Skills, opportunities, and meaningful futures
Across Sussex Bay, younger people are bringing energy, creativity and new ideas to the future of our coast.
We want to make sure they have meaningful opportunities to help shape what comes next, while building stronger connections with employers, skills, experience and future careers.
This is part of our wider approach to Sussex Bay: restoring nature while creating opportunities for people and communities to thrive.
Connecting younger people and employers
Across Sussex Bay, employers, ports, businesses, colleges, universities, researchers, environmental organisations and local councils are already helping shape the future of our region. We want to build stronger connections between them and younger people. That could mean meeting employers, discovering careers that may not yet be visible, contributing to live projects, gaining practical experience, building networks or developing skills linked to emerging opportunities. Our ambition is to help create a clearer journey from curiosity to experience, from experience to skills, and from skills towards meaningful work.
From interest to opportunity
A love of the sea, curiosity about nature or an interest in technology, creativity or communities can open the door to an extraordinary range of futures.
Across Sussex Bay, opportunities are emerging in marine technology, engineering, environmental monitoring, habitat restoration, data, construction, design, communications, research, sustainable tourism and nature positive business.
We want to make those possibilities more visible and more accessible.
By connecting people directly with employers, researchers, colleges, universities and community organisations, we can help create clearer skills pathways, build meaningful experience and open up new opportunities to learn, contribute and thrive across Sussex Bay.
Starting small and learning together.
We are already testing this approach through pilot work with younger people in further education settings across Sussex.
Working with Brighton MET College, Northbrook College and BHASVIC, we are exploring how younger people can connect more directly with employers, real world projects and the future of nature, place and prosperity across Sussex Bay.
This pilot work is helping us learn what works: what sparks interest, what creates meaningful connections and how employers can play a practical role in opening up pathways into future skills and careers.
As we learn, we will think carefully about how this approach can grow across Sussex Bay, reaching more younger people, more places and more employers.
Meaningful futures.
For us, a meaningful future is about more than finding a job.
It is about having the opportunity to build skills, confidence, relationships and a sense of possibility. It is about seeing how your own interests and talents might connect with the future of the place where you live.
That could mean a career in marine science or engineering. It could mean working in a port, developing new technology, restoring habitats, creating films, designing places, starting a business or helping communities respond to environmental change.
Nature recovery needs many different skills, ideas and perspectives. There is no single route in.
Help shape Sussex Bay.
We are still learning, testing ideas and building new connections.
If you have ideas about the future of Sussex Bay, we would love to hear from you.
If you are an employer who can offer insight, experience, mentoring, skills opportunities or connections to the world of work, we would love to hear from you too.
Help us create stronger pathways between younger people, skills, employers and meaningful futures across Sussex Bay.
Get involved and share your ideas: hello@sussexbay.org.uk
Sir David Attenborough image © The Postman