Green Skills

WPC Group – Proud Partner of National Skills Week – October 1-8, 2011 National Skills Week is a new initiative, a collaborative approach dedicated to raising the status of practical and vocational learning, enabling all Australians to gain a greater understanding of the opportunities, their potential and how they contribute to a successful, modern green economy. Learning by doing is as important as academic learning – there are many paths to success.

WPC Group are dedicated to providing such pathways to those seeking a skilled career and look forward to launching numerous exciting initiatives as a part of National Skills Week. Watch this space…..

WPC Group CEO Nicholas Wyman and General Manager Joanne Gedge were in Washington to Celebrate 100 Years of Apprenticeships in the United States recently.  The event hosted by Department of Labor Secretary Solis was at the National Mall with Capital Hill in the background. Secretary Solis is a recognized leader on clean energy jobs and she authored the Green Jobs Act providing funding for “green” collar job training in the United States.

Before the official proceedings, attendees had the opportunity to see some hands on interactive displays that set the scene for several moving accounts from young people on how apprenticeships changed their lives. WPC CEO Nicholas Wyman said “The celebration at the National Mall has raised the status and importance of Apprenticeships and Skilled workers to the US economy”.

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The global low carbon economy wave has attracted attention from almost all walks of life. Particularly after the UNFCCC Copenhagen Conference 2009 (COP-15), those involved are not just limited to the people involved in policy on economic levels, but include almost every community from politics to technology and the general public. Currently, “low carbon” has become one of the most common phrases in daily life. The conference is titled,  “ Leading the Green Economy, Returning to Harmony with Nature.”  will be held in Dalian, China at the World Exposition Centre.
 
Nicholas Wyman will present on efforts in Australia to stimulate employers and education institutions over the last decade have had mixed results. There is still a clear knowledge gap between the Environment and Economics. Universities and Vocational Training institutions are struggling to include green skills in their education.  With record high youth unemployment and disengagement,  can our young people be engaged and trained in green skills ?
 
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The second National Sustainability Conference (NSC) in Singapore took place from 29 to 30 July this year. Entitled “Environmental Up-Skilling and the Green Collar Economy”, the conference was co-organised by the Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES), NUS and the Workplace Research Centre, University of Sydney. It brought together policymakers, academics and members of the industry to explore key themes such as sustainable strategies to be pursued for Singapore and the Asia-Pacific, and the attendant implications that these strategies have on businesses in the environmental economy in terms of operations, management and hiring principles.

Nicholas Wyman, Chief Executive of WPC Group and Greenskills presented on how Green Apprenticeships integrate with Workforce Development. He covered how ?understanding the drivers and motivators of the next generation of employees and harnessing their interest in a sustainable economy is driving change through organizations.
Critical to an organisations success will be the ability to align the workforce to current and future service demands. Through the unique mentored apprenticeship model, employers can harness this engagement toward productivity.

Further information regarding the National Sustainability Conference 2010 is available to download.