Empowering the Next Generation: Skills, Confidence and Careers in Water

“Why do we need to pay for water?”
“Why do you put sewage in the sea?”
“How regularly do you check your pipes’ security to prevent leaks?”

These were just a few of the brilliant questions I got from students during a Q&A at St Leonards Academy secondary school in Hastings last week. Their curiosity and confidence was great to see, and they didn’t shy away from the tough stuff either - asking about infrastructure, bills, and the challenges we faced during last year’s burst main in Hastings.

It was a fantastic reminder of why listening to young people matter - they are our future, so it is right that they help us shape what comes next. 

I know we have a long road ahead to rebuild trust in Southern Water and improve performance. We’ve already delivered significant improvements in some critical performance areas like leakage, pollution and storm overflows but we’ve still got more to do. It will take time, transparency, and a lot of hard work. But it also requires us to look forward, to invest in the people and skills that will help us shape a better future.

That’s why engaging with schools like St Leonards Academy in Hastings is so important. As well as my Q&A session last week, we also hosted a careers day for the school. Over 900 students took part in the day, where colleagues from across the business shared their experiences and helped students explore the wide range of roles in our sector, from engineering and science to customer service, data, and communications.

What really stood out was the focus on soft skills, the kind that often go unrecognised but are essential in any role - teamwork, empathy, adaptability, communication, resilience. Our teams helped students see the strengths they have and how they are the foundation for successful careers.

We often talk about a skills shortage in our industry. But young people bring so much to the table, digital fluency, creativity, a natural grasp of tech and AI. There’s so much we can learn from them, just as they can learn from us.

I think creating space for that exchange, where experience meets innovation, is how we build a workforce that’s ready for the future.

We’re embarking on our most ambitious programmes of work in Southern Water’s history, a multi-billion-pound investment over the next five years and beyond to improve our infrastructure, protect the environment, and better serve our customers. To deliver it, we need to create more jobs and skills opportunities across the South East, from apprentices and graduates to experienced professionals.

By supporting young people today through our education and community engagement work, we’re not only helping them realise what opportunities are out there, we’re also working together to build a better future for our region.