WEBINAR:

Spotlight on Skills: Effective recruitment and retention for the future economy

Date

Time

Duration

Already registered? Login

Webinar overview:

Hosted in association with Octopus Energy’s Jobs That Matter, and delivered as part of BusinessGreen’s Workforce 2030 campaign, this interactive webinar will explore what it takes to develop an attractive and effective recruitment strategy that can underpin the next phase of the green economy’s expansion.

Bringing together leading experts, the session will discuss how leading businesses are facing the challenges of the net zero transition head-on, and attracting more people to enter fast-growing clean tech sectors and related industries.

The session will also explore how to improve understanding of how every role can be a ‘sustainability’ role, and how to better embed green skills right across all industries.

Topics to be covered include:

How big is the skills challenge facing the green economy? (And what even is the ‘green economy’?)
How can businesses best attract a wide range of talent?
What does the next generation expect from their future employer?
How can businesses embed environmental understanding across all roles?
Why should businesses invest in green skills development, and how can they build the business case for this investment?
What do effective staff recruitment and retention strategies entail?
How can businesses effectively work with partners and the education sector to boost the green economy skills base?

Panellists

James Murray

Editor-in-Chief, BusinessGreen

James Murray is Editor-in-Chief of BusinessGreen, having launched the site in October 2007. He is responsible for BusinessGreen's leading news, opinion and analysis, and also contributes to the brand's expanding events' programme. James is one of the UK's leading commentators on the low carbon economy. He writes occasionally for The Guardian newspaper and has also reported for BBC Radio on a number of green technology stories. James reports daily on a wide range of green business issues, with a particular focus on low carbon policy, economics and technology. In March 2011, James was voted number eight in the Press Gazette's list of the top 50 environmental journalists in the UK. Prior to launching BusinessGreen, James spent five years as a technology journalist working on a variety of IT titles.

Olivia Wray

Global Head of Talent Acquisition, Octopus Energy

I’m the global head of talent at Octopus Energy, this means I find brilliantly talented humans and give them the space to be themselves, starting from the very first conversation.

We’re not just building a company, we are accelerating the transition to a fairer, clean and simple energy system. That takes people who deeply care and want to build something that genuinely changed the world. Our role is to create the environment for candidates to do exactly that.

I believe in hiring for character and people over process - because skills can be taught but genuine commitment, curiosity are much harder to find. Of course, capability matters, but when building teams that move fast and challenge the status quo, mindset matters more.

Every day I partner with inspiring leaders across Octopus and our wider group to attract and keep people who don’t just want to do a job but make it better. People who thrive in a culture built on trust, autotomy and a deep sense of shared mission rather than rigid value statements and heavy process.

I’m passionate about designing recruitment experiences that are human, inclusive and ambitious. We work hard to widen the door, reduce bias and make sure every candidate has an outrageously good experience and a fair chance to shine.

Katie Neck

Managing Director & Founder, Sustained Futures

Katie is Founder and MD of Sustained Futures, committed to closing the green skills gap.

Her journey began in elite sport. While working in Formula 1, she witnessed a typhoon at the Japanese Grand Prix that shut down operations and exposed how vulnerable even the most advanced industries are to extreme weather. That moment set her on a new path. She went on to build McLaren’s first sustainability function. She later joined Capgemini Invent to consult across sectors.

But in every industry she noticed the same problem. Organisations lacked the green skills they needed to respond to climate change. In 2023 she launched Sustained Futures to close it. Since then the team has upskill more than 5,000 people around the world in partnership with the United Nations, Adobe, Arsenal FC, Dyson and Sail GP. Sustained Futures offers 90-day green skills maps and gaps analytics, upskilling pathways and for every employee upskilled, Sustained Futures upskills a young person for free.

Her leadership has earned her recognition as the 2024 Barclays Outstanding Entrepreneur and 2026 Earthshot Prize nomination.

Joshua Deru

Just Transition Lead, Climate Change Committee

Josh is the Just Transition lead at the Climate Change Committee, focusing on the delivery of an affordable, accessible, and fair transition to a Net Zero and climate resilient UK. His work covers the impacts of climate change and climate policies on workers, household bills, and the economy, as well as the distribution of costs and benefits, and how these affect wider issues such as skills, health, and fuel poverty. It also includes engaging with workers, households, and affected communities across the UK to ensure their voices are reflected in CCC advice to Government.

Register

Full Name

First Name

Last Name

Do you also want to register for the following events?

Spotlight on Energy: Making 100 per cent renewables a reality

Spotlight on Carbon: Understanding the new wave of carbon removal projects

Spotlight on Supply Chains: Best practices for tackling Scope 3 emissions

Spotlight on Transition Plans: How net zero transition plans can give your organisation an edge

Job Title

Company Name

Company Phone

You can submit a question for the panel in advance here

DATA PROTECTION STATEMENT

Your privacy policy – Please read carefully

We set out below how and the basis under which we, Incisive Media*, will communicate with you. In our Privacy Policy we explain how we may use your data.

For subscriptions, events, sponsored content and resources, we will use the lawful basis of 'legitimate interests' and we will use the contact details supplied to us to market to you regarding your trial or subscription, reader research, events and other related products. You will always be offered the option to change your contact preferences.

Where you request a whitepaper or content published by one of our third party partners or attend a sponsored event which Incisive Media hosts, we will identify the third party or sponsors to you at the time and then pass on your contact details to them. They will contact you directly and their use of your data will be governed by their own privacy policy. Events may attract additional sponsors after bookings have opened and after the date you have signed up to attend, but we will identify all sponsors to you by email before the event.

Please note that if you are a sole trader or other partnership, you will not receive information regarding Incisive Media’s other brands or from third parties until such time as we have your consent.

Privacy and T&C

Privacy Policy

Yes, I understand and accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

* Required Fields