Gen Z’s Take on Climate Change with IEMA

We had the pleasure of running a virtual work experience week with an amazing group of young people discussing all things climate, hear what they had to say about the experience.

Today concludes a week of online work experience with IEMA, introducing our generation to environment and sustainability. We met company partners such as Lego, Sarah Mukherjee IEMA’s CEO, and many more interesting members, who were wonderfully engaging and insightful about the future of sustainable living.

The online work experience format allowed us to network with all different departments, including communications, marketing and policy development. A variety of unique areas that provide a valuable experience to us as we’re moulding our ideas of which career path we would like to pursue.

We covered a wide range of topics, from air pollution, to marketing basics, to interpersonal skills. We even had talks from Lego and Siemens Energy on the circular economy and hydrogen energy. As young people we tend to become quickly disengaged but with regular screen breaks, a handful of guest speakers and interactive activities this was not the case with IEMA!

A selection of the students have reported what they’ve learnt over the week:

Tania: I signed up for this virtual work experience with no interest in working in the environmental sector, but with a genuine interest and passion about climate change and the environment. As each day passed I learnt so many valuable transferable skills that can be passed onto my future careers and how the environment can be linked and tied into every job sector. Additionally, we learnt a lot about our carbon footprint, which I recommend everyone does if they haven’t already!

Catherine: This event was brilliant for showing me the wide variety of companies IEMA works with, and all the different forms sustainable management can take. It has sparked my interest from general geography research to specific environmental solutions, and IEMA will inform my future choices on how to make the world a greener place!

Eibhlinn: I didn’t quite know what I was signing up for when I applied for this work experience week, but it was better than I could have ever imagined! Everyone was so welcoming and willing to share their knowledge, and we heard from such a wide array of departments and people. It was wonderful to be able to share this space with like minded people and to be given the room to express our opinions, as well as learning from professionals about the sector and industry. I had been considering a job in conservation, but this week opened my eyes to the massive variety of jobs that are available, and made me think about the sector in a different way!

Katie: Something clicked for me this week, I found the work experience really engaging, I got a different perspective and a reminder to look at the world through an environmental lens.

Please note: the views expressed in this blog are those of the individual contributing member, and are not necessarily representative of the views of IEMA or any professional institutions with which IEMA is associated.