Tag: community

Students gain real-world event management experience through Drax and Selby College partnership

14 July 2026

News

Students from Selby College have gained valuable hands-on experience planning and delivering a public event at Drax Power Station’s Skylark Centre in June, helping them develop practical skills and experience of working with a major local employer.

The project, delivered by Selby College and facilitated by Drax’s Community and Education team, was designed to provide students studying Event Management with the opportunity to plan and deliver a live event from concept through to execution.

Nick Robinson, UK Community and Education Manager at Drax, said:

“Providing meaningful opportunities for young people to develop workplace skills is an important part of our commitment to supporting the communities where we operate.

“This project gave students the chance to take ownership of a real event and experience the challenges and rewards of delivering it from start to finish. They demonstrated creativity, professionalism and strong teamwork throughout the process.

“By working directly with Drax colleagues and delivering an event for the local community, the students gained valuable experience that will support them as they progress into further education, training and employment.”

Working collaboratively in teams, the students developed event proposals for the Skylark Centre before presenting their ideas in a Dragons’ Den-style pitching session to Drax Education Ambassadors. Following the presentations, ambassadors selected the strongest proposal to be developed into a fully delivered public event.

The successful student team took responsibility for planning, promoting and delivering the event, which welcomed members of the local community to the Skylark Centre, showcasing the venue as a space for learning, community engagement and environmental education and raised £818 for the Yorkshire Children’s Charity.

Activities included nature-themed walks through the woodland surrounding the Skylark Centre, including a popular Bear Hunt trail, as well as indoor crafting activities for families. Refreshments were also available, with proceeds donated to charity.

The project gave students practical experience of event management while helping them build skills in teamwork, communication, problem solving and project delivery. It also provided valuable interaction with a local employer and increased awareness of career opportunities available across a range of sectors.

The event forms part of Drax’s wider commitment to improving access to work experience opportunities and strengthening pathways into employment for young people across the region.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Media contacts:

Kieran Wilson
E: [email protected] 
T: 07729092807

About Drax

Drax’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Our strategic aims are to be a UK leader in flexible, renewable generation and a global leader in sustainable biomass pellet production.

Our operations

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable UK power assets – biomass, hydro, pumped storage and OCGT generation – which provide dispatchable power and system support services to the electricity grid.

We are the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and Drax Power Station is the UK’s largest single source of renewable electricity by output.

Through our pellet production facilities in North America, Drax is a leading integrated producer of sustainable biomass.

Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK industrial and commercial customers, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.

Recognition is welcome – but the real test is how more doors can be opened for young people

23 June 2026

Opinion

When Drax was Highly Commended for ‘Skills Leadership’ in this month’s Renewable Energy Association’s (REA) awards, it was welcome recognition. But awards matter most when they point to something deeper: sustained, practical work that helps young people see their futures, gives employers a route to engage with local talent, and builds the skills communities need for the economy ahead.

That recognition comes at a significant time. The recent Alan Milburn report on Young People & Work has renewed our focus on the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), and on the long-term consequences of disconnection from opportunity. The challenge is not only unemployment. It is confidence, aspiration, access, networks and whether young people can see a credible path from the classroom into meaningful work.

For businesses rooted in their communities, this is where responsibility becomes practical. It is not enough to talk about future skills or the green economy in abstract terms. Young people need early exposure to workplaces, meaningful encounters with employers, mentoring, careers insight, work experience and clear routes into apprenticeships, technical education and employment.

This is the substance behind Drax’s REA recognition. Through work led by the Drax Community & Education team, we have been building a connected pathway from education to employment in Selby, North Yorkshire and the wider Humber region. In 2025, activity included 97 educational tours of Drax Power Station for 2,300 students, 111 STEM education and careers ns reaching more than 9,500 students, and 260 hours of mentoring delivered by 36 Drax Education Ambassadors.

The impact is visible in the detail. Drax Foundation support for SKILLZ CIC has helped deliver employability workshops and mentoring for young people at risk of becoming NEET in North Yorkshire, engaging 1,890 young people through mentoring, career talks and visits to Drax Power Station. Drax’s partnership with Springpod has opened free virtual work experience and project simulations for students aged 13–19, with nearly 4,000 enrolments and 98% of completers rating their awareness of sector careers as good or excellent. Our new partnership with Futures for All is providing meaningful experiences of work for young learners in the communities where we operate.

But reducing the risk of young people falling out of education, employment or training cannot be solved by one employer, school, charity or public body alone. That is why the launch of Selby Connected matters. Developed by Drax and Up for Yorkshire as a private, public and voluntary sector partnership, it brings local employers together with civic and community partners to coordinate action, pool insight and improve access to support across the region.

A key focus is on education, skills and employability. Local analysis has shown that awareness of specialist employment support, including skills training and work experience opportunities, remains low. Young people and residents also face barriers linked to geography, transport, access to services and suitable local opportunities. Selby Connected is designed to join up what exists, identify gaps and help more people find opportunities that can change their trajectory.

The lesson from both the Milburn report and Drax’s own experience is clear: employability is not created when someone applies for their first job. It is built earlier, through repeated experiences that develop confidence, communication, problem-solving, ambition and a sense of belonging in the world of work. It grows when employers show up consistently, schools have access to trusted partners, and community organisations are resourced to reach those who may otherwise miss out.

Drax’s Highly Commended REA award should therefore be seen as a proof point, not a finish line. It recognises the quality of work already being delivered by our Community & Education team and partner organisations, but the bigger opportunity lies in scaling that work through partnership. Selby Connected provides the platform to bring businesses, the public sector and voluntary organisations together around a shared ambition for Selby and the surrounding villages.

The challenge of NEETs is national, but the solutions will often be local. They depend on trusted relationships, practical collaboration, and employers willing to invest time, knowledge and opportunity in the next generation. In Selby, that work is already under way. The task now is to keep building it, so more young people can move from aspiration to experience, and from potential to meaningful employment

Local businesses or public and voluntary sector organisations in Selby and the surrounding villages who would like to learn more about Selby Connected or get involved can contact [email protected]

Backing smaller sustainability charities delivers lasting social impact

15 May 2026

Opinion

At a time when corporate-charity partnerships often prioritise social welfare1, there is a strong case for large energy companies to partner with smaller specialist sustainability charities to help tackle the ‘energy trilemma’. When built around shared purpose and practical delivery, these partnerships can deliver outsized results. 

Corporate Foundations often gravitate towards large, high-profile charities. Those partnerships matter, but the energy transition requires us to try different models: ones where a major company brings scale and long-term commitment, while a smaller charity brings specialist expertise, agility and a close understanding of local need. 

At a time when communities are dealing with high energy costs, tight budgets and the challenge of decarbonisation, this matters more than ever. The best partnerships do more than offer short-term project funding; they build resilience by investing in the mission (not a single project) – to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and help communities take practical action to reduce their energy costs.  

The partnership between the Drax Foundation and Energy Sparks shows this in practice. Over three years, the Drax Foundation funding has helped Energy Sparks support schools across Drax’s operational footprint with energy analysis tools, and education to reduce energy use in ways that are practical, sustainable and lasting. 

The results are significant: more than 240 schools saved a combined total of c. £2.8 million in energy costs and reduced carbon emissions by 3,900 tonnes over the three-year period.  

This is where smaller charities can make an exceptional difference. They are often closer to the problem, more focused in their approach and better able to combine technical expertise with behaviour change and community engagement. For large corporate foundations, backing that kind of specialist capability can be one of the most effective ways to create meaningful impact. 

From funding to partnership 

Strong partnerships are about more than funding. Large companies can offer reach, profile and commitment through their corporate foundations. Smaller charities can offer innovation, specialist knowledge and trusted community connections. Together, they can deliver outcomes neither could achieve alone. 

Schools show why this works so well. They are central to their communities, so savings made in schools can ease budget pressures, improve learning environments and help young people build lasting habits around energy efficiency and climate awareness. 

For energy companies like Drax, the opportunity is clear. Partnering with smaller sustainability charities can turn corporate purpose into practical action, delivering measurable local results while supporting the long-term resilience needed for the energy transition. The Drax Foundation and Energy Sparks partnership shows how big organisations and small charities can achieve significant impact together. 

Business Charity Awards

L-R Caludia Towner (Energy Sparks) with Drax Foundation team Stanmira Brown, Sarah Baird, Shona King – receiving a Business Charity Award in the category of ‘Best Response to the Cost-of-Living Crisis’, May 2026 .

This partnership between the Drax Foundation and Energy Sparks won a Business Charity Award (2026) in the category of ‘Best Response to the Cost-of-Living Crisis’. The award-winning project also included LED and / or solar installations in 54 schools in the communities where Drax operates.  

Find out more about the work Energy Sparks does helping schools cut energy costs and fight climate change: https://energysparks.uk/ 

Expanding outdoor STEM learning with the Drax Foundation

24 June 2024

Opinion

By Julie Young, CEO of Argyll Countryside Trust (ACT)

At Argyll Countryside Trust (ACT), we’re dedicated to sustainably maintaining, enhancing and promoting the coast and countryside of Argyll and the Isles. We do this by working in partnership with a range of local communities, public sector and third sector organisations, as well as through our partnership with the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest.

As a social enterprise, core funding is essential, and we are always investigating creative ways to generate income to ensure we can have a long-term impact in Argyll and the Isles. Since 2023, the Drax Foundation, the charitable entity of Drax Group, has been supporting us.

The Drax Foundation was founded in 2023 to give back to the communities in which Drax operates and in its first year of operation, it donated a total of £2.7 million around the world, providing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and training for 70,300 children globally and helping almost 21,000 people with access to community green spaces.

In 2023, we were thrilled to be granted two rounds of funding by the Foundation totalling £67k, helping us to expand our outdoor STEM learning to more children, and establish a native tree nursery as a key part of our new Woodland Enterprise Hub. Overall, this funding enabled us to provide 750 children with access to outdoor nature-based learning. We also gathered 11,500 acorns as part of our efforts to expand nature tree species in the area.

More recently, we were delighted to hear that we’re one of 15 global organisations, including 3 Scottish organisations, receiving money in the Drax Foundation’s latest round of funding. We will be receiving almost £41k to continue our work to deliver outdoor STEM learning in Scotland. With this funding, we look to build on our success in 2023, supporting more learners and educators, and working with key partners to firmly establish the benefits of learning in the natural settings of Argyll and Bute.

We thank the Drax Foundation for their support, and we’re looking forward to making a positive difference together.

Learn more about the Drax Foundation here: drax.com/community