Introduction
Nature based solutions provide an essential response to the climate and biodiversity crises. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) estimates that over 30% of emissions can be addressed through nature based solutions. Evidence shows that the workforce required to implement the nature-based solutions we need to support net zero by 2045 is currently insufficient in terms of numbers and skills. To begin to address this, we published an initial Action Plan in July 2021.
This updated plan reflects progress during in 2021/22 and highlights actions for 22/23. The over-arching context for this work is provided by NSET (National Strategy for Economic Transformation), CESAP (Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan), the current and emerging Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) and the principles of the Just Transition. As with the initial plan, the updated Action Plan does not attempt to capture all activity within the nature based sector but to focus on areas where there are specific gaps, where progress is possible in the short-term and where NatureScot can add the most value. We will publish summaries of progress with these actions (and other relevant activities) every 12 months.
Context
Natural capital has been identified as one of the four wealth generators in Scotland’s green recovery, with research showing that investments in natural capital are one of the most effective ways to generate economic multipliers, create jobs and address climate change.
NatureScot’s initial assessment of nature-based jobs and skills1 concluded that a clear focus on nature-based jobs (see Annex 1 for examples of nature-based jobs), their economic potential, workforce and skills requirements, is needed to enable the nature-based sector to play its part in providing fair work and tackling inequalities in a low carbon and green economy. It identified that the nature-based sector makes a significant contribution to the Scottish economy amounting to 195,000 jobs or 7.5% of Scotland’s workforce in 2019. Nature-based jobs grew at more than five times the rate of all jobs in Scotland in the period 2015-19 and accounted for one third of all job growth in Scotland in this period.
Significant further growth in nature-based jobs is anticipated on the back of expansion in activities required to meet our net zero targets. Between now and 2030, growth in nature-based sectors such as peatland restoration, green infrastructure, woodland creation & restoration and blue carbon is expected to be significant, particularly given the increased recognition of nature-based solutions in the Climate Change Plan Update.
Our Corporate Plan ambition sets the broad context and timescale for our work as follows:
- By acting now we will promote understanding and awareness of skills and capacity needs for the nature based sector.
- By 2026, skills needs for the nature based sector are mainstreamed and aligned with skills policy, planning and delivery partners
- By 2030 sufficient skills and capacity for the nature based sector are in place to implement nature based solutions.
Summary
We identify four priority themes where we can add value, and where there are evident gaps:
- Strategic Engagement – to work with stakeholders to help identify and support the mainstreaming of skills required for the implementation of nature-based solutions across the Scottish economy.
- Engaging and inspiring young people – to support and empower young people gaining skills and accessing employment in nature-based sectors. This includes providing opportunities for regular and frequent contact with nature throughout their school career. Co-design with young people and educators will play an important part in developing the action needed.
- Understanding demand – work to better understand current and future skills gaps and shortages including at a regional level and in key sectors. This will help ensure that that skills relevant to implementation of nature-based solutions are being developed and supported throughout a range of disciplines.
- Supporting skills development– to lead a collaborative approach to addressing skills shortages in nature restoration to support a just transition to a low-carbon economy.
Action Plan
Theme 1: Strategic Engagement.
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Provide advice and leadership
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- Participate in CESAP Implementation Steering Group, and support the review of CESAP Implementation Plan.
- Engage with the Commission for the Land-based Learning Review (CLLR). Support Scottish Government colleagues with background papers and engage in consultation process.
- Participate in the Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland (SAPRS) Implementation Group.
- Collaborate across the Scottish Government Outdoor Learning Group (SGOLG) to develop and promote opportunities provided by partners.
- Engage with a wide-range of partner organisations to develop a Nature Restoration Skills Action Plan for 2023-2026.
- Contribute to preparation of sector Just Transition Plans (e.g. agriculture and land use) where appropriate.
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Effective external communications
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- Ensure effective communications to highlight and promote the contribution of the range of skills required to deliver effective nature-based solutions to address climate and biodiversity crises.
- Plan, programme and host a nature-based skills and jobs conference.
- Coordinate and help deliver Nature Restoration Skills Week, a programme of talks, events, webinars and training to support the development of new skills.
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Theme 2: Engaging and Inspiring Young People.
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Careers advice
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- Engage with careers advisory networks and My World of Work to support development of advice on careers in developing and emerging nature-based sectors.
- Work with partners to develop more information videos for Green Jobs Skills Academy, focusing on jobs, tasks and career pathways for people in nature-based sectors.
- Support Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Live careers workshops/ online events.
- Provide content/links for Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Green Jobs website.
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Pathways into Nature-based sectors
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- Address barriers into nature-based sectors identified by Youth survey on NatureScot Corporate Plan 2022-26.
- Explore the need for, and opportunities to develop placement schemes in a nature-based sector.
- Promote the John Muir Trust and partners’ resource ‘Achieving Awards in, through and for Nature’.
- With a range of partners, develop information and graphics showing the progression pathway into nature-based sectors through the education system. Initial focus on pathways to Peatland Restoration and River Restoration jobs.
- Support the Ranger Training Programme with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) West Highland College and the development of the Scottish Countryside Rangers’ Association (SCRA) Junior Ranger scheme via the Junior Ranger Development Post 22/23.
- Engage with universities and other further education institutions to ensure students and graduates are aware of the full range of nature-based jobs and the pathways into those jobs.
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Volunteering
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- Look for opportunities for young people to undertake a range of volunteering opportunities with NatureScot and with external partners to help us to address the key priorities in our Corporate Plan.
- Explore ways to offer, and raise awareness of, nature-based volunteering opportunities and deliver best practice volunteer management through engagement with the Make Your Mark volunteering network .
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Inspiring Young People through Outdoor Learning
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- Promote and support regular, frequent and high quality outdoor learning experiences and connection with nature for all children and young people 3-18. This includes a progression of place based experiences from local sites to special places for nature.
- Provide professional learning for educators to highlight learner pathways in the nature-based sector.
- Provide resources and information to pupils, schools, and the wider school community about opportunities in the nature-based sector and the skills required.
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Learning Frameworks
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- Input to the review of Curriculum for Excellence to help raise the level of climate and nature literacy in young people and inspire more to take up nature-based employment.
- Participate in the refresh of the Learning for Sustainability Action Plan.
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Theme 3. - Understanding demand
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Evidence gathering
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- Liaise with Scottish Government analysts and others to identify evidence gaps and to scope and commission research to fill gaps.
- Encourage employers (and their industry/professional representatives) to provide bottom-up evidence and stories on new and emerging skills and job opportunities, to help develop a broader overview of nature-based jobs and skills gaps across different regions and sectors.
- Carry out qualitative research with key contacts in sectors relevant to nature-based jobs to understand skills gaps and skills development needs facing their sector or sub-sector and explore possible mechanisms for addressing those needs.
- Support the Landscape Institute Sector Survey, assessing climate and nature literacy and skills needs and consider implications of the findings for training and skills development.
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Equality, Diversity & inclusion (EDI) within nature based sector - partnership to action change
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- Use our reputation and influence to lead on and advocate for improving EDI in the nature-based sector.
- Ensure EDI in all aspects of our projects and those we support or fund, and influence others to do the same.
- Develop an approach to measuring and reporting on under-represented groups in our projects that enables us to share a clear picture of our current position and to track our progress.
- Work with CEMVO to improve community engagement and identify opportunities for positive action to increase learning and employment opportunities in the nature-based sector for young minority ethnic people.
- Explore possible funding mechanisms to support communities currently under-represented in environmental roles, specifically young people who are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, have a disability or are economically disadvantaged.
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Theme 4. Supporting skills development
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Development of skills in green finance for the implementation of nature-based solutions
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Trial new approaches to upskilling in sectors where climate and nature actions will require new skills
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- Explore opportunities to develop a placement scheme or alternative training approaches in the river restoration sector, to build on the Working with Rivers Training Placement Scheme.
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Capacity in advisory services in relation to nature and climate advice.
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- Engagement with CIEEM consultation on Farm Environment Adviser competence, training and accreditation.
- Working with partners and stakeholders, identify any training needs and opportunities for skills and knowledge development in regenerative agriculture and agro-ecology.
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Supporting the development of skills for peatland restoration
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- Deliver in-person and virtual training, for contractors and restoration scheme designers.
- Scope, develop and deliver a new entrant scheme for peatland contactors.
- Run Training the Trainer events for skills in restoration design and machine operation.
- Make best practice information from the Technical Compendium available and accessible.
- Support the development and promotion of short courses at Scotland's Rural University College (SRUC) and UHI.
- Engage an industry steering group to develop training and accreditation for peatland contractors.
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Integrate skills and training into NatureScot activity
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- Develop the role of National Nature Reserves in the provision of land-use skills and training
- Explore the role of the Nature Restoration fund in supporting skills development, training and volunteering
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Annex 1 – A Sample of Nature-based jobs for net zero
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Sectors
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Roles and skills
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Green finance
The financing needed for nature-based solutions to the climate emergency and other societal problems
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- Private sector investment manager
- Investment manager in public sector, e.g. SNIB
- Green finance practitioners for industrial sectors, e.g. renewables
- Green finance practitioner in public sector bodies
- Land management adviser with specific skills in green finance vehicles
- Carbon ‘accountant’
- Environmental / ecological economist
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Investing in nature-based solutions - Investment in nature-based solutions can deliver carbon reductions at a fraction of the cost of engineered solutions, at the same time as enhancing natural assets and delivering a range of ecosystem services.
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- Peatland restoration practitioner (design of restoration scheme)
- Ecological Clerk of Works
- Peatland restoration contractor (specialist machinery operator)
- Ecological assessor for peatland restoration
- Natural Flood Management practitioner
- Planner with skills in NFM
- LA procurement officers with skills in NbS
- Ecological water management designer
- SUDS designer
- Hydrologist
- Fluvial Geomorphologist
- River restoration contractors (specialist machinery operators)
- Fisheries management officer
- Fisheries biologist
- Woodland restoration specialists
- Silvicultural management and woodland planning
- Riparian woodland designer
- Forestry contractors (incl tree planting & protecting, fencing, felling, harvesting)
- Mathematical modeller
- Ecological engineer (natural flood management, coastal protection, SUDS)
- Drone operator
- Data analyst
- Remote sensing / EO specialist
- Grower/ harvester of sustainable biomass
- Land management adviser with skills in ecology and C sequestration/ management
- Invasive species management specialists
- Consultants in implementation of NbS in construction, utilities,
- Coastal ecosystem specialist
- Coastal geomorphologist
- Blue carbon specialist
- Marine biologists
- Divers
- Maritime industry (navigation, engineering, survey, pilot etc).
- Educators – FE / HE across the range of NbS
- Designers / planners for urban greenspace, GI and retrofitting outdoor spaces
- Regenerative agricultural practitioners
- Advisers in integrated land management
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Transforming land use and future rural support - the Committee for Climate Change highlights the need for transformative land use change if Scotland and the UK is to meet its climate change targets.
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- Soil scientists
- Farmers with skills in C management and working with nature and natural systems
- Agro-ecological advisers, with skills in carbon management
- Plant health and plant breeding specialists
- Gamekeepers and wildlife managers with skills in data capture and analysis
- Drone operators
- Earth observation specialists
- Fencers
- Ecologists
- Local food producers and processors
- Data analysts
- Specialists in climate change adaptation
- Circular economy specialists, including process engineers, policy advisers, land management advisers, educators
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Urban Green Infrastructure and active travel targeted at improving disadvantaged areas makes our towns and cities more attractive for people to live and work in, and attracts jobs, businesses and investment
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- Urban and greenspace planning
- Public health expertise
- Sustainable transport planners
- Ecological engineering
- Path design, creation & maintenance specialists
- Machinery operators
- Active travel planners
- Walk leaders
- Amenities managers with ecological skills
- Architects
- Landscape architects
- Eco-builders
- EV industry specialists (engineers, installers, electricians)
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Nature-based tourism makes up about 40% of all tourism in Scotland, contributing £1.4bn to the Scottish economy, supporting approximately 40,000 jobs. Tourism is one of the key sectors that has been heavily impacted by Covid 19.
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- Wildlife guiding
- Ecology
- Marine biology
- Geology
- Project management & business development
- Digital skills
- Nature-focused marketing
- Photography and film-making
- Outdoor activities instruction
- Stalking
- Interpretation skills
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Sustainable marine management
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- Marine ornithologists
- Fisheries biologists
- Marine renewable industry (design, fabrication, installation & maintenance)
- Maricultural businesses (including oyster farming, sustainable seaweed harvesting)
- Oceanographer
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