Green Skills for Green Jobs - Guidance for Uk Higher Education

Green Skills for Green Jobs - Guidance for UK Higher Education

The Green Skills project team was convened by Oxford Brookes University, working in collaboration with SOS UK and four other universities: Aston University; De Montfort University; University of Exeter; and Manchester Metropolitan University. The QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project bid was originally prepared by Oxford Brookes University (OBU) and SOS UK. Representatives of all the collaborating parties made up the project team, which was further expanded with the appointment of a Student Research Assistant funded by the successful bid.

Four specific objectives were to:

Distinguish green skills from broader existing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) HE curriculum frameworks
Demonstrate the applicability and utility of selected green skills frameworks
Gather empirical evidence across stakeholder groups (students, HE professionals,employers) of the extent to which current curricula (formal, co-curricular, extracurricular)support green skills acquisition
Develop co-created recommendations for sharing good practice and addressing developmental areas

Setting the scene

Green skills in the context of Education for Sustainable Development

The growth of interest in how Higher education can contribute to a more sustainable future, often framed relative to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has already generated a body of guidance. Notable is the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Guidance of QAA/Advance HE (2021), for its attempt to direct attention to eight sustainability competencies as a framework for curriculum design, themed as ways of thinking, ways of practising, and ways of being.

The most recent UK Quality Code for Higher Education (QAA, 2024) encourages the delivery of ESD to ‘ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development’ (SDG target 4.7). The Subject Benchmark Statements (SBS), designed to guide Higher Education providers on curriculum content and the nature of the student learning experience, are nested within the Quality Code and serve to provide further impetus for ESD (QAA, 2026). The most recent SBS review cycle intentionally places greater emphasis on wider ‘social goals’, including ESD.

Across many ESD-related publications and frameworks, the connections to green skills can be recognised or at least inferred. UNESCO’s (2024) ’Greening curriculum guidance’ states that, regardless of subject specialisation, students should be able to understand key climate concepts, including a critique of wider economic and social structures. The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) Scotland (2025: 7) green careers guide states “every job is a green job” and refers to green enabling jobs and behavioural change jobs that contribute to societal transformation. The emphasis on transformation is a central tenet of ESD; it is a critical pedagogy, envisaging a different future, and seeing learners as agents for influential change. Just as within ESD as a whole, so within green skills teaching and learning this transformative potential remains a central focus.

ESD frameworks typically provide a breakdown of knowledge, skills and behaviours associated with each element of a framework. However, these sustainability frameworks often do not explicitly outline the importance of technical and, moreover, transferable skills to deliver transformative green outcomes. This report thus also aims to address this gap in the guidance literature and support the greater embedding of all the skills needed for green transition within the curriculum.

Four-panel collage depicting sustainability and environmental action: people studying together outdoors, recycling symbols, wind turbines at sunset, and colleagues discussing an eco-friendly project.

Glossary

Green/Environmental: This captures climate, nature, water, air, biodiversity, animals, organisms, landscapes, ecosystems, and other related terms

Green Jobs: “The opportunity for green jobs and skills should not be considered as niche or restricted to certain sectors of the economy. Every job has the potential to become ‘green’ as the world moves to combat climate change” (gov.uk, 2021 p.6)

Specialist green/sustainability role: With particular technical expertise related to the role/sector

Non-specialist/generalist green/sustainability role: Wider ‘business acumen’ and softer skills applicable to generalist sustainability roles and ideally, the wider workforce

Green and Just Transition: “Greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind” (ILO 2024)

Social justice and equity: Human rights at the core of decision-making on climate change and social-environmental problems to address structural inequalities and intra/intergenerational equity

Green skills: “The skills needed by the workforce, in all sectors and at all levels, in order to help the adaptation of products, services and processes to the transformations due to climate change and to environmental requirements and regulations” (OECD/Cedefop, 2014, p. 16).

Technical green skills: Specialist skills for particular occupational sectors, tasks and roles

Transferable green skills: Applicable across roles/sectors (sometimes referred to as soft, generic, cross-cutting, transversal) - relevant to both sustainability roles (technical and general) and the wider workforce

Transformative green skills: Encompassing transferable skills, along with skills aligned to deeper systemic change/disruptive thinking - relevant to both sustainability roles (technical and general) and the wider workforce

Defining Terms: What do we mean by 'green skills'?

The literature review section (below) of this report explores the continually evolving conceptualisations of green jobs and green skills. In brief the project sees:

Green jobs in a way consistent with the ‘Green Jobs Taskforce Report’ (gov.uk, 2021, p. 6) which emphasises,

The opportunity for green jobs and skills should not be considered as niche or restricted to certain sectors of the economy. Every job has the potential to become ‘green’ as the world moves to combat climate change, and there are a huge range of skills which will support the transition to a net zero economy.

Green skills as,

The skills needed by the workforce, in all sectors and at all levels, in order to help the adaptation of products, services and processes to the transformations due to climate change and to environmental requirements and regulations.

(OECD/Cedefop, 2014, p. 16).

Supported by The International Labour Organization (2024: no page) view of green skills as,

Greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.

While recognising critiques in some quarters of the term ‘green skills’ as insufficiently holistic, this report follows the mainstream narrative of governmental, academic and industry/market sources in using the term to focus explicitly on the skills needed to address climate and wider environmental challenges.

The project methodology included recruitment to and delivery of at least one workshop at each university partner; and subsequent analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Central to the methodology was consistent engagement with three stakeholder groups: students, university staff, and employer representatives. Quantitative data were generated during the workshops using Slido polls and qualitative data were captured on Padlet discussion boards and in workshop transcripts.

Seven workshops were delivered between November 2025 and April 2026. There were 125 participants in total - 54 students, 44 HE staff and 27 employer representatives.

The workshops were built around UNICEF’s (2024) framework of technical, transferable and transformative green capabilities/skills as this was highlighted within the literature review and provided a sufficiently comprehensive yet manageable set of skills to facilitate meaningful discussion. The workshops also used Project Drawdown’s (2021/2025) ‘Drawdown-aligned business framework’ to provide a distinctive, organisationally oriented structure for discussion.

Central to the methodology was consistent engagement with three stakeholder groups: students, university staff, and employer representatives. A key contribution to project design, execution, and research assistance was made by Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS) UK.

The workshop resources are shared in the appendices of this report, so that they may be used by other institutions that wish to run the workshop. The supporting powerpoint slide deck can be accessed via the QAA project site.

Ethics Approval

The study and its methodology were initially approved by the Oxford Brookes Research Ethics Committee. Subsequently, the four other participating universities submitted related applications within their institutions and received approval to generate data through their networks.

Workshop Delivery

Eight workshops were planned, of which seven were fully delivered. Of these seven, six were online and one was in person. Workshops took place between November 2025 and April 2026. There were 125 participants in total. Each workshop lasted two hours and was facilitated by two members of the core project team.

Workshop Pilot

Oxford Brookes University ran the first workshop in September 2025 to pilot the workshop resources. Following this, revisions were made to the Padlet design in order to simplify the requirements.

Participant Recruitment Criteria

Students - open to UG, PG and Research students, with a minimum of one year in Higher Education (not necessarily at the institution where the workshop took place), and with a demonstrable interest in sustainability. Recruited via staff and student union/society networks, using email, leaflets and word of mouth.

University staff - educators, educational support and other professional services staff (e.g, estates, careers). Recruited via messaging within existing teaching and university sustainability staff networks.

Employers - representatives (including HR, graduate recruiters, operational managers) of employers known to the careers, alumni and business engagement teams of the five university partners.Recruited via email and word of mouth.

Incentives

Students were offered a £15 voucher as a thank you for participating in a workshop. Other participants were not materially incentivised. Catering was provided at the in-person workshop.

Types of data generated

Quantitative - during the workshops, participants were asked to identify the Project Drawdown Leverage Points most relevant/meaningful to them individually. These inputs were captured on a Slido poll and subsequently analysed. In addition, once in breakout rooms/on breakout tables, participants were asked to collectively agree two Leverage Points to focus their discussions on.

These choices were captured on Padlets.

Qualitative - the Padlets also captured individual reflections and summaries of group discussions on the two chosen Leverage Points. In the context of these Leverage Points, participants were also asked to discuss what was working well/could be improved with reference to the teaching and application of the technical, transferable, and transformative skill categories in the UNICEF framework. Audio recordings were made of all breakout discussions, and transcripts generated.

Qualitative analysis, therefore, draws on both the Padlet contributions and the transcripts.

Green Jobs: a ‘shades of green’ approach

The demand for green jobs and green skills is described as ‘resilient’ at both the global (World Economic Forum (WEF), 2025) and UK national level (LinkedIn, 2026; PwC, 2024). Such resilience is reflected in successive LinkedIn ‘Global Green Skills reports (2024,2025), which show that global demand for green talent has grown twice as quickly as the supply of labour, and that, in 2025, hiring for green talent has grown at twice the pace of skills in the workforce. "Environmental stewardship" has entered the top 10 fastest-growing skills 2025-30 for the first time (WEF, 2025), thus illustrating the relevance of green skills across a spectrum of job roles. LinkedIn's (2026) analysis of green skills in the UK identifies that 36% of UK workers are interested in green transition roles, rising to 55% among millennials and 49% among Gen Z. 79% of firms in the European Union report a lack of appropriately skilled staff as a barrier to green investment - a mismatch projected to leave nearly one in five green-skill vacancies unfilled by 2030 (Cedefop, 2026)

In the UK, the Confederation of British Industry (Confederation of British Industry, 2025) details that total employment contributions from the net-zero economies have grown considerably (15.2%) and support 125,700 more full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs than in 2022. At a time of complex global climate politics, the World Economic Forum (WEF) (2025) ‘Future of Jobs’ report gives confidence that the green transition remains a priority for many global organisations, with a significant increase expected in organisational transformations to reduce carbon emissions. The WEF report highlights that green jobs have remained resilient through disruptions, such as the Covid pandemic, and is clear about the need for the workforce to be equipped with the skills necessary for a net-zero future. The International Labour Organization (2025) highlights the intersection between the green and digital transformations, and calls for more alignment in policies and qualifications that address both transitions simultaneously - such as the spectrum of skills for energy-efficient data technologies.

There have been many differing definitions of green jobs, since early United Nations policy definitions. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2008: 3) adopted a limited sectoral scope focusing on a ‘substantial’ contribution to ‘preserving or restoring environmental quality’ while also noting the need for ‘decent work’. In 2016, the International Labour Organization literature began to extend beyond traditional sectors to new, emerging sectors such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. There have since been many further definitions arising from policy concepts through to statistical measurement definitions, but in common is the interrelationship between environmental sustainability and labour markets and the need for a ‘fair and just’ transition (International Labour Organization, 2023).

A comprehensive categorisation of green jobs drawing on the well-known US Bureau of Labour Statistics O*NET is provided by Dickinson et al. (2022: 5):

Green New and Emerging Occupations: these are occupations that have unique requirements for working in or on the decarbonisation of goods, processes and services, such as electric vehicle power unit designers.
Green Enhanced Skills and Knowledge Occupations: occupations that currently exist but require a change in their competencies and/or context for working in or on the decarbonisation of goods, processes and services e.g., maintenance of electric vehicles (EVs);
Green Increased Demand Occupations: those occupations whose demand is increased due to the decarbonisation of goods, processes and services, but do not entail significant changes to their competencies or context e.g., example electric power line installers.

However, such definitions are not universally agreed. For example, some consider only low-carbon sectors to be ‘green’, while others associate green skills and jobs only with sectors that are decarbonising and enabling others to work on decarbonisation (Simmonds & Lally, 2024). The ”lack of clarity about the definition of occupations and skills for the green transition” is described as standing “in the way of identifying them and forecasting skills needs” by Cedefop, (the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) (Cedefop & UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2025, p. 13).

The Green Jobs Foundation (2025) describes the greening of jobs as being at a ‘point of flux’ and emphasises the need to move on from debates on what green jobs are, and instead to focus on skills development. It describes ‘shades of green’ based on jobs that are directly or indirectly green, enabling green work, thus transforming all sectors and roles. This is supported by the ‘Green Jobs Taskforce Report’ (gov.uk, 2021, p. 6) which defines green jobs and associated skills as those that both directly contribute to and indirectly support the achievement of UK net zero emissions targets:

The opportunity for green jobs and skills should not be considered as niche or restricted to certain sectors of the economy. Every job has the potential to become ‘green’ as the world moves to combat climate change, and there are a huge range of skills which will support the transition to a net zero economy.

Reay’s (2023, p. 10) report for the UK Climate Change Committee sets out sector-level skills implications, categorised as having a ‘core’, ‘enabling’, or ‘peripheral’ role in a green transition, with differing implications within each. However, there are challenges in using large datasets, such as job advertisements, since green skills may not be explicitly specified in job descriptions for technical specialist roles, where such skills (such as environmental compliance) are implicitly expected (Cedefop & UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2025). The report also highlights that ‘job greenness’ is not always made explicit in skills requirements, even when integral to broader skills supportive of organisational mission and vision. As (Cedefop & UNESCO-UNEVOC (2025, p. 25) note, “Requesting employees to be innovative so that they can drive and adapt to change, while not solely relevant for green transition, can play an important role in shaping it”.

Rather than separate ‘green’ from ‘brown’ jobs (Bohnenberger, 2022), Cedefop (2023) recommends a ‘greenness’ scale can be helpful to classify jobs, recognising that most jobs probably include ‘green’ and ‘non-green’ tasks and skills. Similarly, the Institute for Apprentices (2023) categorises ‘light green’, ‘mid-green’ and ‘dark-green’ occupations. A European Union project on ‘Green Guidance’ provides a suite of publications that are relevant to career practitioners and educators, one of which recommends being “clear about what green jobs are and how individuals can engage in their careers in a green way even if they are not in a green job […] understanding about and capability in the skills that are needed for the green economy” (Bakke et al. 2024: 33). Another publication details that “Green jobs are difficult to define. It is likely to be more helpful for both guidance professionals and individuals to use a variety of labour market information and data to assess the relative ‘greenness’ of jobs as part of their career decision making” (Hooley et al. 2024: 31).

Deloitte and IEMA (2022) define green jobs as ‘specialist roles that focus on specific domains or initiatives dedicated to improving environmental outcomes for an organisation or the economy”. It also sets out the need for an “environmentally sustainable mindset as the norm for everyone”, in that all employees will need environmental awareness with corresponding shifts towards green skills in non-specialist sustainability roles. This project is informed in particular by Deloitte and IEMA’s (2022) identification of four shifts in the market for green jobs and green skills, which includes; specialist green skills for new green sectors; green skills in non-specialist roles; expanding skill sets for those in specialist sustainability roles; and transition of workforces from unsustainable sectors.

Arguably, all individuals have some degree of choice in how they apply skills to job roles to manage environmental impact, and this choice is influenced by attitudes and dispositions (OECD, 2025). Such a perspective supports Carosin and Canzittu’s (2019) career guidance for the 21st century, which advocates the importance of self-awareness in enabling individuals to understand their interests and values, alongside awareness of the labour market and the impact of various industries, in order to align personal and societal development. This is also reflected in the OECD (2025) ‘Career readiness framework for green guidance’, which advocates for foundational environmental literacy for all to support individuals in exploring, experiencing, and progressing towards green jobs. Thus, in summary, the position adopted in this report is that every job can be ‘greened’ (i.e. a shades of green approach), and that this categorisation carries a broad spectrum of skills requirements, which are explored in the following section.

Skills for the green transition: Technical-Transferable-Transformative (TTT)

Having positioned the potential for all jobs to be greened in the previous section, green skills are, accordingly, understood within this report as:

The skills needed by the workforce, in all sectors and at all levels, in order to help the adaptation of products, services and processes to the transformations due to climate change and to environmental requirements and regulations

(OECD/Cedefop, 2014, p. 16)

This report also draws on a definition of green skills by The International Labour Organization (2024: no page) as:

Greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.

Taken together, the green transition calls for skills that straddle climate and related environmental concerns, including those related to nature, water, and biodiversity, while promoting equity and inclusivity in addressing structural inequalities as well as intra- and intergenerational equity. Before setting out the frameworks which have informed this design, this section begins by providing some context on the landscape of green skills terminology. The term ‘green skills’ is used broadly here to encompass abilities, capacities, knowledge, and competencies, which are distinct yet interrelated concepts. Despite the common phrasing ‘green skills’, as reflected by the section title, they might be better understood as ‘skills for the green transition’ to reflect their broad scope.

Terminology and classification of green skills

The European Classification of Occupations, Skills and Competencies (ESCO) identifies 571 green skills (European Commission, 2022). The open-source ‘Green Skills Map’ features 243 green skills clusters (Green Skills, 2025). It was not the aim of this research to comment on how green skills are classified, but rather to identify a suitable framing to inform workshop design in a way that could be readily understood by students, educators and employers. Of significance among green skills classifications is the differentiation between those skills that are generally transferable across job roles and functions, and those that unlock and enable ‘just transition’ through addressing social and economic structures. Accordingly, this project differentiates green skills by whether they are technical, transferable, or transformative.

LinkedIn’s (2025) ‘Global green skills report’ identified 1,200 green skills across 12 categories, which are similarly adopted in the LinkedIn (2026) ‘UK green skills report’. Although the UK report does not explicitly detail transferable skills and transformative capacities, it describes green skills as ‘core business skills’, which are illustrated across its case studies and its statement that the data shows:

Green skills diffusing across organizations and roles, becoming a standard part of how work is done, particularly as mitigating risk, increasing resilience, and thinking systemically become fundamental aspects of more job titles.

(LinkedIn 2026: 13)

"The Green Jobs Foundation (2025, p. 26) describes how “the skill itself isn’t always green, it’s the purpose that makes it green.” Aligning with this, OECD (2024) and the Green Alliance (2026) both suggest it is more accurate to discuss 'skills for a green transition' - for example a cook devising new menus to reduce food waste or a data analyst using their skills to support investment in green technology instead of fossil fuels. How an individual chooses to apply skills depends on both job market opportunities and individual values and characteristics.

Skills England (2026: 54) Standard Skills Classification for the UK explicitly recognises green skills, alongside digital skills, STEM and AI, and touches upon ‘green and green enabling skills’. This follows the governmental ‘Net Zero’ report (gov.uk, 2021, p. 90), which sets out the importance of ‘cross-cutting’ skills to a green transition, which it describes as “an array of skills not unique to green roles”, and that go beyond ‘technical’ roles. At a global scale, the International Labour Organisation (2025) is clear that the twin technological and green transitions will require both technical and interpersonal skills, noting the increasing value placed on interpersonal skills, as they are less susceptible to technological replacement. A case study within LinkedIn’s (2026) UK green skills report also illustrates the intersection of AI, green skills, and human capacity:

AI and data are critical enablers of the energy transition, but it's people who turn insight into impact. By equipping engineers and operators to question, interpret, and apply these tools, we unlock human creativity and collaboration — essential capabilities for tackling the most complex sustainability challenges.

(Lisa Wee, AVEVA Chief Sustainability Officer- LinkedIn, 2026: 28)

The QS World Future Skills Index (2027: 27) found that employer demand gaps are most pronounced not in technical skills but in ‘human cognitive skills’ and ‘human-centred leadership’ and that closing the skills gap "will require focus on building the experiential, judgement-forming and leadership-development infrastructure". Such focus is also apparent in Krstic and Towne’s (2026) British Council study of higher education alumni across 130 countries, in which the skills most frequently identified as developed during UK study for career success included critical thinking, collaboration/teamwork, self-confidence, and communication.

Technical versus transferable and transformative skills

Notably, as far back as 2010, Cedefop called for improving ‘generic’ green skills across the workforce (Cedefop, 2010), and, in more recent work, differentiates between ‘technical’ and ‘transversal’ skills, which is a helpful underpinning for the approach to workshop design in this project.

Skills and competences but also knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live, work and act in resource-efficient and sustainable economies and societies. They are:
technical: required to adapt or implement standards, processes, services, products and technologies to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and to reduce energy, materials and water consumption. Technical skills can be occupation-specific or cross-sectoral;
transversal: linked to sustainable thinking and acting, relevant to work (in all economic sectors and occupations) and life. Alternatively referred to as ‘sustainability competences’, ‘life skills’, ‘soft skills’ or ‘core skills’.

(Cedefop, 2022, p. 5)

The definition of ‘transversal’ skills above illustrates that several alternative terms are used to describe non-technical/specialist skill sets. Table 1 presents thirteen terms identified in this literature review to describe such skills; while this is indicative rather than exhaustive, it illustrates the broad terminology surrounding green skills. This diversity of terminology might act as a barrier to understanding; thus, the classification of technical-transferable-transformative (TTT) adopted in this project is one suggestion that might help overcome it. Further analysis could focus on distinguishing factors related to skill, capability, and competencies, alongside dimensions such as knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. The purpose here is to position the adoption of ‘transferable’ and ‘transformative’ skills as differentiated from ‘technical’ skills, for the purpose of this research.

Table 1: Terminology for ‘non-specialist’ green skills

Terminology	Reference
Transferable	(Cedefop, 2023; gov.uk, 2021; SOS-International, 2024; UNICEF, 2024)
Transformative	(Kwauk & Casey, 2021; Simmonds & Lally, 2024; UNICEF, 2024; VET, 2023; Bodor et al, 2025)
Generic	(Cedefop, 2010; Kwauk & Casey, 2021; Pavlova & Singh, 2022; VET, 2023)
Cross-cutting	(gov.uk, 2021)
Enabling	(Green Skills, 2025; Simmonds & Lally, 2024)
Green mindset	(Cedefop, 2023; Pavlova & Singh, 2022)
Soft	(Economist Impact, 2024; SOFTEN, 2024; SOLAS, 2024; SOS-International, 2024; THE, 2025)
Cross-sectoral	(Economist Impact, 2024)
Instrumental	(Kwauk & Casey, 2021; Simmonds & Lally, 2024; UNICEF, 2024)
Transversal	(Cedefop, 2022; European Commission, 2022; European Training Foundation, 2023; Nesta, 2021; SOLAS, 2024; VET, 2023)
Understanding/attitudes	(Simmonds & Lally, 2024)
General	(World Skills UK, 2022)
Cross-functional	(Nesta, 2021)
Human	(THE, 2025)
Adaptive	(Fuchs, 2024)
Intrapersonal	(Fuchs, 2024)
Emancipatory	(Fuchs, 2024)

Source: Authors

The VET (2023) green skills toolkit, for example, distinguishes between technical (for upskilling and new green jobs) and transversal skills, which it terms ‘generic’ and ‘transformative’. The analysis of big data from online job advertisements provides insight into the relevance of ‘transversal’ skills such as teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving in technical green role profiles, such as those of renewable energy professionals (Cedefop & UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2025, p. 28). The identification of ‘transformative’ capacities can be linked to the integration of climate justice into the skills literature (Kwauk & Casey, 2021; Kwauk & Casey, 2022). The RACE Report (2025) highlights the disparity in minority ethnic representation within environmental and conservation-focused organisations, and LinkedIn (2026) spotlights the gender gap in green skills in the UK. Equity and inclusivity for a just green transition must be fundamental considerations in workforce skills development and educational curricula alike, guided by inclusive design principles.

Frameworks underpinning the TTT design of this research

Kwauk and Casey’s (2021, 2022) green skills framework underpins the design of this research, in its identification of what it terms ‘instrumental’ (categorised as ‘specific and ‘general’) through to transformative capacities (in which generic capacities are described as “cross-cutting skills that service both technical, instrumental and adaptive, transformative ends”). This framework was adapted by UNICEF (2024), which built on it to distinguish between technical (rather than ‘specific’) and transferable (rather than ‘generic’). The workshop design here draws on UNICEF's reframing of skills as technical, transferable, and transformative.

The broad applicability of Kwauk and Casey’s original framework is suggested by its adoption in a slightly revised form in Simmonds and Lally’s (2024) parliamentary brief on green skills in education and employment. The technical-transferable-transformative framing has been used effectively to analyse interview findings from sustainability business leaders regarding perceptions of skills needs (Cripps, 2026). It has also been successfully deployed in ‘An organisational guide to skills for green workforce transformation’ (Cripps and Ho 2026), in which industry leaders author chapters premised upon the application of transferable and transformative skills.

Thus, the adoption of this UNICEF framing for workshop design here is premised on its broad applicability and accessibility from industry, policy, and research perspectives. The consideration of technical and transferable skills aligns more closely with the language used in job descriptions and organisational competency frameworks. For example, the current ‘Sustainability skills map’ of the ‘Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP 2026) distinguishes between core knowledge competencies, technical knowledge competencies and skills for sustainable leadership. ISEP differentiates between technical specialist and generalist roles; the latter having “an increased need for business strategy and ‘soft’ skills” (ISEP 2025: 29).

The Times Higher Education (THE) (2025a: 21) ‘Green Skills Assessment Framework’ features 12 green skill ‘touchpoints’ (or categories) across the learner journey in 3 pathways: classroom, society, and global. Within each category, skill areas are differentiated as ‘technical’ (discipline-specific), ‘human’ (cognitive and socio-behavioural skills that complement discipline-specific learning, also referred to as ‘soft skills’) and ‘application’ (development and practice in real-life settings). These three categories align with the ‘technical-transferable-transformative’ skills framing for this research.

The European Training Foundation (2023) similarly promotes ‘a holistic green education reform’ incorporating knowledge and skills alongside ‘sustainability mindsets’ that empower individuals towards pro-environmental behaviour. A typology of green skills by Pavlova and Singh (2022, based on Pavlova 2016/17) similarly illustrates the foundational importance of attitudes and values as part of a green mindset as a foundation to ‘generic skills’ (i.e. transferable skills) that are increasingly important across green specialist jobs and to support the ‘greening’ of more jobs. The holistic approach to skills for a green transition is captured well in a literature review for ‘Green Guidance’, which concluded that;

Green competencies are more than just technical ‘green skills’ but also include creativity, a wider understanding of social and political systems, the capacity to influence others and the capacity to manage your emotional response to environmental change.

(Bakke et al. 2024: 17)

Technical skills

A broad consensus that technical skills are generally taught well
Carbon Literacy Training frequently cited as an effective vehicle for green skills acquisition
Participants recognised that data literacy is increasingly central to sustainability roles
An interdisciplinary teaching approach is needed to get the full technical skills coverage needed in graduates
Employers are realistic about what can be expected.

Transferable skills

Widely seen as essential by all participants, especially adaptability, communication skills, resilience, strategic thinking and teamwork
But less tangible than technical skills, more difficult to know when learnt
Translational communication skills highlighted as essential
Concern that teaching the transferable skills is often surface level
Gaps in relation to resilience (highlighted by employers, linked by some to Covid), empathy and confidence
Curiosity, the ability to challenge, active listening and questioning – all important but missing from the UNICEF list, but foundational to underpinning subsequent transformative skills

Transformative skills

The least talked about of the three categories, which some ascribed to the challenges involved
Agreement that the ‘ability to analyse unequal systems of power’ is a foundational skill in the transformative category, backed up by systems and anticipatory thinking
A lack of staff confidence cited as a factor by some educators
Some calls for a greater focus on social justice in the curriculum
Calls (within the context of LP3 particularly) to support students to better understand the reality of political processes, lobbying and influencing policy making
A challenge cited a few times: short-termism in industry vs need for long-term thinking

Transversal theme findings

Recognition that the three categories of skills are interconnected in multiple ways and an associated priority to develop skills within interdisciplinary settings. Within this context, the centrality of translational skills (and associated inter-personal skills) was a recurrent theme.
Scaffolding and sequencing needed so that transferable skills acquisition enables transformative capacity building
Experiential and work-based/integrated learning central to green skills learning and application
It takes time for students to recognise and value green skills development. This could be better supported by promoting green careers opportunities, identifying transferable skills as explicitly green, and supporting students more to articulate their ongoing skills development.
Green skills education like all ESD must facilitate agency, hope and confidence, not anxiety and overwhelm
The need for universities to better support the transition to the day-to-day ‘reality’ of the workplace, including the ‘shock’ of encountering people and systems that don’t reflect a green and transformative mindset
Siloed disciplinary structures in HE identified as a structural barrier - a pedagogical issue and an institutional design problem
Weak feedback loops between HE and employers
Profound concern about AI in the context of green skills teaching and learning; its environmental impacts, ethical dilemmas and impacts on student behaviours e.g. encouraging ‘laziness’ and less criticality

Overall, the findings suggest that developing green skills requires an approach that better integrates technical skills with transferable and transformative capabilities, supported by ‘real-world’ experience and stronger collaboration between HE and its stakeholders.

Conclusions and recommendations

The following conclusions and recommendations are derived from our literature review, workshop findings and case study organisational examples.

For policy makers and HE institutional leaders

Recognise that the green transition is a political as well as a skills project, and that this requires
(a) expertise in political change and advocacy processes as well as
(b) resilience in the institutional commitment to green skills and tackling climate change in the face of potential opposition
Start from the position that every job can potentially be greened, and that green skills are relevant to all jobs and all disciplines
Recognise that if this potential is acknowledged and acted upon by policy makers, educators and students alike, it will contribute towards employability, organisational and sustainability outcomes
Work with the grain of existing institutional teaching and learning commitments, and build on prior Education for Sustainable Development engagement eg with Circular Economy principles
Adopt a green skills framing to signify/brand the distinctive employability priorities arising from prior institutional adoption of commitments to ESD and initiatives such as UNPRME, CoDesigns, Responsible Futures, etc.
Signal support at institutional level for curricular, co and extra curricular engagement with issues of inequality, social justice and political literacy as these are foundational for transformative action taking
Make use of the UNICEF and Project Drawdown frameworks, the value of which for curriculum review has been demonstrated through this project
Ensure senior leadership teams are able to engage in and influence policy level discussion with employers, skills agencies and public bodies, locally and beyond, on green skills development needs across diverse subject areas
Ensure senior leadership teams are able and willing to promote positive green skills narratives in the media
Align policy related to AI with green skills policy to ensure the digital and green transformations are complementary
Consider the implementation of green skills or skills for a green transition CPD for teaching and related professional services staff.

For curriculum designers and teachers

Recognise the need for an integrated and scaffolded approach to technical, transferable and transformative skill development; in particular that certain transferable skills are prerequisites for transformative skill acquisition and application
Conduct curriculum mapping of green skills and how these are assessed, with a view to ensuring multiple exposures to green skill learning opportunities across the duration of a programme of study
Integrate green skills across formal, co and extra curricular initiatives - with an emphasis on the opportunities offered by all forms of experiential and Work Integrated Learning (including placements, internships, live consultancy projects, scenario-based role plays etc)
Embed more micro learning opportunities within and alongside the curriculum, to increase inclusivity of access to green skills learning
Work closely with students to integrate and scaffold skills development through curriculum review and design
Keep the need for student agency (a change agent mindset) and related transformative capacities at the forefront of programme design at every level, in the light of the contested environments in which students/graduates will need to call upon their green skills
Embed regular reflective practice requirements including, where appropriate, in assessments as a means to capture and make visible green skill learning and application
Regularly assess the relevance of green technical skills teaching and acquisition across all subject areas, utilising alumni and current placement students for real-time data gathering, and including reference to professional association requirements where relevant
Seek professional body (e.g. ISEP) accreditation for programmes of study where relevant to likely future graduate careers
Develop diverse interdisciplinary learning experiences via green transition challenge projects (see case studies)
View systems concepts as foundational for interdisciplinary initiatives
Recognise that AI adoption will continue to impact the nature of green skill needs for the economy and develop practice that recognises this intersection. In particular take an approach to AI-related curriculum development which reflects the opportunities for green skill acquisition this offers (see Open University Responsible by Design case study)
Work with university partners (overseas delivery and local F.E) to ensure green skills development aligns with local economy and workforce needs
Engage with secondary schools and schools/ youth policy to support state education to provide the necessary transferable skills that can be further developed and support engagement with transformative skills in HE
Promote the take up of Carbon/Climate Literacy Training, for its potential to integrate technical, transferable and transformative skills acquisition and, through certification, for its contribution to employability outcomes

For careers and employability specialists

Expand work-based learning commitments to work-integrated learning commitments, to broaden impact (see case study examples)
For those working on a civic university agenda, recognise how supporting place-based future green economic activity in their localities can also generate vehicles for curriculum integration and student green skill development
Encourage employers to diversify the range of short and longer, green skills focused work based learning opportunities available to students, to increase equity of access
Allocate the staff time needed for creating and maintaining local place-based learning opportunities that require collaboration with local partners
As students can experience values-related workplace shock in transitioning to the workplace - be aware of the need to perform a balancing act in ‘preparing for the worst’ while encouraging a change agent mindset
Consistently signal green skills learning in the curriculum to help students build their own career narratives around green skills and thus make them visible to employers. This is particularly the case with the less tangible transferable and transformative skills
Resource careers teams to keep up to date with the local, national and international picture of green transition related job opportunities and associated skills discussions, based upon resources such as those of Green Guidance
Careers professionals and educators to coach students to signal green skills to employers, based upon the understanding that all job roles can be greened
Careers services and relevant academic modules to systematically promote green careers opportunities (utilising employers and alumni), emphasising the documented gap between labour market supply and demand

For student unions and student advocacy bodies

Advocate for an education system that supports students to develop as individuals with caring positive aspirations for themselves and the planet, using a green skills framework to guide this
Promote, and educate students about, the importance of green skills
Promote activities which support students to develop their transferable skills e.g. team building, emotional literacy, from freshers week onwards, as part of helping to scaffold learning that supports subsequent transformative capacity development
Support students to engage with academic and professional services staff on green skills issues, including providing guidance on how green skills activity can be captured in module evaluations
Encourage student societies to think about if and how their activities support green skills
Consider introducing a green skills society award
As employers in many cases of current and recent graduates, embed green skills in training opportunities and in staff development policies and practices, including in 1-1s as part of line management
Engage with HE sector and institutional level policy around green skills, highlighting the national shortfall of green skills as a structural issue

Future Research and Knowledge Exchange Priorities

How might universities embed the development of advocacy skills within the curriculum - to enable students/graduates to influence change within communities, organisations and political systems?
How are green skills best developed in different disciplinary contexts?
What drives students from different disciplines to engage with green skills or skills development for a green transition?
How do employers measure green skills within recruitment procedures and performance management systems?
To what extent does additional ‘green’ certification or professional association accreditation support graduate employability, in the experience of students and/or employers?
Do HE, FE, employers and private training organisations have a shared understanding of green skills needs and, if not, what are the implications of this?
What are the most effective levers to bring about changed skills priorities in Higher Education curricula?
How to better map and understand the barriers within HE to teaching, learning and applying transformative green skills?
What are international experiences of transformative green skills development in Higher Education, and what can UK HE learn from them?

Green Skills for Green Jobs project page

The project page includes more information about this project including the case studies, appendices and contact details of the project team.

QAA CEP Green Skills full report Oct 2026

Publication date: 20 Oct 2026

This QAA-funded collaborative enhancement project provides guidance for HE in the UK. It develops an understanding of employer, student and staff perceptions of green skills acquisition within UK HE curriculum practice and provides opportunities for sharing and developing good practice.

Author:	QAA
Format:	PDF
Size:	2.17 MB

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