They are home to three out of four European Union citizens, although they’re covering only 4% of the EU's land area; and, worldwide, their carbon footprint accounts for 70% of CO2 emissions. Clear as day, cities have a pivotal part to play in the green transition.
Using the smart and green city (SGC) concept, a recent policy brief by Cedefop analyses how vocational education and training (VET) can help cities become smarter and greener, thus facilitating the European Green Deal (EGD), the EU’s growth strategy and policy response to the challenges related to climate change and environmental degradation.
The EGD sets the ground for the EU to become a competitive and resource-efficient economy with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while ensuring a just transition for all.
'Smart'... how?
A city is viewed as ‘smart’ when it can control and make effective use of information collected via sensors, networks and related technologies for policy development in domains relevant to the urban environment (e.g. transport, waste, air quality, and brownfield site development).
As the Cedefop publication notes, at the crossroads of the twin (green and digital) transitions, SGCs can become hubs driving the achievement of EGD-set objectives.
Shifting from economic development driven by resource consumption towards innovation-driven, sustainable and circular development to reduce cities’ CO2 footprint requires action on many fronts: scaling up renewable energy generation (e.g. solar panels, biofuels), prioritising sustainable waste management, promoting investment in green transportation solutions, and making buildings more energy efficient. Cities can also promote investments in nature-based solutions, such as green infrastructure, reforestation, and urban farming.
As the policy brief points out, municipal authorities have a key role to play in the transition towards a green economy because they are typically in charge of policy domains and services which directly impact the environment and the health of citizens.
A Cedefop skills forecast scenario, which looked at the implications of the EGD up to 2030 from a VET and skills perspective, shows that skills formation – both initial and during working life – will be crucial for filling the additional jobs created and enabling workers to transition into greener sectors and occupations.
While there are clear employment winners and losers among sectors more directly linked to sustainability and climate change, employment gains are also expected for almost all occupational categories, including middle-skilled and elementary occupations. Given that the twin transitions mutually reinforce one another, alongside green transition skills many green jobs will also require better digital skills compared to jobs in ‘brown’ sectors, irrespective of skill level.
Cedefop policy brief research evidence
- Jobs and skill changes for greener and smarter cities
- Wanted! More staff in knowledge-intensive occupations
- Data, technology and soft skills fuel the green transition
- Key occupations in SGCs
- SGC profiles and skills shortages delay SGC development
- VET contribution to shaping SGCs
- Making SGC jobs (more) attractive
Delivering such skills, VET has a key role to play in accommodating economic and social change. VET needs to cooperate with governments, employers, universities and research institutions and regional and local players.
The skills foresight exercise conducted by Cedefop, as reported in this latest policy brief, seeks to identify the occupations, jobs and skills needed to enable cities to transition towards a ‘greener’ and ‘smarter’ / more intelligent and sustainable future and to explore the significant role that VET can play in the process.
