Environmental Skills and Net Zero Education
The Environmental Skills and Net Zero Education collection presents summaries of research papers that explore how vocational training, educational institutions, and targeted programs can simultaneously address climate change challenges and ensure favourable outcomes for all. The papers collectively examine various approaches to building sustainability competencies, from technical environmental job training to transformative capabilities that empower individuals to become agents of environmental and social change.
This article examines how teacher candidates from Western Kentucky University completed field experiences at the nation's first net zero school, a facility generating as much energy as it consumes through renewable sources.
This 2024 study examines how Denmark successfully integrated environmental skills into its vocational education system through a "polycentric governance" approach, where decision-making power is shared between multiple semi-autonomous groups rather than controlled centrally. The study demonstrates that successfully greening vocational education requires balancing stakeholder autonomy with coordinated support structures.
This article examines the complex role of environmental skills in enabling sustainability transitions, revealing that effective implementation requires going far beyond basic technical training. Through a comprehensive literature review, the article shows that successful Environmental Skills programs must combine technical-operational abilities with interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies, while being carefully tailored to local contexts and institutional frameworks.
This influential article by McGrath and Powell challenges the dominant "environmental skills" approach to vocational education and training (VET), arguing that simply training people for environmental jobs is insufficient for achieving true sustainability. Instead of focusing narrowly on economic growth and employability, they propose that VET must be fundamentally reimagined to support both human development and environmental sustainability.
The Institute for Career Development (ICD) implemented an environmental jobs training program for United Steelworkers Union members in four geographic regions. The study found that nationally recognized certifications improved job prospects, but many participants struggled due to lacking prerequisite math and test-taking skills. While environmental jobs training can help workers enter the green economy, the research concluded that fundamental literacy, math, and computer skills remain essential for successful training and employment in this sector.
This study of the MillionTreeNYC Training Program examined the experiences of young adults (18-25) entering green-collar jobs in urban natural resource management. Through interviews with graduates and supervisors, researchers found that while technical training was valuable, "soft skills" like workplace behavior and professional demeanor were equally crucial for success, indicating that green-collar training programs should emphasize both technical and interpersonal competencies.