Skills for work and life

The 2024 Learning Lab webinar series focuses on the role of TVET in the transition to clean energy. It fosters inter-regional exchange over four distinct episodes. Each webinar takes a unique lens on skills development for the clean energy sector, showcasing discussions with experts and highlighting promising TVET practices from around the world:

• Webinar 1. Preparing the labour force: Future skills identification, reskilling, upskilling and development of core competencies – 2 July 2024
• Webinar 2. Mechanisms for integration of new competencies into TVET curricula – 19 July 2024
• Webinar 3. Collaboration and network building to foster innovation – 7 August 2024
• Video wrap-up: The future of the transition economy and clean energy in TVET – 13 September 2024
  

Speakers

• Yuri João De Silva, Communication and Visibility Office, ADPP-GB, Bissorã Vocational School (EVB), Guinea Bissau
• Gabriela Prata Dias, Head of the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre), Denmark
• Victoria Hepplenthwaite, Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg (Wits), South Africa
• Amina Kadyrzhanova, Senior Sustainability Specialist, Hydropower Sustainability Alliance, United Kingdom
• Lalithaa Maniam, Assistant Director, SkillsFuture SG, Singapore
• Danielle Notarianni, Manager, Energy & Assets, Niagara College, Canada
• Florian Schöll, Managing Director, Chamber of Skilled Crafts (HWK) Frankfurt-Rhein-Main, Germany

Student: Nitisha Patel, Sustainability Technician Student, Niagara College, Canada

Moderators

• Esteban Navarro, Project Manager, Global Education Projects, Niagara College, Canada
• Maureen Souply, TVET Consultant, Niagara College, Canada

Released on 13 September 2024

In this final installment of our series, we look at themes covered throughout the course of our three previous episodes. We asked seven international experts to weigh in on seven different questions related to the future and the role of TVET in the transition economy.

Questions (times in video)

• Are TVET programs and learning pathways flexible enough to prepare the workforce for the green energy transition? (2:19)

• What changes have you seen in the use of technology in TVET and industry, and what predictions do you have for the future? (7:35)

• How can promising practices in integrating new competencies into TVET curricula be applied to support a just transition to green energy and the green economy? (11:47)

• What are some key examples of collaboration models and network building strategies that can be replicated in other contexts? (15:48)

• What are the key insights from the identification of new skills demands in a green energy transition? (18:55)

• How can we – in TVET – leverage the green energy transition to promote a more inclusive and equitable future? (24:09)

• What policy recommendations and future strategies can you share to support a global TVET agenda for the green energy transition? (27:26)

The transition from a brown to a green economy is no longer a question of if, but when.

Since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Member States have recognized the importance of taking into account the imperative of a just transition of the workforce, emphasizing decent work and quality jobs aligned with nationally defined development priorities. (United Nations, 2015)

Presently, diverse national, regional, and international green and blue policy initiatives have a wider goal of climate neutrality, encompassing energy efficiency enhancements, renewable infrastructure development, behavioural shifts, and expanding the uptake of green technologies. Strategies like the European Green Deal and Australia’s Climate Change Act, alongside organizations and agencies such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) support the efforts for sustainable reduction of carbon emissions.

At the same time, the recognition of the dependence of the green transition on a skilled workforce has become a strong driver in the development of Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET). TVET is instrumental in shaping a just green transition by offering inclusive upskilling and reskilling opportunities, preparing the next generation, and developing resilient strategies that can keep pace with ever-evolving labour market needs.

How can TVET best reach those who require skilling, upskilling and reskilling opportunities?

The International Labour Organization (ILO) forecasts that the implementation of green and blue energy policies could create an additional 8.4 million jobs for young people by 2030 across the globe (ILO, 2022). TVET stakeholders at national, regional and local levels are looking for strategies to prepare the future workforce matching the requirements of the blue and green economies. While the goal of fostering more sustainable economies is the same globally, the approaches and perspectives often vary as much as the geo-political contexts.

In this context, the webinar series on ‘TVET and the green energy transition’ will identify successful TVET strategies and approaches for preparing green workforce, that can be transferred to other national or regional contexts. The webinar series will focus on:

• Highlighting the link to TVET in current discourses on clean energy
• Investigating promising practices in TVET in the energy sector
• Encouraging new ideas through interregional dialogue
• Fostering international collaboration on TVET solutions in clean energy

Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract – sustainable development – and turn it into a reality for all the world’s people.

(Kofi Annan, 2005)