Last week saw the first meeting between Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) and the Devon and Somerset Training Providers Network (DSTPN), as they launched their new and exciting Green Curriculum Project. The Project, underwritten by the government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund, brings together training providers and businesses from across Devon and Somerset in a bid to explore ways in which green initiatives can be integrated into providers’ everyday training provision.

In order to succeed, training providers must first understand the ethos and ambitions of local employers, also bearing in mind how green initiatives within the training environment might contribute to local, regional and national environmental agendas – whether via the introduction of clean fuels into their agriculture curricula or monitoring power usage within their Creative Arts’ studios. Equally important is to ensure students have the information they need to make informed decisions regarding the environmental impact of their chosen fields and the part they can play in creating innovative and effective mitigations.

This inaugural meeting at Monks Yard, in Ilminster, saw BTC and DSTPN joined by representatives from Yeovil College, Kingston Maurward College, Weymouth College, Somerset Skills and Learning, Somerset County Council and EDF, with lively debate and highly positive contributions from all participants setting the scene for beneficial and productive collaboration in the future.

The group looks forward to building on these early foundations at its next meeting in March