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Sponsored Content: Energising Futures

Hundreds of teachers are now using the free online Green Skills Unlocked course to increase their confidence in teaching green skills and preparing their students for a career in this crucial sector – so don’t miss out!

Green Skills Unlocked is a key part of bp’s Energising Futures programme which is designed to increase young people’s enjoyment and awareness of STEM. By 2030, there are set to be 2 million green jobs in the UK – so it’s absolutely critical that young people are made aware of the many rewarding and exciting career opportunities in this growing and vital STEM sector.

Here, Anna Tvrz and Anna Loedel from We Are Futures explain the many benefits to teachers who complete this short course.

Why should I enrol on the course?

It’s a completely free online course which takes between two to three hours. It’s self-paced, so teachers can do it all in one go, or dip in and out of it when they have time.

We know that teachers have very little time, so the course is short but is still very useful and impactful. When creating it, we knew we needed to make it simple and upskill teachers so that they’re confident when talking about everything green skills related in their classrooms.

What does the course involve?

At the heart of the course is a simple Green Skills Framework, which is a really useful reference for teachers - and students. The course provides great contexts around green skills – what they are and why they’re important for the future workforce – by featuring experts from industry and STEM education, which really brings the topic to life.

It then explains how to teach green skills and discusses specific ways of bringing them into the classroom. It uses the science capital teaching method, and is all about adaptation. We’re not expecting teachers to change everything they’re currently doing – it's about adapting existing lessons to have more of a green skills and sustainability emphasis.

The course will help teachers look for and discover local opportunities and careers roles which are directly relevant to the young people they’re teaching – and also provides strategies for building this awareness into their lessons. It also features engaging careers videos showing real-life examples of STEM professionals who are enjoying – and thriving in - green skills roles.

Ultimately, we believe this course will empower teachers by upskilling them, and in turn this will help them to empower their students to take advantage of some of the amazing green skills and sustainability careers opportunities in the future. It will also help young people see themselves in those roles too.

Why are green skills so essential for the future workforce?

We know green skills are absolutely essential, but we also know that it’s not just a simple case of teachers rocking up at school one day and being able to teach them. If you Google ‘green skills’, there’s a lot out there, but most of it doesn’t directly link to the curriculum in a simple way that helps teachers make this subject relevant for students. This course addresses that.

What are teachers who have used the resource saying?

They have been really enthusiastic about it, and more than 500 teachers have completed it so far! Here’s a small selection of some of the testimonials we’ve received:

“Green Skills Unlocked was a fantastic CPD opportunity, ensuring that I upskill my own knowledge to then be able to disseminate and share with the students. The resources of excellent standard, with great quality videos and collaborative opportunities. All of these which made the CPD of the highest quality, engaging and refreshing.”

“Very easy and supportive to work through, the resources were clear and the chance to discuss ideas with colleagues at the end was excellent as links could be further made.”

“I really enjoyed the course! We are currently trying to integrate more careers into our KS4 curriculum and this was a really nice focus for it.”

How do I sign up?

Register here!

The course is hosted on the easy to use and accessible Coursera platform.