Preparing our young people for the jobs of the future - Selaine Saxby

It is hard to predict the jobs of the future, thirty years ago who would have thought that most children would want to become social media content creators, or that more and more of us would be working from home.

This makes preparing the next generation for successful and fulfilling careers all the more difficult, however over the last couple of weeks I have seen for myself just how diverse the opportunities in North Devon are.

I visited Swimbridge Primary School and met with Year 6 who had all written to me about what they would like to see in their curriculum. They had a range of ideas from the practical such as money management, cooking and even survival skills, to wanting to learn more about climate change and its impacts.

The Government has been working to introduce climate change to curriculums since 2021 and by the time this cohort are taking their GCSEs they will be able to study the new subject Natural History, and gain knowledge and practical experience of organisms and environments.

It was great to be able to listen to and answer all of their questions on these subjects directly, and if any other primary school in North Devon would like to get in touch, I am more than happy to come and visit.

I also attended Marine Futures Day at Petroc College, with an abundance of wind and a strong tidal range the south west has the potential to be the UK leader in renewable technologies.

As we work towards Net Zero, developing floating offshore wind (FLOW) in the Celtic Sea will provide the UK with 5GW of energy by 2030, and this development will bring with it varied and interesting careers as part of the green industrial revolution.

It was fantastic to meet with so many people already working in the industry keen to share their experiences, and the many young people learning about FLOW.

The University of Exeter’s Green Futures Programme also offers an opportunity for young people to study ground breaking courses in renewable and sustainable fields. I met with Stuart Brocklehurst, Director of Green Futures, in the House of Lords at the launch of their business outreach project, to hear about how Green Futures is working with businesses to bring more investment and jobs to Devon and the south west.

Following on from the spectacular Armed Forces Day event organised by The Veteran’s Charity I asked the Minister for Defence

People, Andrew Murrison, what the department is doing to develop skills in rural areas. Here in North Devon at Chivenor and Arromanches we are home to units which specialise in key areas of logistics, engineering, and marine technologies, so I was glad to hear that the Ministry of Defence remains committed to their wide range of apprenticeships which prepare young people for careers both inside and outside of our armed forces.

I also met with Pippa Moy from Braunton Academy who was taking part in the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme.

I hope more teachers in North Devon are able to participate in the free three day course: https://learning.parliament.uk/en/session-workshop/uk-parliament-teacher-ambassador-programme/.

I am also happy to welcome work experience students to both my Barnstaple and Westminster offices, so please do get in touch if you or someone you know is interested.

Learning never stops and for those that are interested in developing their maths skills and it is great to see that Devon County Council are rolling out the Government funded Multiply scheme, aimed at helping adults without a GCSE or O Level in Maths.

You can find out more at https://www.devon.gov.uk/economy/employment-inward-investment/devon-multiply-grant-scheme-2023/.