Welsh university takes stand against fossil fuel recruitment

Amelia Jones

A Welsh university is ending recruitment partnerships with fossil fuel companies in a bid to give students more sustainable career options.

The University of South Wales has become one of six UK universities to commit to excluding fossil fuel and mining companies from campus recruitment activities, according to research by student campaigning charity People & Planet.

The university’s decision is part of its broader Ethical Careers Policy, which aims to provide guidance and support for students pursuing careers aligned with social and environmental values.

Under the policy, companies involved in oil, gas, and mining can no longer advertise jobs or engage with students through the university’s career services.

Emma Adamson, Director of Student Life at the University of South Wales, said “At the University of South Wales, our mission is to transform lives and create a better, fairer future.

“In USW Careers, we are committed to providing high-quality, impartial guidance that supports students to make informed, values-aligned career choices consistent with our institutional commitments to equity, sustainability, and inclusivity.

“Our commitment is informed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act; and we have chosen to exclude fossil fuel and mining organisations from our employability activities.

“This decision reflects our responsibility to champion opportunities that contribute positively to society, the environment, and the wellbeing of future generations.”

The move follows similar commitments from other Welsh universities, including Swansea, Wrexham, and Aberystwyth, between 2022 and 2024.

The People & Planet’s Fossil Free Careers campaign, which advocates for universities to adopt ethical recruitment policies, says this represents 50% of Welsh universities taking action against fossil fuel recruitment, a rate higher than in England, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

The University of South Wales has historical links to the mining industry.

Its predecessor institutions, including the South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines, trained workers for Wales’s coal industry between 1913 and 1949.

Josie Mizen, Co-Director of Climate Justice at People & Planet, said: “We’re delighted to see the University of South Wales ending their recruitment relationships with the fossil fuel industry.

“As the impacts of the climate crisis become ever more severe, it’s clear that the companies destroying whole communities and ecosystems for the sake of profit  have no place in our educational institutions, and that their systematic funnelling of graduates into dead-end jobs has to stop immediately.

“Students standing in solidarity with workers and frontline communities have made this progress possible – we look forward to many more universities banning fossil fuel recruiters next year.”