Vocational education and training (VET) in transition

This paper examines how vocational education and training (VET) systems may adapt to meet the rapidly evolving skill demands of the green transition. Technological and industrial shifts reshape labour markets creating new occupations, transforming existing ones, and rendering some jobs obsolete. The analysis identifies three interconnected challenges: qualification update processes that struggle to keep pace with innovation, alongside gaps in technical, foundational, and sustainability competences across VET programmes; VET teachers who may lack familiarity with emerging technologies; and persistently low training participation among workers most exposed to structural change. Drawing on evidence from OECD countries, the paper highlights policy tools to address these challenges, spanning areas such as skills anticipation, the updating of qualifications and programmes, targeted training for VET teachers and trainers, and modular learning pathways for adult retraining, supported by personalised career guidance.