The Role of Dual VET in the Just Green Transition (JGT)

The transition to an environmentally sustainable, circular and carbon-neutral economy does and will have significant social, economic and employment impacts. This requires that all citizens obtain the necessary knowledge, competences, skills and attitudes to cope with these changes (see e.g. GIZ (2002): Skills for a just transition to a green future). On the labour market, new jobs will be created, other jobs will be lost and the qualification requirements for many jobs will change. In this transformative process, workers should not only reactively adapt to the changing requirements but be prepared to be qualified and creative professionals. The widely acknowledged goal of a “just transition” that leaves no one behind calls for decent work opportunities, social inclusion, and the eradication of poverty in the context of the green transition.

Why can dual VET contribute to a just green transition?

Dual VET, collaborative by nature, can mobilise and bring together public and private key stakeholders for a just green transition, including governments, employers, educators, and youth. It has the potential to define and implement green curricula and to influence the development of green attitudes, skills and behaviours by what people learn (the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ principle) and by how people learn (for example reusing materials for practical training).

Which questions need to be addressed?

Applying a holistic perspective

In order to address all relevant aspects and requirements that should be tackled by dual VET for a successful just green transition, a holistic perspective is needed. This is visualised in the following figure and explained in the short video:

Important Links

• Just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies | International Labour Organization (ilo.org),
• ILO urges global collaboration for a just transition amid climate change challenges | International Labour Organization,
• Just Transition Framework (climatecommission.org.za),
• Just Transition Centre – International Trade Union Confederation (ituc-csi.org)

DC dVET BarCamps and further Resources

TVET for the Just Green Transition: Where do we go from here? 

Making the just green transition a reality across different countries, cultures, institutions, industries and groups of learners and workers is a multifaceted endeavour. Dual VET can make a transformative contribution in various ways and at various levels. It can address economic, social and ecological goals, aim for establishing justice in the process, address the needs and elicit the awareness and support of key stakeholders, such as the business sector, TVET institutions, local communities or TVET instructors and learners, and develop and teach skills relevant for the JGT.

Dual VET can take a variety of different forms and address different skills depending on the degree of awareness and the nature of the industry involved. No matter where, TVET trainees across different cultures and industries will see green skills as relevant, whenever they are made aware of their importance during training and where they experience a connection with their own and their companies´ realities.    

Discussions with TVET trainees and reports from diverse projects addressing the contribution of dual VET to the JGT in the context of development cooperation show that important changes have already be achieved and a host of best practice examples and projects can be used as guidance on the road towards the JGT. However, the journey has not yet come to its successful completion. DC dVET will continue to screen and compile relevant resources and tools for enhancing the measurable impact of dual VET on the JGT and will display them on this website.

For further information or consultations on greening TVET in a given context, please turn to the respective boxes.