Green skills key to meet EU’s current twin transition

The extraordinary Bureau meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), held in Copenhagen on 19 May, underlined the importance of skills, education and lifelong learning in successfully navigating the EU’s green and digital transitions.

At its meeting to prepare for the upcoming Danish Council Presidency, the Bureau of the EESC held an exchange of views with representatives of the Danish Employers’ and Trade Union Confederations as well as with the Danish Women’s Council on green skills and lifelong learning. Specific focus was put on the Danish dual training system.

The Danish dual VET system

According to the speakers, the Danish dual vocational education and training (VET) system, which combines classroom teaching with on-the-job experience in a company, was particularly well adapted to foster new competencies.

Nanna Højlund, Vice-President of the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions, emphasised that the dual system helped young people into the labour market smoothly, while making sure that the learning outcomes matched emerging labour market needs. This was particularly relevant for the success of the green transition. The involvement of the social partners in the VET system was crucial because they were best placed to understand the needs at the local level. It was also important to adapt training paths to the expectations of young people. Young people did not want to close doors to future career options at an early stage. It was therefore important to keep the VET system agile, allowing young people to transfer the competencies they gained to new jobs.

Jannik Bay, Head of Integration and Qualifications of the Confederation of Danish Employers, confirmed the central role of social dialogue in anticipating labour market needs and pointed to the fact that Danish employers were contributing to the financing of the dual system through a large fund to which all employers contributed in proportion to their labour force. However, Denmark, like other EU Member States, was facing a general labour shortage combined with a skills imbalance. There was an oversupply of academic skills and a shortage of VET. Not enough young people were applying for the available apprenticeship positions.

Maria Jose Landeira Østergård, President of Women’s Council Denmark, said that the size of the green talent pool needed to be doubled by 2050 to keep pace with projected demand. Up to 40% of jobs in sectors like energy, transport and agriculture may be affected by the green transition by 2030.

Not enough skilled workers and underrepresentation of women with green skills

Women were underrepresented in green jobs and the gap has continued to widen. Today, only 10% of women had at least one green skill compared to 17% of men. Tackling the environmental challenges was not only a matter of technical skills, but of wider abilities, values and attitudes. Women and young girls were still facing cultural, economic, legal and structural barriers when moving into green technology jobs. It was, therefore, important to fight against occupational segregation and gender discrimination, and to expose girls early to technological jobs.

In this statement, EESC president Oliver Röpke underlined the pressing need to prepare the labour market and society for the rapidly evolving challenges brought about by these transitions.

‘The EESC believes that fair and equal access to training is essential if we are to help both workers and businesses meet these challenges. Everyone – within and outside the workplace – should be able to access high-quality training in both digital and green skills,’ he said. ‘Workers must be supported through measures such as training leave, while businesses should be financially incentivised to provide such training. Adaptability and proactivity are essential for navigating these transitions successfully.’

He also stressed the EESC’s advocacy for a comprehensive EU-wide strategy to enhance education in green skills and competencies, develop green school strategies and offer meaningful reskilling opportunities for adults: ‘Let us also not forget that the green transition is not only about technology; it is about people. It is about equipping them to build a just, resilient and climate-neutral future. Sustainability must therefore be integrated at all levels of education and training.’

Other EESC Bureau members reiterated the need for an inclusive and social approach to the twin transition. They flagged key issues such as recognition of skills across the EU, funding for lifelong learning, and potential biases in AI applications that risk reinforcing gender inequality.

For more information on the EESC’s work, activities and opinions on education and training, please consult the EESC website.