Oliver King, member of Faber Maunsell|AECOM's sustainable development group which helps organisations become greener and save money
Oliver said:
Legal skills are very valuable to the environment sector: Legal skills are very important. In the UK we already have environmental law overseen by the Environment Agency. New legislation has bought in the Climate Change Bill and for the rest of the world to contribute towards a global reduction in emissions, it will require the same. As issues around resource consumption, waste and pollution and global equity grow in importance, so will the need for a legal profession that supports it.
Search for jobs outside the obvious resources: Websites such as Environment Jobs, New Scientist and Guardian Jobs are good but they are also very popular so there will be a lot of job hunters looking at them. So joining the organisations such as CIWM, CIWEM, IREM is useful too. Have you been to any local meetings? Have you contacted the careers people in these groups? Also, have you contacted companies directly? You can use edie.net to work out which companies are the rated the best in the field and then check out their sites directly. Also, there are recruitment consultancies out there. Use them. They can be good and they can be rubbish, frankly, but they may help you find opportunities.
Being an international student can be a unique selling point: I don't think being an international student is a problem. Most of the companies you will be applying to will have operations in other countries and there is a very big push for diversification of operations so that future economic problems will have less of an immediate shock. Remember, we are in the middle of a horrible economic situation and finding jobs is going to be harder now (even for graduates) then it has been in the past.
No responses and being turned down for a job isn't personal, it is just really hard sometimes to get the break that you want. Keep trying though, you will get it.
Sarahjane Widdowson, senior waste management consultant at Hyder Consulting, which advises organisations on how to reduce what they throw away
Sarahjane said:
Ask your manager about training and career development: There are several routes you can look into to enhance your knowledge in waste and recycling management. Firstly talk to your manager and other colleagues in your authority about what courses they think will benefit you. Think about on-the-job training and getting experience in other areas of your authority - Street Scene, for example. WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) provide very comprehensive courses for recycling managers so speak to a WRAP ROTATE advisor and they will be able to point you in the right direction.
Join your industry's professional body for networking and mentoring opportunities: The CIWM (Chartered Institute of Wastes Management) provides a range of different courses of varying lengths and costs. Again, you should get advice from your manager about the suitability of these for you. I would encourage you to become a member of the CIWM - this would enable you to attend any of the open meetings and site visits that the regional groups organise which are all either low or no-cost. They provide an excellent opportunity to learn about hot topics and gain access to industry experts. The CIWM would also help you to find a mentor - someone that works in your field but isn't part of your management team. Mentors are a fantastic way of learning more about the industry and gaining advice on personal development which could lead to chartership.
Lastly, there are also many MSc courses available that specialise in waste management that would be worth researching, some of which can be taken a module at a time which could be fitted in with your work.
Geraldine Newton-Cross, programme manager at the Energy Technologies Institute, an organisation responsible for the development of renewable energy systems capable of helping the UK meet its CO2 emissions targets
Geraldine said:
Legal skills will be needed in renewable energy: From a renewable energy point of view, there is definitely a need for legal skills, particularly as the renewable energy industry is being increasingly targeted to grow over the next decade. Organisations involved in this sector will be seeking to build up their legal expertise, as commercial deployment of renewable energy technologies (for example, offshore marine energy installations) present many complexities and issues which require legal input. Health and satefy, environmental considerations, Intellectual Property Rights, access and contractual, for example. Therefore organisations operating in this field will have to meet these legal demands and increase their amount of legal expertise in these areas.
Job opportunities in the renewable energy sector are set to increase: Given that the UK Climate Change Act (2008) establishes an 80% greenhouse gas reduction target by 2050, and a specific target to increase energy production from renewable sources, from 2% now to 15% by 2020, I think this sector and job opportunities can only increase. There is lots of opportunity across the renewable energy sector, from engineering design, manufacturing and maintenance through to project management, environmental monitoring and policy and regulation activities. So I would say there will be many more openings in the future in the environmental sector.
Jameel Hayat, principal consultant at AECOM Transportation, working on transport planning and sustainable development
Jameel said:
Research a course's alumi for ideas on where to take your own career: There are a range of climate change courses out there and some will allow you to specialise more than others. Going back a few years, I did the MSc in environmental technology at Imperial, specialising in global environmental change and policy. Those on my option ranged from engineers and zoologists to lawyers and psychologists. It depends how much you want to specialise, but I picked my course because it was quite broad ranging. It's worth trying to find out what alumni from different courses are doing when you start researching different courses you are interested in, both as an indication of the type of jobs they go in to, but also because the alumni network can be an excellent way of networking, getting work experience and hearing about job opportunities.
If you want to keep your career options open, pick a broad degree: Short term, most sectors are becoming more competitive. Longer term, I hope the environmental sector will experience growth and demand for people with the right skills, but it's a wide-ranging industry and some sectors will contract as others grow. On that point, I should say it is those with the right skills, knowledge and experience who are most employable in any sector.
If you pick a broad ranging degree (possibly followed by a masters in a more specific area), then you are likely to keep your options open. But don't dismiss other subjects. I studied environmental technology but I work as a transport planner. The environmental sector isn't only open to those with specific degrees. Most of the people I work with have very different degrees/masters, including engineering, maths, geography and economics, for example. I even used to work with someone in transport and environment research who studied history.
Environmental skills will be in demand in all sectors: You will find an increasing number of organisations are looking for people with environmental backgrounds, including banks and major companies (to work on corporate social responsibility, environmental statements and stakeholder consultation, for example), manufacturers (emissions and product life cycles) infrastructure companies (sustainable procurement and environmental impacts) and so on. It's an exciting field to get into and the range of organisations and type of work you could potentially do is very broad indeed. It's really up to you how much you want to specialise and if there are particular areas or fields you want to pursue.
