National Careers Week: Air
Webinar is free and open to all.
This webinar series for National Careers Week brings environmental careers to life through real stories and honest insights from professionals working across a wide range of roles and sectors. Across themed days, you’ll discover just how varied the environmental field is and the many different routes you can take to get there. Within the "Air" theme, we're exploring careers linked to air quality, emissions monitoring, atmospheric science, and environmental regulation.
You’ll also have the opportunity to ask the professionals questions about their role, career journey and day-to-day experience. If you’re unable to attend live, you can submit a question in advance. All webinars will be recorded so you can watch them back at a time that suits you.
In this webinar, our speakers will share insights into the following areas:
- What it’s like to work in the sector and where your degree could take you after graduation
- A realistic picture of the daily tasks, responsibilities, and skills required
- The transition from university to career, including the steps, decisions, and experiences that helped them succeed
National Careers Week
We're hosting a series of webinars exploring the breadth of careers in the environmental sector as part of National Careers Week. Across themed days, we're exploring themes including Land, Water, Climate and Nature. The week will spotlight the diverse roles, pathways, and skills shaping our environment and future.
Our speakers
Sophie Brough
Sophie is an Air Quality Consultant at Arup and has over two years’ experience in the air quality industry. Sophie specialises in atmospheric dispersion modelling, environmental assessment, and air quality inputs to major infrastructure projects across the UK. Her work spans data centres, renewable energy, and transport schemes, where she evaluates construction and operational air quality impacts, supports EIA and BREEAM assessments, and develops practical, evidence-based mitigation strategies to inform design.
Sophie studied an integrated master’s in Chemistry at the University of Leeds and is an Associate member of both the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES) and the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM). In 2024, Sophie won the prestigious IAQM Ian McCrae Award, an annual essay competition recognising outstanding early career achievement in air quality.
No two days in her role look exactly the same, but her work typically blends technical modelling/ analysis and clear communication of complex findings to design teams, clients, and stakeholders, often involving collaboration across multi-disciplinary teams.
Another key aspect of Sophie’s role involves professional engagement and knowledge-sharing as she is an active subcommittee member of the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) Early Careers Network and enjoys supporting events, mentoring peers, and helping to grow awareness of career pathways in air quality.
Liz Bates
Liz has been working in environmental protection within local authority environments for over 25 years. Her early career was in investigation and enforcement roles but she has spent most of her career in Local Air Quality Management (LAQM). She studied Chemistry at the University of York followed by a Masters in Environment Management at De Monfort University. She is a Chartered Scientist and is also trained in acoustics and project management.
Liz has held long term roles at both City of York Council and City of Bradford MDC but is currently focusing solely on the monitoring and evaluation of the Bradford Clean Air Zone (CAZ), and ongoing delivery of the Bradford Clean Air Plan (B-CAP).
Liz’s role stretches across many disciplines, interacting regularly with land use planners, transport planners, public health, environmental health and sustainability teams. Her role is very varied, being an interesting mix of data collection, data analysis, policy development, and community engagement. No two days are the same and there is always something new to learn, investigate or influence in the continuously evolving field of local air quality management.
Header image credit: © Valentinos Loucaides | Adobe Stock
