Why employers risk losing sustainability talent

The nature of internship, placement and graduate roles

Of the organisations surveyed, 81% offered paid internship, placement or graduate roles, with 42% providing sustainability-focused roles. Notably, many organisations reported opportunities for engagement in sustainability, although roles are not sustainability-focused.  However, only 43% include sustainability components in job descriptions for such general roles. By not explicitly setting out sustainability-related role opportunities in job descriptions and job advertisements, organisations risk missing out on talent who are seeking to develop sustainability credentials and values-aligned careers. Through more explicit messaging, more diverse talent pools may be reached. 

The Institute of Student Employers' Student Recruitment Survey 2024 into the full spectrum of student and graduate employment types indicated 94% of the 145 respondents offered graduate-level roles and 78% offered some form of paid or unpaid internship/placement roles to university-level students. The findings of this survey are therefore consistent, but also highlighted that a significant proportion of organisations – 99 respondents (almost half) – offered unpaid placements, internships or insight schemes. While this is reflective of resource limitations, such opportunities might lack formal and structured support, and limit the talent pool to those who can financially afford to access such roles, raising significant concerns of equity and inclusion.   

Applicant interest and readiness

A nuanced picture emerged when survey respondents were asked about perceived applicant interest in sustainability roles, with 38% of respondents reporting more applicant demand than there were sustainability roles available, while 32% indicated a balance between supply and demand. Notably, 29% reported more opportunities than applicant interest, suggesting possible issues around candidate awareness, readiness, or selection approaches.

Limitations in formal/explicit sustainability roles available in organisations, combined with this study’s finding of a relative lack of explicit communication on sustainability-related opportunities within general roles in role descriptions/advertisements, could influence talent perceptions of career opportunities. It also highlights the criticality of job seekers being prepared to articulate sustainability-related credentials and values, even if not explicit within formal role descriptions/advertisements.        

Notably, one employer during interviews stressed the importance of genuine motivation: “You need to actually care about working in sustainability”, cautioning against applicants who treat sustainability as a fashionable career choice rather than a meaningful commitment. Another interviewee spoke of looking for a “thread of interest” in candidates’ prior experiences or learning outside of their formal programme of study: “It doesn't need to be all ESG-related. But there’s got to be this thread of interest”. These insights reinforce that authentic motivation and alignment with purpose are becoming as important as technical qualifications.

Employers viewed students and recent graduates as moderately/extremely ready in digital (95%) and collaborative skills (94%), but noted concern in competencies in systems thinking, with 23% feeling candidates are ‘not at all ready’, and similar concerns regarding ‘strategic thinking’ and ‘sustainability science’.  Interviewees highlighted the criticality of behavioural attributes: “Technical knowledge is not the issue. Influencing is a really important skill... and being able to bring people on board with change”.

Implications for alignment between early careers and sustainability

Organisational and educational training and communications alike need to grapple with ‘explicit’ and ‘implicit’ sustainability associated with opportunities within every job role. Embedding and integrating sustainability within educational programmes and workforce operations calls for explicit, formal communication and opportunity-building across the spectrum of technical through to generalist roles. 

Organisations can increase awareness of opportunities to engage with sustainability-related opportunities at graduate careers fairs and through communicating formalised opportunities within placements and internships. Higher education institutions can support students in effectively articulating how the transferable skills they have developed contribute to organisational sustainability strategy and mission. There is considerable opportunity for higher education institutions to collaborate with employer networks to increase the visibility of sustainability-related opportunities and to encourage student-employer discussion through formal integration within placement and internship documentation.

By increasing equity of access to sustainability-related learning and development opportunities through paid internships and placement opportunities wherever possible, organisations are better placed to attract and retain talent pools, while enabling candidates to gain sought-after experience. Higher education engagement with employers must drive curriculum reform that enables students and graduates to identify and articulate values and skills that can shape sustainability-related career experiences. For organisations and students alike, there lies ample opportunity to close the sustainability skills gap meaningfully.     

Dr Karen Cripps, associate professor in responsible management and leadership at Oxford Brookes University

Dr Jonathan Louw, associate professor in management education at Oxford Brookes University

Download the Sustainability in Early Careers report here: https://csrwindo.com/insights-new/sustainability-in-early-careers-report-2025/