Council pioneers sustainability-focused careers fair

The Generation Three Rivers event, funded by Innovate UK’s Fast Followers programme and in partnership with the Hertfordshire Careers Hub, demonstrated the council’s commitment to enabling and inspiring environmentally sustainable development that benefits local people and business.

The careers fair, held at Watersmeet Theatre on Wednesday 27 March, saw an impressive turnout of over 300 sixth form students from local secondary schools in Three Rivers and West Herts College. Attendees were able to explore a wide range of career, work experience, and training opportunities centred around sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Additionally, over 120 young people, parents, and adults seeking employment or skills development attended the “Twilight” session which was open to the public in the late afternoon, where they engaged with a diverse array of employers representing industries such as, renewable energy, retrofit and construction, green technology, engineering, film production, conservation and more.

Joanna Hewitson, Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy Officer for Three Rivers District Council, said: “Generation Three Rivers will leave a valuable legacy for all that attended. It was clear that the school and college students who attended grasped the relevance of climate change and sustainability and how these issues translate into a vast array of skilled and rewarding careers in the District and beyond.

We know that our employers and others nearby will need to engage with their future workforce to ensure that they have the right skills and people in place as we transition to net-zero, and this event was able to bring them all together. We’ve really valued this partnership with the Hertfordshire Careers Hub.”

Generation Three Rivers is the fifth of six scheduled Generation events this academic year. Gareth Dace, Careers Hub Strategic Lead was enthusiastic about the impact of this one. He said: “We’ve really enjoyed working with the team at Three Rivers to conceptualise and bring this event to life. Focusing on Sustainability was a really interesting twist and has allowed them to build stronger partnerships with both local employers and schools and West Herts College. This gives us a ‘greenprint’ for how we can apply a particular focus to future Generation events when working with local partners.”