7.3.2 What about green skills?

What about green skills?

While climate change mitigation measures may cause short-term job losses, recent reports (ILO, 2018) show that a just transition to a more sustainable economy offers much potential for job creation and the promotion of decent work.

• Do we know enough about the development of the knowledge and skills needed to live in, develop and support a society, which aims to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment?
• Are career guidance professionals, curriculum developers, employers and learners informed on the features and demand for such skills in new and changing occupations and tasks?

The Cedefop Glossary proposes definitions of green skills at different levels of complexity:

• Generic green skills help develop awareness-raising or implementation of resource-efficient activities, ecocitizenship, etc.;

• Specific green skills are required to implement standards and processes to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and to reduce energy, materials and water consumption;

• Highly-specialised green skills are required to develop and implement green technologies such as renewable energies, sewage treatment or recycling.

Evidence of good practice in the EU related with green skills has been analysed in 2010 by Cedefop, in collaboration with ILO, and updated in 2017. This update analyses examines the major changes in green jobs and employment since 2010, and analyses the regulations and policies supporting green skills and employment, including the surrounding institutional set-up and the role played by social partners. It also highlights good practices, including green skill anticipation mechanisms, relevant vocational education and training and higher education, active labour market policies and retraining measures, and the role of the private sector.

Projects promoted by national governments, the EU, the academia and sectoral organisations have been focusing more attention to the role and place of green skills in occupations, profiles and education and training. However, efforts to increase coherence in the policy orientation, in sharing of good practice and in information for users will have to be stepped up.