The Oulton Academy group was part of 174 young people involved in activities designed to make green jobs appealing to them.
Year 9 pupils Imogen, William, Evie and Eve presented their idea to the Mayor and the Taskforce.
The Green Jobs Taskforce, chaired by the Mayor, includes experts from business, education and training and the third and public sectors. Their goal is to make West Yorkshire a leader in green skills and jobs, focussing on the skills needed to tackle the climate emergency.
I was absolutely bowled over by the presentation from Imogen, Evie, Eve and William, and by their knowledge, enthusiasm and passion.
As we work towards creating a net zero carbon region, it’s so important that we listen to how young people want to shape West Yorkshire’s future and the jobs that will be created.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
With our long history of TV Production in the region, I am proud to be representing ITV Studios at the Green Jobs Taskforce, and also to provide a voice for the creative and culture sectors.
It is important to have a diverse range of perspectives and experiences in this conversion will ensure a robust, yet fair transition aligned with achieving our collective net zero goals.
The creative industry can help communicate, amplify and accelerate West Yorkshire to a brighter tomorrow, where every job can become a green job both directly as employers, and via our local supply chains.
Phil Holdgate, Head of Production Sustainability at ITV Studios and new Taskforce member
The West Yorkshire Green Skills Youth Programme is run in partnership with Ahead Partnership.
Now more than ever, businesses are focused on futureproofing and looking at how they can deliver on long-term environmental commitments. A big part of this means ensuring that we have the right skilled workers in this region.
By connecting the dots between young people’s passion for and investment in the net zero agenda and their thinking around future careers from an early stage, we are providing information and inspiration to help them pursue rewarding green careers. This type of activity also supports the development of those key employability skills including teamwork, critical thinking, research and analysis, creative thinking, advocacy and communication which we have seen from all of the young people involved in this innovative programme.
Stephanie Burras CBE, chief executive of Ahead Partnership
