Youngsters from Barrow’s Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School enjoyed a factory tour of Oxley Group at the start of a new Green Careers project.
They visited the Ulverston-based aerospace and lighting systems specialist, the school’s business partner, to discuss ideas to shape a project based on an issue that is important to them and the local environment.
The overall project is led by Furness Education Skills Partnership and focuses on future jobs in the renewable energy and net-zero sectors.
By 2040, the sector aims to create 20,000 new jobs creating a wave of opportunities in careers across the country.
The year six pupils from Ormsgill enjoyed an insight into the work at Oxley from CEO Darren Cavan before being set a challenge to consider the impact of plastic pollution and to undertake a project to reduce plastic bottle waste using the reduce – reuse – recycle model.
Jayne Moorby, head of marketing at Oxley Group, said: “We are delighted to be paired with Ormsgill school, during their project introduction visit to Oxley we were inspired by the group’s enthusiasm and creativity.
“Projects like this enable us to work with young people to develop communication and problem-solving skills whilst also opening their eyes to the huge array of future opportunities available with local employers, we’re excited to work together to see how their project progresses.”
The school will develop their idea with the support of Oxley, the team will visit the school to work with the pupils on researching the topic and designing a creative solution and will then present their work back to the Oxley CEO.
Any changes will be implemented, and the effectiveness of the solutions will be measured so the pupils can see the ‘real world’ difference their project has made.
Other businesses involved include Orsted, BAE Systems, Morgan Sindall and The Lakeside Hotel and each business will either work directly on the climate agenda or have environment protection at the heart of their operational model.
A number of schools including Cambridge Primary and Newbarns Primary and Nursery School, who are also part of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, and Barrow Island and St Paul’s are involved in the project.
A spokesman for FESP said: “We know that young people have a greater interest than ever before in protecting our world but do they know how they can have a career actively doing so in Cumbria?
“This project will introduce students to employers in our area working on the climate change agenda. Through our project, students will be partnered with a business to design a legacy piece to share their learning about the county’s aspiration to achieve a low/net zero carbon economy by 2050.”
