The UK’s future education sector workforce is concerned about climate change and would like greater provision for environment and sustainability topics in schools, new data shows today.
A career in the education sector was the second most popular choice (28%) for students, topped only by the broad Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector (38%).
Nine-in-ten (90%) of these potential future educators were concerned about the impact of climate change, with only those considering careers in Agriculture (97%), Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (93%) or Utilities (92%) more concerned.
This new data has been released from a survey of nearly 4,000 16-23-year-old students by WSP, the leading professional services firm, and market research company Savanta.
In addition, almost four-fifths (79%) of students interested in working in the education sector agreed that they would like or would have liked to learn more about climate, sustainability and environmental-related topics at school.
This suggests a bright future for the education sector as the UK looks to the future workforce needed to deliver a net zero economy by 2050, with increasing onus upon educators to make students aware of the career opportunities available to support the UK’s green transition.
Jim Coleman, Head of Economics at WSP, said: “We cannot underestimate how important the UK’s future education sector workforce will be in driving forward our national net zero ambitions. Previously released data from our survey suggested that students are not yet seeing the scale of opportunities for careers within industries vital to our green transition, particularly construction, utilities and transport, which is concerning given existing challenges within the UK’s workforce and skills base.
“As we move forward over the coming years, teachers, lecturers and other education professionals will have increasing influence on students’ experiences of green issues; their subsequent career choices and pathways will directly support the UK’s delivery of a net zero economy.”
A recent report into recruitment challenges faced within schools by the National Foundation for Educational Research, published in November 2022, outlined in its key findings that "many schools reported non-specialists teaching maths, physics and modern foreign languages".
Interestingly, WSP’s data shows that over half of students currently studying or wanting to study Literature / Languages or Linguistics at a higher or further education institution would consider a career in education (54%).
With over a third of Mathematics (36%) and over a quarter of Physics (27%) students also considering this, it could suggest some relief for schools in future in recruiting specialist teachers for these important subjects, particularly in STEM subjects vital to net zero delivery.
David Symons, UK Director of Sustainability at WSP, said: “It’s promising to see students considering a future career in the education sector are concerned about climate change, sustainability and the environment. This interest and knowledge needs to filter down through the education system and become an influencing factor for students when considering future careers, or even activities they can undertake in their daily lives to contribute to global efforts to mitigate the impacts of our changing climate.”
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