Nieve Fay – Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders
Get to know our Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders alumna Nieve
Nieve Fay is a
Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders
alumna and currently works as a Net Zero Delivery Officer at Plymouth City Council, which operates within the public sector and plays a key role in delivering services, policies, and projects that support the city’s long‑term sustainability and wellbeing. Within the team, Nieve focuses specifically on sustainability projects designed to reduce emissions, support the city’s net zero ambitions, and promote more environmentally responsible practices across the organisation and the wider community. This includes work on areas such as transport, energy, behaviour change, and wider climate action initiatives.
1. How did you find the delivery of the course?
I found the hybrid/online delivery format very beneficial. The flexibility meant I could fully take part alongside my work commitments, which would have been more difficult with a fully in‑person format.
The online platform and different engagement tools they used were easy to navigate, and the sessions felt interactive and well facilitated by the team.
2. What was your favourite experience on the course?
One of my favourite aspects was the opportunity to network with other participants. Hearing about others’ experiences and approaches to sustainability was genuinely inspiring and it was great to be in a room with other passionate people. I also enjoyed learning about different tools, frameworks, and concepts that can be applied in real organisational contexts.
The breadth of topics covered across the course made it consistently interesting, there really is a lot to take in.
The Future Climate Leaders team were fantastic, the learning environment they created wasn’t just about teaching but also a collaborative space to come and discuss ideas and problems.
There were a huge number of useful resources to explore which gave me some great additions to my toolkit, as well as insightful guest speakers who brought real world examples and expertise. The combination of structured content and interactive sessions made the course engaging and accessible, it did not feel like being back at school which was great!
3. What have you gained from the course?
Some of the information I hadn’t gone over since being at university, so it was great to have a refresher and then apply that knowledge with real-world examples including some local to Plymouth.
I gained a stronger understanding of sustainability principles, behaviour‑change approaches, and practical tools for designing and delivering impactful projects. All of this is extremely useful for my role within the council and will hopefully mean I can impart some of this knowledge onto others within the organisation and get them inspired too.
4. How did you apply the learnings from your course to your workplace?
We were tasked with creating an action project to work on within the course, which was really important as it gave me a focus and allowed me to put many of the concepts and tools I had learned into action and apply them at work.
I chose to base my project around sustainable travel and explore how we can take steps to lower staff mileage, helping to reduce both financial costs and contributions to our emissions.
Some of the behaviour change concepts we were taught were really useful, especially when tackling projects that can face many barriers. This allowed me to create a clear plan for our team and put together potential steps to make sustainable travel easier and more accessible for staff.
I would definitely recommend this course. It offers a wide range of valuable resources, high quality teaching, and opportunities to learn from others in the field and network with peers. The content is relevant, practical, and applicable across different roles and sectors. You don’t need to come from a sustainability background to do the course you just need to be passionate about learning and making a difference.
The flexibility of the delivery format also makes it accessible for working professionals. Overall, it’s a well designed, engaging course that genuinely supports both personal development and organisational progress.
About Skills Bootcamps
These Skills Bootcamps were funded by Devon County Council through the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, helping everyone gain skills for life.
Funded by UK Government
Net-Zero Exchange
Skills for Life Skills Bootcamp
train4tomorrow
Devon County Council