There is no green transition without skills!
Climate change is the biggest challenge faced by us all, and it is impacting us in life-changing ways. Recent reports highlighting that at some point in the next five years, the earth’s temperature is expected to rise by more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels means that this is the most decisive decade for climate action. The need for decarbonised, ‘green’ technologies to introduce standards, processes, services and products that will help protect ecosystems and biodiversity has never been so urgent.
To tackle climate change and make the green transition a reality, it is essential to anticipate what skills will be needed in the labour market and ensure our training systems are able to deliver them. We believe that the green transition must create equal opportunities for everyone to gain the relevant skills for a decent job. Skills play a critical role in underpinning the transition to a greener and more sustainable future.
The European Year of Skills is a unique opportunity to provide updated policy advice and expertise to our partners and support the development of education programmes that respond to the climate crisis. Throughout this year, we will:
- conduct analyses in the construction, energy, agrifood and automotive sectors to understand the impact of the green transition so far on skills requirements of labour markets across the EU’s neighbouring regions;
- map the current status of green skills and levels of readiness for the green transition in EU neighbouring countries;
- expand the peer learning GRETA network – Greening Responses to Excellence through Thematic Actions – to promote and support the greening of vocational curricula and recognise the fundamental role of digitalisation in sustainable growth and development;
- recognise and reward innovation in green skills development and training by way of ETF Green Skills Award;
- participate in the EU Green Week 2023;
- collaborate at COP 28 – 2023 UN Climate Change Conference – to highlight the fundamental role of education and skills in the green transition.
We operate in the context of the EU’s forward-thinking initiatives, such as the European Green Deal and the European Climate Pact.