Cross-Border Industry Insights with Veolia
Wednesday, December 14th, 2022
Industry Insights for Teachers (IIT) is a relatively new programme for BITCI and it’s a response to the very rapid period of change that all post-industrialised nations are going through. Our clients in business often tell us about new roles and disciplines that didn’t exist a few years ago, so how can a teacher or guidance counsellor predict new technologies and societal needs? The short answer is they can’t, but we can help to show them emerging trends, skills gaps and new industry sectors. By bringing our educators and businesses together for Industry Insight sessions, we are spotlighting opportunities that their students can avail of and the different avenues to access them.
Environmental Management is a fast-growing sector in Irish Industry but what exactly is it and where are the jobs? In September, we were delighted to shine a spotlight on the world of Environmental Management featuring multinational business Veolia, with a 700 strong team across Ireland at their own sites and also with teams embedded in client companies such as pharmaceutical manufacturers. We held two online sessions, one for the Munster region and a Cross Border session the following week. The teachers learned that Veolia advise and deliver on ways to manage resources – reduce and reuse carbon emissions, energy, water and waste, as well as preserve the natural environment.
We heard from Communications Lead, Áine Murray, on how the sector is expected to expand and develop in line with Climate Action targets to 2050. We can already see industry prioritising energy reduction. HR lead, Sabrina O’Shea, told us they had recruited 200 new members to the team in the last 12 months and expect this to continue in the coming years. Veolia have recently relaunched their apprenticeship programme and have eight live vacancies for Electrical Instrumentation and Mechanical Engineering apprentices. Graduate mechanical engineers, Zaida Reyes and Emma Webster, detailed their day to day roles on the graduate programme and their desire to make a difference. Regional Managers, Brian Curtis and Scott Reynolds, outlined the disciplines that the company needs to continue expansion; Process Engineers, Health & Safety advisors, Plant Operators, IT Technicians, Lab Technicians, Analytics experts, to name a few.
So how did it go down? Ninety per cent of attending teachers said they would recommend such sessions to colleagues, here’s what some of them said:
‘Getting an insight into this industry and the roles was really helpful for me to understand this growing area which I hear about in the news daily, but I don’t necessarily understand the different career paths’
‘For learners from all backgrounds, it’s great to see the possibilities and scope their careers would have by joining a company like Veolia. Very motivational’
‘I thoroughly enjoyed getting an insight into this company and it will be invaluable for the career guidance I give my students. Thank you’
Was it worthwhile for Veolia? Senior Director, Sinéad Patton, thought so:
‘Veolia is delighted to participate in the Industry Insights series with BITCI and BITCNI. As a leader of ecological transformation, it is a great opportunity for us to connect directly with teachers and guidance counsellors – every industry sector needs to be able to communicate on skills gaps, new job opportunities, emerging technologies and what hard and soft skills are needed to ensure they are sustainable’
If you’re a teacher who would like to attend an IIT session, or work for a business that you think we need to know about, please contact Programme Coordinator, Celine McGrath, email: cmcgrath@bitc.ie
