
“We never had cool careers events like these when we were at school!”
Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum (PCF) have been running a series of fun and innovative events for local schools on careers.
These practical sessions have been delivered by industry experts – including rope access skills at the Haverfordwest climbing wall, building model wind turbines on the beach at Tenby (and launching them on the sea using stand up paddle boards!), operating a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) underwater in the Haverfordwest pool, and we also commissioned an inspiring short film on coastal opportunities and shared it at a careers day at Haverfordwest High School with over 260 children.
The kids have loved getting shown the ropes (literally!) and the feedback from the career’s day was also really positive:
“47% said that the day would make them focus more on their GCSEs to help them get to where they want to when they leave school. This is a super result. This was the aim of the event. Thank you so much.”
Julie Freeman – Careers Wales.
Events like these are not typical in Pembrokeshire (yet!), but they do show how beneficial it is to do practical and fun sessions to get kids inspired to achieve the results and gain the skills they need to follow a career and life path they are genuinely passionate about. Our experts also spoke about the increased inclusivity and equality in rope access, engineering, and trades such as welding, ensuring learners could see that career paths are open to all.
Identifying the jobs of the future in a rapidly developing sector like offshore renewable energy is naturally uncertain. There is a good chance that a school learner of today will go on to have multiple jobs in their working life, possibly in roles that haven’t even been invented yet. A recent report produced by Celtic Sea Power for the Port of Milford Haven using the best information available now calculated around 4,000 additional jobs based around the Waterway in Floating Wind projects alone. Whilst engineering and fabrication skills will be the sector’s backbone, studies by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult indicate that around 50% of the roles will be in other areas.
The inspiring new short film on ‘A Spotlight on Coastal Opportunities in Pembrokeshire’ profiles local Pembrokeshire people that are genuinely passionate about their careers in a range of sectors including:
- Outdoor recreation (Celtic Deep & TYF);
- Aquaculture (Câr-y-Môr seaweed farm);
- Shipping (Williams Shipping) and
- Conservation (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – Ramsey Island assistant warden).
Youtube: A Spotlight on Coastal Opportunities in Pembrokeshire | Sylw ar Gyfleoedd Arfordirol yn Sir Benfro
It gives a fascinating insight as to how these professionals found (and even created) their careers in Pembrokeshire. Students at the careers day were inspired by the film & many could see themselves doing something similar in the future – driving a boat, leading adventures, or helping protect Pembrokeshire’s amazing wildlife.
The skills needed for careers in marine renewable energy, aquaculture, shipping, manufacture, outdoor recreation, and conservation can all be learned. And all these businesses will need project managers, human resources, finance teams and administrative support. For the trades such as welding, pipefitting & electricians there is already huge demand for new recruits. Pembrokeshire College have a wide variety of courses and have opened their new Centre of Excellence in welding and fabrication earlier this year to meet the high demand.
There are so many opportunities out there, and exciting times ahead for Pembrokeshire. With the right dedication, training, and support, the next generation may just be able to meet the huge challenges of a low carbon future where nature is recovering, and people are thriving.
Thanks to the various funders (Welsh Government, Fisheries Local Action Group & others) for supporting Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum to deliver on this work, and huge thanks to all the partners and industry experts involved in making the events such a success. It is so rewarding to see the kids get excited about their future, and in some cases discover a brand-new path ahead.