Igniting a spark for over 200 students

The start of November marks Green Careers Week; a nationwide initiative to help students, educators and parents explore careers that contribute to a sustainable future. Watch this space for recommendations of events and webinars that you might want to sign up for.

We’re proud to say that at Solar for Schools every week is a green careers week, and on Friday 26th September, we held our Pioneering Solar Celebration & Green Careers Showcase, generously hosted by Ark Victoria Academy in Birmingham.

The event was attended by over 200 students and the school hall was buzzing with energy and possibilities of bright futures. Ideas were exchanged, big questions were asked and innovative tech was demoed. The event brought together MP Jess Phillips, business leaders and innovators including National Grid, Lovell Renew, Veolia, GenR8, and Hydrogen United.

The morning kicked off with a passionate, student-led assembly highlighting solar projects and climate action, followed by a lively Q&A with Jess Phillips MP. Attendees then explored a first-of-its-kind, hands-on green careers fair, featuring cutting-edge demonstrations in green tech and construction robotics from AIM Housing and Q-Bot Ltd.

Matt Hickman, Refurbishment Partnerships Director at Lovell Renew, said of the event: “All of the children were enthusiastic, engaging, polite, and incredibly respectful. They are passionate about clean energy and making a difference to climate change, giving real hope for our future. This was a really inspiring day!”

The showcase not only celebrated the students' leadership in climate action but also provided a meaningful connection to real-world green career opportunities – providing a lively opportunity to help shape the Midlands’ just energy transition from the classroom up.

Education sits at the core of all that we do at Solar for Schools. And from our solar engineers to our system designers, and from our installers to our sustainability educators, Solar for Schools itself represents a 'walking green careers fair'. But we want to help as many students as possible to see themselves in a future where clean energy plays an integral role.

"Working with partners like  Ark Victoria Academy, we’re showing young people that climate action and career opportunities go hand in hand" explains Danielle Parker, our Strategic Programme Leader here at Solar for Schools

 "From engineering to data science, education and sustainability leadership — the green sector is thriving, and schools play a key role in inspiring the next generation to join it... Quite simply, we want students to be inspired, be involved and ultimately be part of the change".