was as much an eye-opener for our own teams as it was for the pupils, and truly humbling to hear all of their amazing ideas.
If these young innovators are inspired to pursue a career in energy, then the future is looking ever brighter.
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