Coventry College partnered with Birmingham Enterprise Company (BEC) to develop a new programme for managers who want to move their career towards the area of sustainability or who need the skills and knowledge around sustainability to take their organisations forward in response to the climate crisis. The programme has the backing and support of the West Midlands Combined Authority which recognises it as another step to move the region towards the target of net Zero by 2041. The co-creators, Coventry College and BES have gained national recognition for it by willing the Sustainability in Enterprise Award at the National Enterprise Network Awards 2023.
The Sustainable Management Course was developed to help tackle a growing gap in skills and knowledge on the part of managers of organisations as we move towards net zero. Despite having awareness of the need to become more sustainable, businesses are often left feeling helpless as they don’t know where to start. Many businesses lack employees with the knowledge and skills to help them on their path to more sustainable practices. Spotting this opportunity, Coventry College worked with Maddie Booth to develop a programme which brings together experts from organisations such as Sustainability West Midlands & Sustainable Pathways who take participants through an intensive learning experience over eight weeks.
Delivery is via taught online sessions delivered on weekday evenings to accommodate work commitments and these sessions are complemented by time spent on assisted self-study and individual mentoring and coaching sessions. The programme covers the wider context of climate change, sustainability and how it relates to businesses now and in the future. Learners explore different solutions and the strategies and actions that can be applied. Key to the programme is how learners work in partnership with other stakeholders and how to communicate and manage the changes needed within their own organisation. Having gained foundations sustainability, participants applied what they have learned by building a roadmap to embedding sustainable practices into their organisation. To date the course has taken on over 50 participants with many going on to receive promotions, career progression and even starting their own businesses.
Feedback from the first cohort on the programme was that they wanted more input around data analysis. In response Coventry College and BEC have launched a second course Sustainable Digital Transformation which helps business leaders to gain skills related to the use of data within sustainability transformation.
“This is a powerful partnership with BEC which is leading to brilliant career opportunities including promotion for West Midlands residents in an area of growing skills need. Coventry College is developing flagship green skills provision with the support of industry experts such as BEC”, said Andy Schneider, Director of Curriculum with oversight for this provision.
