Green Mindset: Micro-Collective

Leaders in Further Education, Skills and Apprenticeships are facing the workforce challenge of a generation. The numbers are staggering: Skills England has identified Clean Energy as a priority area, with estimates suggesting 135,000-725,000 new green jobs are needed by 2030. Compared to the £600M invested for 60,000 construction workers, the green skills needed are at least double this scale.

Here's the leadership reality: sustainability can't be bolted onto existing practice. It needs to be strategically embedded across your entire institution and workforce. That requires a fundamental Green Mindset shift.

The Green Mindset Collective is where you'll make that shift happen. This isn't another conference where you'll be talked at. It's a flipped conference where you'll work alongside sector leaders to create the strategic report that will guide our entire sector through the green transition.

• Thursday, 30th October 2025 at the The Manchester Deansgate Hotel
• Coffee and registration from 9:30am, main event 10am-4:30pm
• Bonus networking: Come on Wednesday, October 29th from 6:30pm for an exclusive networking evening sponsored by City & Guilds with unlimited drinks for the first hour

This is a collective intelligence event in partnership with Education and Training Foundation. You'll actively roll your sleeves up and work with sector leaders to create a sector-changing report. You'll work directly with the report co-authors, Dr Vikki Smith from ETF and Charlotte Bonner from EAUC and the Green Gown Awards.

• Toby Perkins MP (Ex Shadow Skills Minister and now Chair of Environment Audit Committee) in Q&A with Katerina Kolyva (CEO of ETF)
• Charlotte Bonner leads "Beyond Green Skills: Shaping a Mindset for Systemic Sustainability"
• Dr Vikki Smith explores "From Intention to Action: Building Cultures of Sustainability in FE" with panel including: Palvinder Singh (Principal of Kirklees College), Dr Lou Mycroft and Olly Newton from Edge

Where we move from challenges to solutions. You'll work in small groups on the four pillars shaping the report:

• Group 1: Shaping the future - the FE and Skills workforce as leaders of sustainable transition
• Group 2: A Just Green Transition - Inclusion, Equity and Belonging in Sustainable Education
• Group 3: FE and Skills as Place-Based Changemakers - Anchor Institutions for Greener Futures
• Group 4: Breaking the Silos - Systems Thinking Through Interdisciplinary Practice

The networking is incredible. We have:

• Government politicians experienced in Skills and sustainability
• Sector specialists from Skills England
• College Principals and ITPs
• Awarding Organisations
• Green Skills specialists

This provides you with a unique opportunity to actually work with these sector leaders to form the report.

Senior representatives from:

• Colleges and ITPs
• Work-Based Learning providers
• Pr*son Education and Higher Education
• Awarding Organisations
• Green sector employers

Whether you're a senior leader, curriculum manager, estates director, or employer partner, this event focuses on developing institutional sustainability strategies that work in practice, not just on paper.

We have the entire 23rd floor of the The Manchester Deansgate Hotel with spectacular views across the city... the perfect backdrop for the work that will shape our sector's sustainable future.

This intimate gathering of just 50 senior professionals ensures meaningful dialogue and genuine collaboration. Climate impacts are accelerating across Europe and beyond, making the green transition an immediate leadership imperative, not a future consideration.

With limited spots remaining, this is your opportunity to be at the forefront of sustainability leadership across our sector. Don't just prepare for the green transition, strategically lead it!

Info: Coffee, materials, and connecting with fellow leaders before we dive into the strategic work.

Info: ETF and FE News set the scene: why sustainability is a fundamental workforce development shift, not just another initiative.

Info: This panel will focus on systemic sustainability beyond just green skills. It will examine the embedding mindset across governance, policy, and culture, addressing fragmented vs. holistic approaches.

Info: Structured opportunities to share your green initiatives and implementation challenges.

Info: This panel will focus on building sustainability cultures through collaboration, empowering students and staff to co-create change rather than prescribe.

Info: Leadership challenge sharing stations, networking, and a sustainability vision energiser.

Info: Splitting into one of the four pillars to tackle challenges collaboratively:
Pillar 1: Shaping the future: the FE and Skills workforce as leaders of a sustainable transition
Pillar 2: A Just Green Transition: Inclusion, Equity and Belonging in Sustainable Education
Pillar 3: FE and Skills as Place-Based Changemakers: Anchor Institutions for Greener Futures
Pillar 4: Breaking the Silos: Systems Thinking Through Interdisciplinary Practice

Info: Quick break to recharge and share insights between groups.

Info: Building on Session 1 momentum, both groups develop actionable solutions.

Info: Synthesise discoveries, vote on top three priorities, form accountability partnerships, and structure our sector report.

Info: 30-day public commitments, resource pledges, and report development timeline.

Host or Publisher FE & Skills Collective