© CURIOS/stock.adobe.come The European Green Deal will transform the EU into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. New occupations are emerging and existing ones changing, making ‘up-‘ and ‘reskilling’ essential across sectors. Identifying ‘green’ occupations is not always easy. Cedefop’s policy brief From linear thinking to green growth mindsets stresses the need for sectors to shift from linear to circular production models and investigates the skill needs to be met for this change to happen. The green transition is shaping skill demand, but there is a lack of consensus on which occupations are ‘green’. Is a ‘green’ job defined by its tasks, or the skills needed, or the workplace? Are 'green' engineers producing electric vehicles and 'brown' ones improving combustion engines? Given the difficulties of identifying ‘green’ occupations, Cedefop has examined online job advertisements related to skills, associated with the green transition. How ‘green’ a job is, is assessed by its content, not just its title. For example, in the Netherlands, more than 18% of job advertisements for financial analysts mentioned ‘green’ tasks and skills. Jobs in sectors crucial to the green transition, such as waste management, energy, or manufacturing, including occupations driving innovation and technical development, will see higher employment. In parallel, the European Green Deal can create jobs across sectors and skill levels. For example, significant growth is expected for ICT-related occupations. Reflecting the nature of the green transition, employment growth is not only expected for “green” sector-specific jobs, such as waste sorting optimisation professionals, but also for jobs in other sectors or with a more generic profile, including data scientists and e-commerce specialists.
© CURIOS/stock.adobe.come More sustainable production models will affect many occupations. Cedefop’s skill foresight study of four sectors shows that managerial positions in, for example, logistics and renewable energy, will require job holders to design and implement ‘circular’ production goals and more sustainable products and services. Such ‘green hearts and minds’ occupations will lead to greener, more sustainable behaviour. Besides the workplace, the green transition affects living spaces. Cities shape and are being shaped by the European Green Deal. Green urban planners are critical to make cities green(er) through resilient infrastructure, green spaces, sustainable mobility and energy efficiency. Citizen engagement specialists can help implement the transition by translating technical policy goals into convincing messages for all. Initial and continuing vocational education and training (VET) are central to meeting skill needs arising from the green transition. Different levels of skills are required to meet new challenges. Continuing VET supports up- and reskilling, for example by enabling workers across occupations to understand and incorporate new environmental regulations. Targeted continuing VET can help fill jobs in critical ‘green’ occupations, supported by career guidance, opportunities to validate non-formal and informal learning including microcredentials which can accredit learning that does not lead to a full qualification. Apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning for young people and adults can also encourage people to enter sectors important for the green transition that may suffer from low attractiveness, such as waste management. To serve better the current skills revolution, stronger coordination and cooperation between stakeholders (such as social partners and training providers) is crucial, not only in partnerships with higher education or centres of vocational excellence to increase cooperation in R&D, but also to design VET courses and programmes. There is scope for including modules developed specifically for the green transition across a wide range of courses and programmes. This highlights the importance of training VET school teachers and trainers to provide learners with the skills to advance the green economy. Systematic implementation of principles and processes related to circular economy across all curricula helps develop ‘green’ mindsets and encourages the shift from linear to circular production.
Stay updated on Cedefop’s work: Login or register on our web portal to subscribe to Cedefop’s products (newsletter, briefing notes, publications, podcasts, events). Cedefop’s EYS flagship publication, Skills in Transition, is out! It is one of Cedefop’s key contributions to the 2023 European Year of Skills (website available in all official languages of the EU). This publication shows what has changed in EU labour markets in the past decade and tracks ongoing and future trends based on Cedefop’s 2023 skills forecast, sectoral foresight and big data-powered analyses. Join Cedefop’s EYS flagship event in Brussels on 12 October on Skills and Learning in a changing world of work and browse Cedefop's own dedicated webspace featuring its publications, videos, and podcasts related to the European Year of Skills 2023.
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