Demand for GEES graduates : Issues within the Environment Agency Chris Thomas Head of Business for Geoscience

What will I cover ? What does the Environment Agency do? What is the scale of our GEES related work, especially for geoscientists? What are our recruitment and retention issues? What have we been doing to solve the problem?

What does the Environment Agency do? Leading body protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales Protection, improvement and regulation of air, land and water Largest UK employer of hydrogeologists 2nd largest UK employer of geoscientists 11,500 staff - up to half ? from a range of GEES backgrounds

What GEES related work do we do? Environmental advice, regulation, monitoring, protection, incidents Conservation, flood defence, fisheries, ecology, water quality and resources, land quality, recreation, air quality, planning Field officers, technical specialist roles and supporting office based roles

What is the scale of the work? ~ 4,500 potential GEES related roles? 350 geoscientists 1200 field officers 160 science and research staff plus monitoring, hydrology, hydrometry, geomorphology, land use, climate change etc

What are our entry requirements? Generally, a good relevant scientific degree for all GEES related roles Geoscience- traditionally needed a post graduate degree Science/research- can need postgraduate degree Further internal development training / experience before capable to work alone

What issues have we had with recruitment and retention? Geoscience Reduction in postgraduate courses and suitable applicants High turnover of staff especially after 2-3 years- pay related Could easily attract graduates Increased need for extra specialist training, previously provided by universities Spending £1.5M p.a on consultants to fill gaps

What have we done about it? Identified key capabilities for geoscientists health and safety personal behaviours core technical knowledge application of that knowledge to various activities Developed linked training-internal and external

What are the results? 20% staff dont meet entry capabilities 40% staff need supervision to do their work 40% staff under 5 years experience Significant gap in core technical abilities in new recruits Gap in our internal training for these skills

What are we doing? Link to UWE to develop modular post graduate course Link to other universities for existing post grad. courses/modules Reinforcing recruitment criteria with team leaders Targeting improvement in core skills Developing a workforce plan

Conclusion Your recruitment and retention problems and reduction in courses impact on employers Employers are having to fill in gaps in technical knowledge of graduates We have particular issues in geoscience, hydrology, civil engineering and land use planning It is essential to raise interest in GEES subjects