Thistle Wind Partners Education Partnership connects with more then 800,000 young people across the UK
Partnership with Time for Geography connects young people with offshore wind careers through an education platform reaching more than five million pupils worldwide
A year after launching its partnership with Time for Geography, Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) is celebrating the impact of a collaboration designed to inspire the next generation of geographers, geoscientists and environmental scientists.
In the year to August 2026, the partnership generated 826,000 audience touchpoints for TWP, taking the company's purpose, activities and future career opportunities into secondary-school classrooms in the UK and overseas.
The partnership forms part of the wider reach of Time for Geography, one of the UK's largest classroom careers initiatives. During the 2025–26 academic year, the award-winning education platform reached a cumulative audience of more than five million pupils, with its educational content viewed nearly two million times across its website and social media channels. Its resources are now used in 203 countries and are available in more than 30 languages.
Since partnering with Time for Geography in 2025, TWP has provided financial support and specialist industry expertise to help connect curriculum learning with real-world careers in offshore wind and the wider renewable energy sector.
A year after launching its partnership with Time for Geography, Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) is celebrating the remarkable impact the collaboration has already made in inspiring the next generation of geographers, geoscientists and environmental scientists.
Since partnering with the award-winning education platform in 2025, TWP has provided both financial support and specialist expertise to help develop engaging educational resources that connect geography lessons with real-world careers across the energy transition, highlighting the skills and career pathways that span the existing energy industry, offshore wind and other emerging sectors.
The latest impact data shows the partnership is helping to reach an unprecedented audience. During the 2025-26 academic year, Time for Geography reached a cumulative audience of more than 5 million pupils with educational content viewed nearly two million times across its website and social media channels. The platform is now used in 203 countries, with resources available in more than 30 languages.
Crucially, the data demonstrates that the project is achieving exactly what it set out to do - bringing careers education directly into classrooms. Around 74% of global website use takes place during school teaching hours while the platform broadcast more than 27,000 hours of educational videos over the past year, the majority during the school day.
In the UK alone, the platform generated an estimated 192,250 classroom video plays, equivalent to almost two educational video sessions for every geography lesson taught in secondary schools. Analysis also suggests Time for Geography now reaches virtually the entire cohort of UK secondary-school geography students each year, helping shape awareness of future career opportunities across the sector.
Darren Burbury, Geotechnical Manager at Thistle Wind Partners, said:
"Our industry depends on attracting talented young people with the skills needed to deliver the energy transition. Geography, geoscience and environmental science are fundamental to every stage of offshore wind development, from understanding site conditions to planning infrastructure and protecting the marine environment.
"Reaching 826,000 audience touchpoints in the first year of our partnership demonstrates the potential of taking those career messages directly into the classroom. Through Time for Geography, we can show young people not only why the subjects they are studying matter, but where those subjects could take them in the future.
"For TWP this is about investing in the next generation of skills that Scotland and the wider UK will need to deliver offshore wind and the energy transition." As part of the collaboration, TWP has contributed industry insight to educational films that explain the role of geography, geoscience and environmental science within offshore wind projects such as the Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm. The partnership forms part of TWP's wider commitment to developing future skills and strengthening the supply chain required for Scotland's renewable energy ambitions.
The partnership has also helped launch what Time for Geography describes as “the largest classroom-to-careers intervention for geography and geoscience education.” Alongside careers showcase films, the initiative now includes a “Careers Explorer” mapping more than 1,400 degree-to-career pathways, an early careers opportunities portal, resources for school options evenings, and collaboration with universities, educators and leading employers.
The programme continues to receive national recognition including educational awards for its contribution to geography teaching and teacher professional development.
For Thistle Wind Partners, the investment represents more than supporting an education resource, it is helping secure the future workforce needed to deliver the UK's offshore wind ambitions.
With demand for geographers, geoscientists, environmental specialists and engineers continuing to grow, the partnership is creating a direct link between classroom learning and the careers that will power the transition to a more sustainable future.
Find out more at the Time for Geography website: Time for Geography | Home