PES Network showcases its commitment to the greening of labour markets
A recent PES Network webinar examined how public employment services (PES) can support the transition to greener labour markets. It highlighted in particular the role of PES in supporting skills adaptation and upskilling.
© Shutterstock / MEE KO DONG
The PES Network webinar on PES support to the greening of labour markets, 16 September 2021, engaged about 200 participants in examining the contribution PES can make to achieving the EU’s transition to a “modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy”.
The event built on the findings of the July 2021 PES Network study on Greening of the Labour Market and took inspiration from PES practices in Slovenia and France.
A key message was that the role of PES in supporting skills adaptation and upskilling will be a critical factor in the transition to a greener labour market. This means not only building the skills needed by jobs in new ‘green’ sectors, but also enabling significant adaptation within existing industries and building transversal skills that can underpin a greener economy overall – such as in information and communications technologies (ICT).
In practice, appropriate training support and vocational guidance depends a lot on the local and regional labour market context and the needs of individual sectors. Successful responses will therefore rely on effective cooperation between PES, employers, training institutions and other stakeholder groups - to both identify and meet rapidly evolving needs.
The PES Network will continue to develop and exchange the knowledge and understanding PES need to deliver on these ambitions. This will include updating outputs on the PES Knowledge Centre and sharing inspiring PES Practices.
A representative from the European Commission, DG EMPL, also outlined relevant EU initiatives in this field, including efforts under the European Skills Agenda to develop an updated taxonomy of skills for the green transition. A PES Network Working Group on taxonomies is aiming to feed into these efforts.
A full recording of the webinar is available here.