Vocational education and training (VET) in transition

1. Introduction

The Earth is experiencing an intensifying climate emergency, characterised by sustained global warming and increasingly severe impacts on the natural and human environment. In response, the international community has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit the most disruptive consequences of climate change, notably through the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 and entering into force in 2016 (United Nations Climate Change, 2016[1]). Efforts to reduce carbon emissions have implications for labour markets and skill needs, as environmental policies and green investments reshape production processes and technologies. The green transition is expected to create jobs in expanding low-emission and green-driven activities while reducing employment in shrinking greenhouse-gas-intensive industries (OECD, 2024[2]). In many other sectors, employment effects are likely to be mixed, with jobs increasingly transformed rather than eliminated as greener technologies and practices are adopted.

The green transition presents significant challenges for vocational education and training (VET) in terms of content, design and delivery, but it also creates opportunities. VET can act as a catalyst for the green transition by facilitating knowledge exchange and fostering innovation through collaboration among training providers, employers and learners. The OECD project on VET and the green transition aims to support countries in addressing these challenges (see Box 1 for details). This work culminates in the present policy paper that provides practical policy recommendations on how to prepare VET systems for the green transition, illustrated with country examples. The paper builds on earlier strands of the project, including analyses of labour force survey and job vacancy data, a country study of Finland, and a questionnaire circulated to countries in April 2024 (OECD, 2025[3]; OECD, 2024[4]; Kuczera, 2025[5]; OECD, 2026[6]).

While some issues, such as rapidly changing labour market requirements, are particularly relevant to the green transition, countries generally do not have dedicated ‘green VET’ policies. Instead, they rely on existing VET system mechanisms, such as processes for reviewing qualifications and updating teachers’ skills, to adapt programmes to emerging green technologies. As a result, many of the issues discussed in this paper, although illustrated with examples related to the green transition, have broader relevance and provide insights into how VET systems can better anticipate and respond to evolving skills needs more generally.

Box 1. OECD project “VET and the green transition”

The OECD project “VET and the green transition” aims to support countries in understanding how the green transition affects VET and how VET systems can adapt in response. It builds on existing evidence and complements it with new findings from data and policy analysis. The project was endorsed by the OECD’s Group of National Experts on VET1 and aims to benefit all OECD members. Countries contributing financially to the project include: Canada, Finland and Sweden. The project also contributes to the OECD horizontal project on Climate, Economic and Social Resilience.

This work has been carried out through cross-country data analysis and the collection of relevant policy examples, as well as country studies. All three funding countries contributed to the cross-country policy and data analysis, and Finland additionally undertook a country-specific study.

Cross-country data and policy analysis

The cross-country analysis drew on labour force survey and job vacancy data to address knowledge gaps on how VET aligns with the green labour market. It examined questions such as: (i) which green occupations are held by VET graduates; (ii) whether access to green jobs differs by level of VET and between VET and higher education graduates; and (iii) which qualifications and skills are most valued by employers in green occupations. The results from the data analyses are presented in dedicated OECD working papers (Kuczera, 2025[5]; OECD, 2026[6]).

Relevant country policies and practices were reviewed through desk-based research. An OECD policy questionnaire on VET and the green transition (see Annex B), circulated to the OECD members and accession countries in April 2024, provided further information on countries’ VET systems and specific policies. 27 countries responded. In countries such as Belgium, Canada, and the United Kingdom, where responsibility for education and training is held by, or shared with, subnational territories, responses were provided by these authorities instead of, or in addition to, those submitted by the federal government. In these countries, responses were received from the following entities: Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium; Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and the federal government of Canada in Canada; and Scotland in the United Kingdom. The questionnaire collected information on topics such as: (i) how countries update their VET qualifications to keep pace with changes introduced by the green transition; (ii) how the green transition is incorporated into career guidance services; (iii) how sustainability issues are integrated into VET programmes.

Country review of Finland

This country study examined the challenges and opportunities the green transition presents for Finland’s VET system. It provided tailored recommendations to enhance VET's role in advancing the green transition (OECD, 2025[3]). It combined national and cross-country data and policy analysis with fieldwork, including visits and interviews with stakeholders (such as ministries and regional administration representatives, VET institutions, social partners and students).

1. The Group of National Experts on Vocational Education and Training (GNE on VET) was established as a subsidiary body of the Education Policy Committee in April 2007. The Group assists the Education Policy Committee (EDPC) in helping Members and Partners to develop effective, efficient and evidence-based policies for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Learning through its continuing cross-national thematic work and country studies.

The pace and direction of the green transition are closely shaped by policy objectives, as regulatory frameworks and financial incentives for green technologies influence both the speed of the transition and the demand for related skills.1 In some contexts, declining political momentum for green policies has raised questions about the future trajectory of the transition and, consequently, about the extent to which education and training systems should adapt to its requirements. However, despite recent signs of slower progress and partial rollbacks of certain initiatives in some countries, broader climate and decarbonisation objectives remain in place across many OECD members.

Furthermore, the green transition is increasingly driven not only by climate objectives but also by economic and energy-security considerations. Falling costs and growing competitiveness of clean energy technologies, alongside concerns about energy security, are accelerating electrification and investment in low-emission energy systems (IEA (International Energy Agency), 2026[7]). Many green technologies and innovations are already well established, and others are likely to gain traction. For example, in 2025 the electric car market grew by 20% from 2024, exceeding 20 million sales across the globe, with Europe experiencing the strongest growth (IEA (International Energy Agency), 2026[8]). This suggests that while political support for the green transition may fluctuate, technologies associated with the green transition will likely continue to shape labour market needs, and VET systems should be prepared to respond.

The main focus of the paper is on how VET can adapt to changing labour market conditions resulting from the green transition. While the paper discusses policies that influence VET systems, institutions and training providers, it does not examine in detail the specific practices and initiatives implemented at the institution level. Such an analysis would require a more granular approach and falls outside the scope of the current work.

The remainder of this section provides a summary of policy tools that are discussed in more depth in the following sections, explains how green jobs and skills for the green transition are defined, and discusses the role of VET in supporting the transition.

1.1. Summary of policy tools

VET systems are at the front line of the green transition, as the primary route into the skilled trades, technical positions, and mid-level occupations that green economies depend on most. The central finding of this paper is also its central tension: VET graduates are disproportionately well placed to benefit from the green transition, yet are also disproportionately exposed to its risks. Nearly one in four young upper-secondary VET graduates already works in a green-affected occupation – a higher share than among university graduates. But around 8% work in greenhouse-gas-intensive jobs likely to contract, compared with 2% of higher education graduates. How well VET systems adapt will determine, to a significant degree, whether the green transition is experienced as opportunity or displacement.

The policy tools documented in the next section address that challenge across three interlocking dimensions: how qualifications are designed and kept up to date; who delivers VET programmes and convey knowledge and skills to learners; and how individuals are supported to navigate the transition. Together, they describe a coherent agenda for making VET systems fit for a greening economy. Table 1 provides a detailed list of the challenges and policy solutions discussed in this paper.

Table 1. Policy levers for greener VET

Policy dimension	Policy challenge	Policy tools
Designing qualifications that keep pace with change	Challenge 1 Skills anticipation for the green transition is challenging and often insufficiently integrated into VET policy	Use institutionalised and thematic skills anticipation approaches Use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods Improve integration of forecasts into decision making
	Challenge 2 Emerging green skill needs are often difficult to translate into VET qualifications and programmes	Expand apprenticeship to keep education and training aligned with labour market needs Support public-private partnerships to identify and integrate emerging green skills into VET qualifications and programmes Use local autonomy in content adaptation to keep VET programmes up to date Streamline qualification reviews using digital tools, while keeping expert judgment at the centre
	Challenge 3 Foundational and sustainability skills are not systematically included across all VET qualifications, and access to higher-level technical programmes remains uneven	Provide all VET learners with opportunities to acquire strong foundational and transferable skills, complemented, where relevant, by green job-specific skills Scale up higher VET in STEM fields to meet growing demand for advanced green technical skills Embed sustainability competences across all VET programmes
Investing in VET teachers and trainers	Challenge 4 VET teachers and trainers lack up-to-date skills	Keep VET teachers technically up to date through partnership with industry and regular professional development Equip all VET teachers and in-company trainers with sustainability competences – not just those in green fields
Reaching individuals and supporting transitions to green employment	Challenge 5 Workers in jobs most exposed to green disruption are less likely to participate in training needed to adapt to new requirements	Strengthen employer- and sector-led workforce upskilling to rapidly align skills with evolving needs in green sectors Develop modular credentials to let workers add green skills quickly without starting from scratch Promote the use of financial incentives and personalised approach to increase participation in modular training, and evaluate their effectiveness
	Challenge 6 Individuals navigating the green transition often lack access to information on green career options and training opportunities	Make green jobs visible in career guidance systems so individuals can identify opportunities and plan their next steps Establish dedicated support services for workers in high-emission sectors facing displacement, alongside measures to address labour shortages in green sectors Use career guidance to increase participation of unrepresented groups in green occupations Help individuals see what they already know by mapping transferable skills against green job requirements

1.2. What are green jobs and skills for the green transition?

1.2.1. What are green jobs?

The definition of green occupations (jobs)2 in this paper follows the approach adopted in (Kuczera, 2025[5]; OECD, 2024[2]). Based on the US O*NET job classification, the "greenness" of an occupation refers to how activities and technologies associated with the green economy affect the demand for existing jobs, shape the skills and qualifications required for these jobs, or create new and unique job requirements. Green economy activities involve reducing fossil fuel use, lowering pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency, recycling materials, and developing or adopting renewable energy sources (Dierdorff et al., 2009[9]).

Following the adopted definition, green jobs range from new highly skilled jobs to evolving existing occupations. Some green jobs are entirely new occupations tied to emerging green technologies, often requiring advanced skills and usually filled by those with higher qualifications. Others are existing green jobs, in which the green transition modifies task content – Skill‑enhanced green jobs; and where it boosts labour demand without major changes to job content – Increased demand green jobs. Figure 1 summarises the three types of green jobs.

Figure 1. What are green jobs?

Note: The occupations shown in the figure are examples only and are not exhaustive.

Image credit: © Owlie Productions/Shutterstock.com, © dee karen/Shutterstock.com, © Deemerwha studio/Shutterstock.com.

1.2.2. What are green skills?

Analysis of green occupations alone misses important information about job content. A skills-based approach makes it possible to identify the specific competences associated with green occupations and to observe how these skills are distributed across both green and non-green jobs. This allows for a more granular analysis than occupational categories alone can provide.

Identifying the specific skills demanded in green jobs has direct implications for VET systems: it helps determine which skills and knowledge are needed in the labour market and supports the adjustment of training provision accordingly.

Green skills are those associated with green jobs where the green transition is changing job content, mainly: Skill-enhanced green jobs and New green jobs. Green skills do not include skills related to Increased demand green jobs, where the green transition does not alter task content. As jobs in this excluded category tend to offer lower average earnings and require lower levels of educational attainment, ‘green skills’, as defined here, refer to green jobs associated with higher wages and higher skills level.

Drawing on (OECD, 2026[6]) and (Kuczera, 2025[5]) green skills can be described as follows:

• Green skills are distributed across the labour market, rather than confined to green occupations. Many green skills are transversal, appearing across IT, finance, logistics, and other sectors beyond those explicitly labelled green (i.e. sectors in which a large share of the workforce is employed in green occupations).

• Most green skills are technical, and many are STEM-based. Job vacancy data analysis demonstrates that across the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, between 50% and 75% of green skills are also classified as STEM. In all three countries, the most in-demand green skills cluster around mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering, alongside planning and design capabilities. This shared core reflects the universal technical foundations of the green transition, suggesting that scaling green activities depends on a broad base of technical and engineering skills.

1.2.3. What are sustainability skills?

Beyond green skills, which relate to the labour market, as defined in this paper, all individuals require sustainability skills to understand climate change and its impacts, as well as to adopt environmentally responsible behaviours.

Sustainability skills are linked to sustainable thinking and action and are relevant to work across all economic sectors and occupations, as well as to other areas of life. They contribute to the development of environmental responsibility, knowledge of circular economy principles, and awareness of energy efficiency. Alternatively referred to as ‘sustainability competences’ in this paper.

The development of green skills for jobs and sustainability skills often requires different policies and for this reason they are addressed separately in this paper.

1.3. Does vocational education and training prepare for green jobs?

VET is an important pathway preparing for green jobs (Kuczera, 2025[5]). Across the OECD, 25% of young adults hold upper-secondary vocational qualification classified on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) at level 3 and 4 as their highest qualification and a further 5% hold higher VET (HVET) qualification (post-secondary qualifications at ISCED level 5). VET prepares workers for skilled and semi-skilled jobs in sectors like construction, transport, energy, and manufacturing – all vital to the green transition. Among young upper-secondary VET graduates (under 35) nearly one in four works in existing green jobs. This is a higher share than among tertiary-educated youth (ISCED 6 and above). See Figure 2.

But VET graduates also face risks in high-emission industries. Young people with upper-secondary VET qualifications are more likely than those with higher level qualifications to work in greenhouse gas (GHG) intensive jobs (around 8% of young VET graduates, versus 2% of those with higher education).3 These jobs situated in high-emission sectors (e.g. fossil fuel-based industries) are likely to contract as economies green. VET graduates working in these occupations may be at greater risk of unemployment if they are not supported to transition into new roles.

Figure 2. A relatively large share of VET graduates work in jobs affected by the green transition

Share of young adults (below the age of 35) in different categories of green jobs, by their highest educational attainment, 2014-2022 (OECD-EU average)

Note: The OECD-EU average was calculated based on the European Union OECD countries.

Data for the United Kingdom correspond to the period: 2014-2021. Upper-secondary VET includes ISCED level 3 and ISCED level 4 vocational programmes. Higher education refers to programmes at ISCED level 6 and above.

Source: Kuczera, M. (2025[5]) “Vocational education and training (VET) and the green transition: Insights from labour market data”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 327, https://doi.org/10.1787/02b7fcb1-en.

Notes

← 1.  The array of possible measures to address environmental challenges is broad, encompassing strategies such as research and development subsidies, Pigouvian taxes, cap-and-trade schemes, and command-and-control regulations, each with distinct implementation methods (Mowery et al., 2010).

← 2.  The terms ‘occupation’ and ‘job’ are used interchangeably in this paper.

← 3.  GHG-intensive occupations are identified in two steps: 1. exploration of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission across industries, and 2. identification of occupations within the industries with the highest greenhouse gas emission. Industries are labelled as high emission if they rank in the upper two deciles of emissions per unit of value added in at least ten out of the countries for which data are available. These industries represent at least 70% of the GHG emissions in each OECD country for which data are available. Occupations that are intensive in GHG emissions are defined as those occupations that are particularly concentrated in GHG-intensive industries. A GHG-intensive occupation is an occupation for which the share of employees in the GHG-intensive sector is at least seven times larger than the share of the GHG‑intensive sector in aggregate employment. For more details see (Kuczera, 2025[5]).