Investing in talent, developing people and hiring
Recently we at Green Recruitment solutions attended the RWM exhibition in Birmingham, along with hundreds of other industry leading exhibitors to discuss topics within the green sectors, as well as showcasing our groundbreaking expertise and leading recruitment work. We had a truly terrific expo, where we met some remarkable and fantastically talented candidates. Coupled with this, there were ample opportunities for us to engage and converse with potential clients who see the value and relevancy of working with a specialist search consultancy, such as Green Recruitment Solutions.
In today’s difficult and uncertain workplace, our focus was very much on ensuring businesses were geared for success, through the tightening up of their employment and recruitment models. Across the nation, and as can be seen globally, our industries are growing exponentially and so is the demand for top talent. Those that are driving success today will soon need adept and resourceful successors to continue pushing the mantle forward. For this, there needs to be a focus on creating more opportunities at the graduate level, providing more careers and a clearer pathway to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Amongst meeting with some of the UK’s top talent and potential partners, RWM was a fantastic opportunity to meet with several young professionals seeking to enter the green industries. People who are personally taking on the fight to save the planet. People who are going to be the future leaders of tomorrow.
The drive to address environmental trends has resulted in a need for new areas of expertise. According to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency, there are 10.3 million renewable energy jobs globally, which is a 5.3 percent increase since 2017. Experts have credited this to the vital need for change within the green industries, but also due to the growth of environmentally focused degrees at university level. This has put greater emphasis on businesses to recruit and capitalise on the hunger for change which the next generation possesses.
Presently, there are endless candidates within our sectors who have vast industry experience but may lack formal qualifications. On the other end of the spectrum, there are PHD level Engineers who are being turned down for roles because they are too academically qualified. In the near future, the industry must reach an equilibrium, where the need to create opportunities for fresh talent is equally weighed up with the onboarding of well experienced individuals.
This becomes especially important as there are evident gaps across the demographics in several sectors, where many of the knowledge holders are approaching retirement, yet they are the fountains of knowledge. While recruiting other senior level successors would be the norm, businesses should start hiring top grads to work alongside senior engineers on the most complex of projects.
A great example of a company that has fully bought into the development of young people is German tech conglomerate, Siemens. Learning and development has always been part of their culture, and has been central to their success. The company has an education programme that starts at primary school and continues through to graduate level. Their long-standing Engineering Apprenticeship programme attracts approximately 6,000 applications each year from which Siemens recruits 140 apprentices. This is taken a step further by their graduate program which aim to recruit 30% of graduates directly from their own apprenticeship ranks, building career steps for school leavers that go all the way from the shop floor to the boardroom. Siemens have understood the importance of developing young talent, which has led to their undeniable global success.
There has been a revolution across Britain’s workforce. It’s a coup d’état led by the nation’s young, politically engaged and environmentally conscious jobseekers, who demand employers enshrine values and ethics in their business model, not just profit. Coupled with the recent increase in environmentally focused degrees, the future looks bright for today’s young talent. The challenge for business is now to capitalise on this and bring in talented future leaders to spearhead a more sustainable tomorrow.
At Green Recruitment Solutions, we pride ourselves in not only sourcing and placing top talent within the green industries, but we also accept the challenge of pushing the boundaries and being the front runners for helping businesses prepare for tomorrow’s future recruitment needs. If you’re a business that would benefit from accessing a pool of top university graduates and high calibre entry level professionals, through to expert level, senior talent for key positions, we should talk.
T: +44 121 285 6070
M: +44 7580 170 406
E: ilohiya@greenrs.co.uk
W: greenrs.co.uk
