North East-based educational charity and leader in vocational and technical learning, NCFE, is helping to shine a light on green careers and the transferrable skills that lend themselves to making this switch.
Green careers are on the rise – but how do you plan for a job that you didn’t know existed when you left school? We asked Laura McGrath, Director of Sustainability and Community at Shelborn Asset Management, about her journey to looking after four business parks, including Quorum Park in Newcastle – home to NCFE’s head office.
From school to South America
I’ve been obsessed with nature, animals, and the wild since I was little. At the age of nine, I staged a one-girl protest in the school playground about freeing dolphins from captivity. My bedroom was littered with books, posters, and magazine subscriptions. The natural world held me entranced, and I knew I was going to grow up to be a jungle explorer.
So, you can imagine my surprise as an 18-yearold school leaver when I discovered that ‘jungle explorer’ wasn’t a course at university! After studying psychology, I therefore began working office jobs to fund trips around the world, rather than to carve a career path.
Everything changed when I finally made it on my lifelong planned adventure. I spent over a year exploring South America and Southeast Asia, climbing mountains and crossing the full width of the Brazilian stretch of the Amazon River on a boat. I filled my time with volunteering projects and worked with children, at an animal sanctuary, and for a nature reserve.
It was during this volunteering that I discovered sustainability. I’m not talking about environmentalism, but sustainability – the balance of the natural world with the people who live in it. We all know how to save the rainforest, but we know less about how to save it whilst making sure that those living nearby have careers, financial stability, and security. That’s the true story of sustainability.
Shaping my career
I came home in 2012 and used my volunteering experience to land a role at Balfour Beatty – one which was designed to balance environmental management and social issues around healthy communities and wellbeing. This then led me to meeting the team at Quorum Park and becoming their Events and Sustainability Manager.
Since 2013, I’ve slowly changed, grown, and shaped the role to become even more focused on sustainability. Sustainability was very new as a career path, so I got to shape what I wanted to communicate. I realised that most people don’t connect with rhetoric around carbon savings and renewable energy – but they do have thoughts on wellbeing, cycling and nature.
In 2015 I met Tamma Carell from Imvelo Ltd who introduced me to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and I realised I’d been right all along. It’s about people, planet, and profit – creating a balanced space for all three. I’ve since developed my learning with further training to become a Practitioner for the Institute of Environmental Management.
When I was younger, I’d never realised that the fun, outdoorsy things I loved when travelling could end up as part of my daily role. Things like outdoor cycling adventures, nature and biodiversity are all part of my working life, but I also get involved in a meaningful and strategic contribution to the fight against climate change.
Preparing for green roles
Carbon Literacy training is a fantastic starting point for anyone wanting to find out the basics without feeling like you’re back in a school science classroom. There are also some essential skills that you’ll need to work in sustainability, but most are transferable from other sectors and everyday life.
Critical thinking is one – rarely is anything a right or wrong answer, so learn to critically analyse impacts so that you can devise the best approach. Adaptability for your audience is second – some people care and some don’t, so find their personal hook and don’t assume your own motivations will work for everyone. The third is resilience – it’s tough at times, but with a positive outlook and belief, we can change the world.
As Net Zero 2050 looms large in the business world, sustainability is a bigger priority than ever before. Successful businesses will realise that, rather than just offsetting emissions, embracing the conversation and exploring wider issues will ignite the passions of their staff, stakeholders and customers. This means more opportunities will be available for people to turn their own passion for the environment into a career, just as I have.
I firmly believe the connection between people and nature will eventually be the big story of the climate crisis. Covid-19 got everyone out of their homes, and they fell back in love with the planet. Now, they want to save it.