This policy report aims to provide policymakers with concrete solutions to better align VET systems with the demands and opportunities created by the green transition, while offering a comprehensive overview of challenges and policy responses across different VET contexts. Rather than advocating a single model, the report promotes a context-sensitive approach in which countries prioritise reforms according to their institutional structures, policy objectives and implementation capacity. Some of the proposed approaches are relatively new and may benefit from further testing and evaluation, including through pilot projects.
As VET systems differ substantially, some solutions will be more relevant to certain countries than others. For example, countries with strong apprenticeship systems may require more incremental adjustments to qualification revision processes than countries where VET is primarily school based. At the same time, some policy approaches are broadly relevant across systems, such as ensuring strong foundational skills across all upper-secondary VET qualifications.
The suitability of policy approaches also depends on implementation costs. While all proposed measures aim to improve labour market efficiency and productivity over time, their initial costs may vary considerably and therefore influence policy priorities. For instance, in countries where robust skills forecasting systems already exist, integrating forecasting results into VET decision making may involve relatively limited costs. By contrast, developing a comprehensive skills anticipation system from scratch may require substantial investment.
The strength of the evidence base also varies across policy approaches. This partly reflects the methodological difficulty of isolating the effects of certain interventions, such as financial incentives encouraging adults to participate in training. It also reflects the novelty of some approaches. For example, several countries have started experimenting with AI-supported VET qualification management. Although early results appear promising, robust evaluations are still lacking.
Finally, while these policy approaches are discussed in the context of the green transition, they are intended to help countries prepare VET systems for rapidly changing labour market demands more broadly. Their relevance therefore extends beyond the green transition and applies to other contexts of structural change.