The Green Edge Reports Roundup, August-24: Part One - General
Continuing with our selection of reports and other publications from this month’s reading list.
Again this month, we’re splitting our reading list into two posts. This one covers general categories. For Sectors, see Part Two.
֎ Reports we feel are particularly worth a look.
Skills
֎Vocational training: occupations with green skills are in high demand
IAB Forum, June 2024
A brief and excellent analysis over the 2013-2022 period in Germany which shows the shift to green skills away from brown ones (the degree of the shift almost balances across the two categories).
Developing Skills for Adaptation
IEMA, April 2024
Excellent set of slides which make the strong link between ISO standards and competences around sustainability and adaptation.
Leading a data-driven transition: How digitalisation is helping energy industry organisations grow greener, faster and better
DNV, 2024
A successful net zero transition is very much dependent on the development and application of a series of digital capabilities, and this survey of 1,300 industry professionals earlier this year highlights and lists out the main ones. One concern we have is the competition for talent, and for digital to outshine and win out against ‘dark’ green technical roles.
Exeter Education Incubator
University of Exeter
Worth digging around this site which captures the work at Exeter on innovating around education and the curriculum. We found the resources for systems and empathy mapping very helpful and would slot this into any workshop event.
Future Skills League Table 2022
University of Kingston, June 2022
An interesting set of surveys across students and employers. Two items grabbed our attention: first, the career pathway views of the students with 37% indicating they are seeking a non-linear career along with 18% wanting to pursue self-employment, and 12% freelancing; and second, the Future Skills Framework which perhaps might find a use within the emerging Skills England organisation.
Careers for Climate
Royal Meteorological Society, August 2024
A useful set of profiles (16 in all) showing the range of roles that are available to handle the changing climate and its implications, and described by the current role holders. Nothing new here as an approach but it does carry a powerful message for careers advisors in schools, FE and HE to inform and advise students.
The EFQM Model 2025
EFQM, 2024
Sustainability features strongly in the 2025 editions of the European Foundation Quality Model (see page 50). We find this model, and the related ones like the Baldrige Award really important as they make explicit a clear model as to how a high performing organisation works. It is this wider framework that any occupational competences should directly relate and underpin.
Labour Market
֎Working Conditions and Sustainable Work: Job quality side of climate change
Eurofound, July 2024
Looks at both the greening of work content and the context of the work where changing climate conditions change the physical nature of jobs (e.g. higher temperatures). Works its way through multiple sectors: energy, manufacturing, agriculture, transport, construction, hospitality, tourism, and water supply and waste management.
֎Four futures shaping the future of higher education in England
HEPI, June 2024
A helpful discussion of four possible futures for HE in England: an evolution of the present; delivering the 2010 vision; a place-based tertiary education system; and a differentiated system (jump to pages 33-34 to get the core elements of the four scenarios). This is an important paper and discussion as HE has a crucial role to play in the skills system of the UK alongside its R&D role and in supporting (leading?) regional and national growth. In our understanding of the realistic options going forward, a mix of the place-based and differentiated scenarios make the greatest sense. Best to read this report alongside the recent Independent Review of the Office for Students and the Office for Student’s own Financial Sustainability of Higher Education Providers in England (May 2024).
The Skills Imperative 2035: Essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce: Revised long-run labour market and skills projections for the UK. Workbook User Guide.
Warwick IER for NFER, August 2024
For anyone wanting to make the best use of the materials created through the Nuffield Foundation programme of work at the NFER, The Skills Imperative 2035, this guide is invaluable. Perhaps under Skills England we will see a greater co-ordination of the skills research and intelligence.
Understanding skill and qualification suitability in the labour market, UK: August 2024
ONS, August 2024
Delivering net zero goals is highly reliant on the ability of those in work taking on new and additional tasks, and others making a transfer from current to new roles. This set of data from ONS shows that around 20% of people are overqualified for the occupations they are in, with only 6.6% having the skills to work in another occupation to the one they are in in right now. This suggests there is significant potential in the labour market for making a personal change as a part of the net zero transition.
Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce: EU Policy Priorities for Skills
CEPS Policy Brief GI-NI H2020 Project, Centre for European Policy Studies, May 2024
Spells out the four priorities: anticipation of future skills, promotion of lifelong learning, labour market integration, and addressing redistribution impacts (of AI, of the green transition). Helps place the specific green skills policies into a wider perspective.
Migration of Talent: Implications for Countries of Origin
Science Policy Brief, EC, 2024
We found this report’s findings counterintuitive, and we hoped it might also cover the role of migration in the net zero transition. A number of schemes have been developed which seek to agree on a bilateral basis a migration deal which benefits both origin and host countries e.g. the Germany-India solar skills deal. We have to wonder if this example is the beginning of a trend.
Research on public attitudes towards the use of AI in education
Think for Responsible Technology Adoption Unit and the Department for Education, August 2024
Our interest here is very simple: AI has the potential to revolutionise the way in which materials are collated and formed into curriculum and then into programmes for delivery and recognition. Given the skills and knowledge gaps across the economy at work and at home, we need to find ways to radically reduce the costs of education and training, and deploy the scarce education and training staff more effectively. From the work we have seen in Asia and in particular Australia, some proprietary systems are available and proven right now.
Impacts of National Science Foundation Engineering Research Support on Society
National Academies, 2024
For anyone involved in attracting students to the idea of becoming an engineer this assessment report might be very useful. From our point of view, boosting the number of entrants into the multiple engineering careers is vital to ensure net zero investment can be delivered and maintained, and also to help drive innovation to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of current technologies.
Devolution/Regional Development
֎Net Zero by 2050: One Plan. Two Objectives. How green growth can build the Northern Powerhouse. Summary Report and Analytical Report
Data City for The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, July 2024
Two thoughts struck us on reading both reports on Northern England’s potential to achieve growth and net zero by 2050: first, this analysis should be run for the other major regions and nations that make-up the UK in order to have a full UK-wide picture; and second, translate the analyses using a skills perspective to view the implications for the education and training system across the UK. The Green Jobs Delivery Group’s Net Zero Workforce Plan could build on such an analysis or even feed into it, and hopefully we will see this happen by the end of 2024.
֎Good Green Jobs in European Cities, Good Green Jobs in North America, and Global Good Green Jobs in C40 Cities
C40 Cities, July 2024
A clutch of reports based on the experience and research of amost 100 major cities around the world. A couple of highlights: cities with more than 20% of total green jobs include Freetown, Nairobi, Accra, Lima and Bangkok; and, in Europe the range of the proportion of green jobs in the major cities is 3.2%-13.5%. Adds to the overall momentum of large groups of people living within net zero (circular economy) societies, and many of the “green” actions being taken are also all about making cities work better, more liveable, more accessible, etc.
Local Skills Improvement Plans and Employer Representative Bodies (England)
Department for Education, August 2024
Anyone wanting to access the LSIPs and see where they are leading, this link provides access to the 38 lead employer bodies (Chambers of Commerce in the main). It would be good to see the emerging Skills England body take an active role here in generating integrated outputs and analysis cutting across the 38 separate reports.
Enterprise M3 (including all of Surrey) Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) Progress Report
Surrey Chambers of Commerce, June 2024
Apart from the general update on progress against the initial plan’s objectives, there are also a descriptive update on major investments, more corporate moves etc. The Future Skills Hub has also developed further with its sector reviews, occupation updates, etc. and there’s one for the Green Economy. The LSIP progress report for the Solent area by Hampshire Chamber of Commerce is also available and is also worth a look with its sector-wide approach to net zero.
Spatial agglomeration, productivity and inequality
Think Piece by IFS for the Social Mobility Commission, August 2024
The transition towards net zero has the potential to create multiple job opportunities across the UK, and this report highlights the need to understand the role of opportunities in driving both growth and productivity, but also reducing inequality. The whole emphasis on social justice and a just transition requires the net zero transition to be assessed on its contribution to reducing inequality and improving the range of opportunities to everyone across the UK. It would be useful for the Social Mobility Commission to examine the unique and significant role net zero can play in social mobility and reducing inequality. It is also worth looking at another ‘think piece’ by the Social Mobility Commission looking at Innovation and Social Mobility which makes several similar points.
Social Mobility in the South-West: Levelling-up through education
Centre for Social Mobility, University of Exeter, April 2022
Our interest in this piece of work is twofold: one, seeking to have a systems wide approach across a region; and second, the crucial role of careers advice and support across all year groups.
The London Resilience Review
Mayor of London/GLA, July 2024
An exhaustive review of the issues and actions required for London’s resilience to heat, to flooding etc. Skills are intertwined throughout the review (which is great to see) and raises concerns over capacity and capability to progress the changes required at local authority level (in planning). On the heat side the National Academies produced an excellent briefing note.
Pot Pourri
֎Investment for a Just Transition: A Starting Point
Just Transition Commission, July 2024
This is a refreshing and very progressive workshop-derived briefing from Scotland. It makes a series of important, and well substantiated, statements, e.g. net zero investment does equal just transition investment, the importance of local authorities in shaping and delivering a just transition, the need for new financial investment models, etc. Four sectors are covered in greater detail: energy, transport, built environment and construction, and land use and agriculture. What we particularly liked about this briefing (leaving aside its excellent content) is the wish to have an adult, informed discussion about how we are to make the transition work for the planet, and all of use across society. Lessons for us all here.
Environomics: How the Green Economy is Transforming Your World
Dharshini David, Elliot and Thompson, June 2024
Explores how the world around us is changing, taking us through food, energy, fashion, technology, manufacturing, finance etc.. Provides a very readable account in each area. Our one major “but” is a simple one: skills don’t feature. Considering the sub-title of the book ‘transforming your world’ we did expect some comment on sustainability and circular economy as a mindset and a re-writing of business models.
Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades
Science 385 (884-892), August 2024
There’s an excellent chart in this paper, Figure 4 which covers effective policies and policy mixes for buildings, electricity, industry, and transport. Really helpful and instructive, and what would make it even better if the skills and people component of these policies mixes was also covered.
Welcome to the future: Innovate UK’s 50 emerging technologies Insights Report
UKRI and Innovate UK, December 2023
A useful view to the future, amongst the various groupings of technologies we see a list of clean technologies, and hydrogen highlighted. Feeds well into understanding future skills needs and their potential scale.