Reinforcing the Employability-Sustainability Nexus: the case of Nottingham Business School

Fiona Winfield and Dr Muhammad Mazhar, Nottingham Trent University, UK

Emails: Fiona.winfield@ntu.ac.uk; muhammadusman.mazhar@ntu.ac.uk        

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Abstract

In their 2021 report ‘Shaping the sustainable organization’ Accenture state that "operating sustainably and equitably is not an option - it’s a business imperative" and will require an appropriate "talent strategy".  Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS) also believe that "every student should be a sustainability student" which links to Project Drawdown believing that every job can be a "sustainability job".  We therefore need to ensure our students are knowledgeable and have the appropriate skills and behaviours to succeed, and satisfy the demand for such talent to bring transformative change for a sustainable society.

In this presentation, we will start by examining the demand for sustainability knowledge and skills, from both employers and students. 

We will then present a case study of Nottingham Business School (Nottingham Trent University), explaining our strategy to embed sustainability in the curriculum (via consultancy projects for example) and to offer a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities, both internal (e.g. ‘NTU Sustainability in Practice’ online module) and external (e.g. Geebiz challenge).

Finally, we will focus on how the NTU Employability Service is supporting our students through extra-curricular workshops such as ‘Sustainability & Employability’ and ‘Working Sustainably’, and enabling students to gain a new Sustainably Employability Award.