May's event will offer free places to post-graduate students to address lack of environmental professionals
Think, the upcoming major event focusing on sustainability in the built environment, will be offering free places, each worth £399, to 50 post-graduate students.
A recent study from the Academy for Sustainable Communities discovered that sustainability in the UK is strongly limited by a lack of trained professionals, especially in the South East of England. One forcast of labour shortages estimates that by 2012, there will be a 91% shortfall in the sustainable communities workforce. Think will be attempt to solve these problems by acting as the forum for top employers to reach the best young talent.
With the bursary scheme offering full access to all its events, Think has contacted university departments around the country to nominate their top post-graduate students for these places.
Also of interest to the academic community is the Next Generation zone at Think. Featuring a debating theatre delivering CPD sessions on sustainability, the GNext Generation Zone will be featuring a wide range of exhibtors fromt raining providers, recruitment consultants, and sector skills councils to bodies promoting constructing and surveying skills.
David Pierpoint of CMPi, organisers of Think, said: "The joint issues of recruitment and training are critical if sustainability targets are to be met in the future. We are therefore delighted to be able to offer these places to top students to attend our event, and believe that this initiative will prove extremely useful in helping to close the skills gap in the sustainability industry."
Think will take place on May 7-8 at ExCeL.
