Green Jobs&Skills at the centre of the 2022 EnR Thinking Group Meeting
On October 17, the European Energy Network (EnR) held its annual Thinking Group meeting in Malta, hosted by EWA, The Energy and Water Agency, with 12 agencies attending in a hybrid format. The meeting was devoted to the topic of Green Jobs & Skills for the Energy Transition. Under the motto “RESkill to REPower”, network agencies discussed preliminary results from an ongoing study on the gap between market needs and the workforce to meet the challenges of the energy transition and how to overcome it. A group of invited stakeholders, from the European Commission, International Labour Organization, European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and Energy Cities, discussed with EnR agencies, how cross-sectorial knowledge exchange is fundamental to allow for a better match between sectoral needs and the existing and future workforce. Common platforms and common indicators will prove instrumental and several examples were discussed.
At the opening, Nelson Lage, President of ADENE & EnR 2022, highlighted green jobs & skills as a top priority in this year’s presidency, together with youth and education & training. “Education is key for European development and investing in training will leverage innovation, increase Europe’s competitiveness, in a time when the climate, energy and digital transitions, challenge us to change the paradigm of labour and skills.”
The results of the EnR study on Green Jobs & Skills, presented by Hélder Rodrigues (ADENE), point towards actionable recommendations in key areas, from anticipating market needs, supporting green job promoting policies, recognizing and valuing green jobs in the labour market, to strengthening the role of energy energy agencies as cross sectorial knowledge dissemination hubs.
Filipa Newton and Sofia Cordeiro (ADENE) framed the discussion, presenting the motivations for conducting the study within EnR, as green jobs are critical for the energy transition and many times overlooked by energy agencies, although workforce shortages are recognized as bottlenecks to meet the market demands needed to achieve current targets in sectors such as construction, renewables, etc. With EnR member agencies presenting case studies that can offer replication opportunities, the meeting was a starting point for a discussion in which EnR wants to keep in its agenda.
FIND THE FULL STUDY HERE
Case studies from EnR Member Agencies
- Antonio Buhagiar, JobsPlus, Malta | Intercept Project
- Charalampos Malamatenios, CRES, Greece | BUILD UP Skills UPSWING
- Rebecca van Leeuwen, RVO, Netherlands | Groenpact
- Barbara Schäfli, BFE, Switzerland | Joint campaign with building sector
Stakeholder discussion | ReSkill to RePower
- Felix Rohn | Policy Officer, Skills Agenda, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG-EMPL, EMPL B.2)
- Olga Strietska-Ilina | Work Area Lead “Skills Strategies for Future Labour Markets”, International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Skills for a greener future: a global view, ILO, 2019
- Skills for a greener future: Key conclusions, ILO, 2019
- Skills for a greener future: Infographic.
- Skills for a greener future: Challenges and enabling factors to achieve a just transition, ILO, 2019
- Skills Development for a Just Transition, ILO, 2022
- Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, ILO, 2015
- Philippe Masset | ADEME & French National Observatory of Jobs & Skills in the Green Economy
- Ludovic Voet | ETUC European Trade Union Confederation and ETUI European Trade Union Institute
- Mélanie Bourgeois | Energy Cities, More Local Staff for Climate study and manifesto