This course is ideally suited to younger candidates who are exploring opportunities for their future. Our Conservation Careers & Social Entrepreneurship For Young People focuses on self discovery and understanding who you are, where you want to go and how that can be combined with various environmental career options. The programme also introduces participants to entrepreneurial concepts, social entrepreneurship, careers in conservation and some of the brutal realities about life beyond school.

The program covers a lot more than just various career choices, it’s about understanding yourself, your own vision and applying that. It’s about understanding the complexities of the world we live in and how to carve your niche.

“Our partners from Outdoor Africa also ensure the weekend is a load of fun, adventure in the great outdoors, camping, learning outdoor skills life skills and leadership skills." 
 
We will spend a lot of time looking at what I call the “brutal realities” – there are some things that are inevitable and young people need to understand. When you reach thirty years old, you will be a very different person to who you are now. How do you plan for this? Your life and career will not be the straight line and the simple path you probably imagine, it’s a maze of different doors to walk through, a labyrinth of opportunities that will randomly come your way. How do you pick the right doors? Things are also going to take a lot longer than you imagine, you need to be thinking on a very different scale. Malcolm Gladwell, the quirky author, thinker, disrupter, often refers to the 10 000-hour rule. To become good at something, to master a craft, to be exceptional at what you do, you simply must put in 10 000 hours. That’s a lot of time. But the good news is you can start now, this doesn’t have to wait till you enter the job market. 

We will break down the myths. Yes, there are spaces in the environmental sector that pay good salaries, where you can earn a decent living. The day to day work of a marine biologist is probably not even close to what you imagine it to be. Your degree is not as valuable as you think. Understand that every person submitting a CV for that “dream job” has the same degree ……this is a very brutal reality and simply can’t be ignored. We are not saying a good education is not invaluable. We are saying, a good education will only get you part of the way. How you see the world, how you interact with the word, what you do NOW and the new skills you develop in the future, these are the things that will set you apart from the rest of the pack!

“Governments are not equipped to solve all of the world’s problems – nor should they be – and are looking for innovative solutions from the private sector. Social entrepreneurs will play a vital role”  ~ Siri Terjesen. Global Entrepreneurship monitor

Our careers in conservation program looks intensely into the case for entrepreneurship and especially social entrepreneurship, business that benefits our planet. Finding a mentor, networking, getting involved in citizen science, starting you own local project. Things you can do now to start positioning yourself and building your future. We look at a range of careers and environmental industries and what is involved. From ecotourism to the creative arts to environmental law to hard science. We look at an even broader picture of opportunities and paths you can follow. If you ask us, to make the world a better place, we don’t need more scientists, we need more environmentally minded, inspiring teachers who can get young people enthusiastic about nature, we need more civil engineers who value the environment and can come up with new and innovative ways to build our cities, we need more inspired people. These people are you. 

When you leave the course, we want you to have a better understanding of yourself and where you are going. We want you to have a plan, a plan for now and a big dream for the future. We want you to be able to start carving your niche the very next day. We want you to feel inspired and have hope in the future. If we get this right, then we also have hope.  
 
 Ultimately this programme is aimed it giving young people who are about our planet and its people a chance to carve their own future with passion and a clear focus!