The Challenge
The green and digital transition is rapidly transforming the labour market, creating new occupations and changing the skills required across existing professions. VET systems therefore face the challenge of preparing students for jobs that are evolving faster than traditional curricula.
In Montenegro, this challenge is particularly relevant in vocational economic education. Emerging profiles include sustainability managers, green entrepreneurs, environmental protection specialists, digital marketing managers and ESG-oriented finance professionals. At the same time, many companies still lack clearly defined positions requiring green skills, highlighting the need to anticipate future labour-market needs and equip young people with the competences required for a sustainable, digital and resource-efficient economy.
The project team — Adrijana Mugoša, Božana Vujadinović, Violeta Đukanović and Ivana Radulović — developed an innovative practice to address this gap. The approach is being implemented through a Free Activities module developed by the team and approved by the Centre for Vocational Education.
Why the Practice Is Innovative
The practice introduces green and digital competences into modular vocational education, where these topics were previously limited or absent.
Through the project “Green Skills for Green Job”, the school has developed a new model of practical learning in cooperation with licensed experts from partner institutions. The model connects three learning environments into one coherent pathway:
classroom learning → practical school-based training → real-world learning in partner companies.
This combination allows students to move beyond theoretical knowledge and apply green and digital competences in realistic professional contexts.
Integration of Green and Digital Competences
The approach is embedded across several vocational modules, including Accounting, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Insurance, Banking and the Training Firm.
Up to 20% of annual teaching content is redesigned to incorporate green and digital skills. Students develop competences such as:
- Green entrepreneurship and sustainable business models;
- Green accounting and ESG-oriented financial management;
- Digital communication and content creation;
- Green finance and sustainable financial instruments;
- Risk management in sustainable business environments;
- Paperless and digitally enabled banking procedures.
At the same time, transversal competences such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and collaboration are systematically developed throughout the learning process.
Role of the Teacher/Trainer
Teachers act as facilitators, mentors and bridges between education and the world of work.
To prepare for this role, they receive specialised training from universities, climate-change institutions and industry partners. Once trained and certified, they transfer their knowledge to students through redesigned lessons, workshops and project-based learning.
Teachers also provide small-group mentoring, monitor student progress, assess learning outcomes and respond to individual learning needs, creating a more personalised learning experience.
Learning Activities
Students engage in a combination of practical, digital and work-based learning activities, including:
- Practical vocational tasks and digital simulations;
- ESG-focused business projects;
- Interdisciplinary case studies;
- Workshops and specialist training sessions;
- Green innovation challenges;
- Extended work-based learning placements in partner companies.
Through these activities, students gain hands-on experience with digital tools, sustainable business models, environmentally responsible accounting, green finance and digital banking.
Over the three-year implementation period, more than 630 students are expected to participate in the programme.
Impact of the Practice
The practice aims to generate benefits at several levels.
For students, it provides future-oriented skills and practical experience, strengthening their competitiveness in a changing labour market.
For companies, it creates access to better-prepared interns and potential future employees who understand both digital and sustainability-related practices.
For the school, the initiative supports a broader transformation towards becoming a regional hub for green and digital vocational education.
The practice also contributes to environmental awareness, circular-economy thinking and stronger cooperation between education and the business sector.
Potential for Replication
The practice has strong potential for transfer and scaling. Its modular structure allows green and digital competences to be integrated into different vocational profiles without requiring a complete redesign of existing curricula.
The combination of teacher training, expert partnerships, modular content and work-based learning provides a flexible framework that could be adapted by other VET schools, different economic sectors and institutions at regional or national level.
Ultimately, “Green Skills for Green Job” connects what students learn today with the skills they will need tomorrow, helping VET education anticipate — rather than simply react to — the green and digital transformation of the labour market.
Innovators: Adrijana Mugoša, Violeta Đukanović, Božana Vujadinović i Ivana Radulović - High School of Economics "Mirko Vesovic" Podgorica