Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders

A ten-week course for Devon-based individuals looking to support sustainable business practices within their organisation
Tree seedling ecology
If you're interested in this course and based in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly, please visit Future Climate Leaders .
Find out about more training opportunities for Cornwall through the Future is Green project.

About this course

The Future Climate Leaders course is designed to equip learners with the skills, tools and knowledge needed to drive sustainability within their organisation. It prepares learners to be proactive, informed and influential in tackling environmental challenges, making them champions of a sustainable future.
Through an innovative, science-based curriculum, inspiring case studies and hands-on environmental challenges, learners will explore the levers of climate change, develop sustainable leadership skills and discover how to implement practical solutions for a healthier planet, thriving organisation and prosperous individual.
Co-funded by Devon County Council through Skills Bootcamps, this ten-week course is open to those aged 19+ in employment and based in Devon.
Sustainability Hub - green wall for research

What you'll learn

This course provides the tools, knowledge and networks necessary to lead your organisation toward a sustainable future. This course will ensure that you are equipped to champion green initiatives and drive meaningful change.
By the end of the course, you will have a well-developed sustainability project ready to implement as well as a robust action plan, leadership skills and a recognised certification that underscores your expertise and commitment to climate leadership.
This course incorporates UNESCO competencies for sustainable leadership, as shown below.

  • 6Systems thinking

  • 6Envisioning futures

  • 6Understanding values

  • 6Strategy planning

  • 6Compassionate leadership

  • 6Critical thinking

  • 6Self-awareness

  • 6Integrated problem-solving

Course benefits

Enterprises

  • Improve your organisation's environmental and sustainability credentials.
  • Develop an employee to become your organisation's sustainability lead.
  • Tackle an existing sustainability challenge within your workplace or get guidance on which sustainability challenges to start tackling.
Please note that to be eligible for funding, employers must give learners additional responsibility upon completion, e.g. Sustainability Lead.

Employees

  • Have a positive environmental impact through your work.
  • Gain additional responsibility within your organisation around sustainability.
  • Learn about tools for driving environmental change in your organisation.
 

Who is this course for?

This course is open to employees working in organisations of any size or sector from across Devon. Learners could be working in manufacturing, engineering, agriculture, leisure, hospitality, retail, a social enterprise, a charity etc.
This course is for employees at all levels passionate about making sustainable changes to their organisation. As employees must be given an additional responsibility following the course, we anticipate that most learners will be in a leadership or managerial role.
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Why this course?

Comprehensive curriculum
  • Broad scope. Covering a wide range of critical topics in leadership, sustainability and net zero.
  • In-depth. Delve into complex issues such as greenwashing, AI and data in climate solutions and strategic coalition building.
  • Practical. Learn how to implement sustainable practices and align with business priorities in real-world scenarios, ensuring immediate applicability in your role.
Expert-led instruction
  • Industry leaders. Gain insights from leading experts in sustainability, climate science and environmental policy.
  • Interactive sessions. Engage in dynamic discussions, workshops and hands-on activities that foster deep understanding and practical skills.
Tailored for future leaders
  • Focus on leadership: Develop essential leadership qualities such as strategic thinking, critical analysis and effective communication.
  • Sustainability focused: Specifically designed for future green champions, sustainability leads and organisational leaders committed to making a positive impact.
Networking opportunities
  • Peer learning. Connect with like-minded professionals from diverse industries who share your passion for sustainability.
  • Collaboration. Build a network of contacts that can support your sustainability initiatives and offer new perspectives and ideas.
Real-world impact
  • Actionable insights. Walk away with actionable strategies and plans that you can implement immediately within your organisation.
  • Empowerment. Feel empowered to lead change, influence others and drive your organisation towards a more sustainable future.
Long-term benefits
  • Career advancement. Position yourself as a sustainability leader within your organisation, opening up new roles and responsibilities and future career opportunities.
  • Organisational improvement: Contribute to your organisation's sustainability goals, enhancing its reputation, efficiency, and resilience.
 

Key course details
Dates: Every Thursday, running from 9 January – 13 March 2025
Deadline for application: Friday 13 December 2024
Duration: This course runs one day a week for 10 weeks in total. Each session is 6 hours in length (60 hours contact time overall)
Format: In person
Location: Sustainability Hub, University of Plymouth, Drakes Circus, PL4 8AA
Course Fee: Thanks to Skills Bootcamps funding from Devon County Council, the course is up to 90% funded. SMEs (fewer than 250 employees) contribute 10% (£205 plus VAT) of the course fee per learner while large companies contribute 30% (£615 plus VAT) toward the course fee. To be eligible for funding, employers must give learners additional responsibility upon completion, e.g. Sustainability Lead
Certificate: Learners receive a Certificate of Completion issued by the University of Plymouth

Eligibility
To be eligible for this course, learners must be aged 19+, in employment and based in Devon.
Additional eligibility criteria include:
  • Basic understanding of climate change
  • At least one year of work experience
  • Passion for sustainability
  • Committed to driving sustainability initiatives in their organisation
  • Proactiveness and willingness to actively engage
  • Open-mindedness
  • Learners must be given an additional responsibility at work upon completion, e.g. Sustainability Lead

Assessment and certification
The Future Climate Leaders course assessment is designed to be practical and directly applicable to your current work. Throughout the course, we will focus on developing a comprehensive sustainability project that you can implement within your organisation. This will involve the following components:
  • Weekly action plan development
  • Final presentation
  • Certification

Weekly Action Plan Development
  • Integrating key lessons. Each week, learners will draw on the key lessons learned to build and refine their action plan
  • Incremental progress. Learners will continually develop their sustainability project, incorporating new insights and strategies covered as we progress through the weekly modules
  • Feedback sessions. Each week there will be a dedicated feedback session where learners present their progress and receive constructive feedback from both instructors and their peers. This iterative process ensures continuous improvement and practical application of the course material

Final Presentation
  • Project presentation. At the end of the course, learners will present their completed sustainability project to the group. This presentation will showcase their action plan, their implementation strategy and expected impact on their organisation
  • Peer review. The final presentations will be followed by peer review sessions, offering additional perspectives and suggestions for enhancement

Certification
  • Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion of the course and submission of the final project, participants will be awarded a Certificate of Completion. This certificate recognises the learner's dedication and the skills they have acquired throughout the course
  • 60 Continued Professional Development (CPD) hours

Apply for a place
If you would like to apply for place on this course, please complete the expression of interest form.
 
Apply for the course

If you're interested in the Future Climate Leaders course, please complete the expression of interest form or contact nzx@plymouth.ac.uk.
 

Celebratory workshop

How to Fall in Love with the Future: Imagination Catalyst training with Rob Hopkins

Participants in the Future Climate Leaders will be invited to an additional celebration workshop in January with Rob Hopkins, joining other alumni of the Future Climate Leaders course to celebrate our achievements and swap stories of success.
Rob delivers imagination training across Europe, to businesses, including Patagonia, London Marathon Group and Balenciaga, local authorities and community groups, and has developed many immersive tools to help organisations stretch and exercise their imaginations.
In this workshop, we will explore why having a positive vision of the future is important, why our imagination having limits really helps, how to play again and to time travel, and we will learn what it looks like when we bring the future into the work we do today.
Art by 'Thomas Liera for Field Recordings from the Future' Art by 'Thomas Liera for Field Recordings from the Future'
Rob Hopkins leading radical imagination training Courtesy of Rob Hopkins
Rob Hopkins leading radical imagination training
The existential challenges humanity faces now require agile, imaginative organisations that celebrate the imagination and create space to reimagine themselves in the face of what's coming.
We need organisations that aren't afraid to ask big questions, be playful, to wonder “what if?”, to rethink everything.
This workshop with Rob offers a deep immersion in the radical imagination, using exercises and activities to flex our collective imagination muscles and to start building a cohort of people within your organisation who feel excited about being the Imagination Catalysts bringing the big, bold, bright ideas.
Don Dellilo wrote that "longing on a large scale is what makes history". This workshop will teach you how to create longing, the vital prerequisite for all other work we do.
 

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