A coalition of charity and non-profit organisations have joined forces to call on the government and the environmental sectors to do more to create accessible pathways into nature-based jobs, to diversify the sector and deliver our ambitions for nature recovery.
The call to action – led by Groundwork, The King’s (formerly Prince’s) Trust, Mission Diverse, Disability Rights UK and Youth Environmental Service – sets out the need to ensure equity in the transition to a greener economy, through the creation of entry level green jobs that help tackle the climate and nature crises.
The call is made in ‘Force of Nature – Reversing Nature’s Decline and Promoting Equity in the Green Transition’, a publication written by the five charities and endorsed by a wide range of key nature-sector organisations including RSPB, the National Trust, Wildlife & Countryside Link, WWF-UK, Bumblebee Conservation Trust and the National Biodiversity Network Trust.
A key ask for central and local government is the prioritisation of waged work placements within national employment support programmes and regional plans for skills and growth. The document also recommends that the creation of a ‘National Nature Service’ should be a priority for the Labour government, through paid environmental work placements for all young people, similar to the scheme being progressed by a coalition of organisations across Wales*.
The call for action also reflects on the need to create more genuinely entry level positions – both for young people and career changers – in order to remove unnecessary barriers, such as insistence on experience through voluntary work or qualifications, that are preventing people from all backgrounds seeing green jobs as a viable prospect.
Organisations have also endorsed the need for charitable funders to create entry-level roles or traineeships as part of their investment offer to environmental organisations, including core funding for effective training and professional development, to grow the next generation of engaged and skilled environmental professionals, who are currently under-represented in the sector.