On Monday 30 November Bristol Grammar School's Careers and Higher Education department hosted its second virtual event – ‘Considering a Career in…the Environment and Sustainability’ for a number of pupils in Years 10–Upper Sixth. The format of the event involved guest speakers from the Old Bristolians’ community sharing their professional experiences and then taking questions.
Lucy Eggleston (OB 2012) studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nottingham before working on sustainable composites as a Research Engineer and then moving into Environmental Policy Consultancy. Sarah Goodenough (2014) read History at Oxford before completing a Masters in Environmental Technology then working for Global Optimism and on projects run by the United Nations. Their journeys into the Environmental and Sustainability sector were not direct, both of them being influenced by meeting the right interesting people at the right times.
A view they both shared is that the sector is set to grow rapidly, especially as many companies vow to build back better after the Covid-19 pandemic and tackle the challenges of climate change. The twin incentives of labour market resilience and work with a meaningful impact should make this sector attractive to many of our students.
Our students are now completely at ease with using MS Teams to participate in events such as these and this in itself will improve their preparedness for the changing work landscape. Overall the event was a success due to generous guest speakers and the BGS Careers and HE department are looking forward to arranging similar events for other career sectors next term.