How can countries develop green skills for future infrastructure needs?

Building infrastructure sustainably is necessary to fight rising temperatures across the globe.

Many governments have introduced strategies combatting climate change, with a focus on sustainable infrastructure.

However, actioning these strategies has often proved challenging, as new skills are often needed to deliver projects.

The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the ICE-convened Enabling Better Infrastructure (EBI) programme recently hosted a virtual event on how to tackle this issue.

They shared examples of governments that have taken steps to tackle the skills gap and deliver green infrastructure going forward.

The event aligned with principle 4 of the EBI guidance, which encourages governments to scope ahead to ensure they can overcome bottlenecks later on in the infrastructure life cycle.

This includes developing the skills needed to ensure the success of their strategy.

Here are the key takeaways from the event:

South Africa: using national priorities to promote skills and training

South Africa is determined to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments. They outline how their governments will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve their NDC targets.

One way that South Africa has shown its commitment to NDC is through the Just Energy Investment Plan (JET-IP).

The JET-IP sets out the needs and investments required to achieve the commitments made under the NDC.

It lays out three key sectors related to sustainable infrastructure that need to be decarbonised to support the economy of the future:

1. Electricity (e.g., rail network, transmission grids).
2. Electric vehicles (e.g., public transport, charging infrastructure).
3. Hydrogen economy (e.g., construction of roads and ports).

Skills needed for the listed sectors include:

• Practical skills training for mining and fossil fuel industries with a renewable energy component (e.g., solar electricity);
• an understanding of vehicle production, battery technology, basic repair practices; and
• the properties and characteristics of hydrogen.

Joanne revealed that there was a lack of skills to perform jobs in these sectors.

This was partly due to the results coming from technical and training institutions in South Africa, which were not always at the required standard.

Joanne outlined the two main areas that JET-IP has been focusing on to build on these skills:

1. Working with stakeholders to address skills gaps

The training and education offered in South Africa will be updated to include the skills required to perform jobs in the sectors outlined above.

To achieve this, JET-IP works closely with the Department of Higher Education and Training and entities involved in environmental skills development (e.g., labour, education institutions, training providers and the private sector).

In all cases, this involves providing more training options for individuals, such as technical training, youth programmes and community work programmes.

2. Taking a geographic approach to training

Establishing centres for learning in appropriate areas is also important to ensure that training is impactful and supports the need for skills in different areas.

JET-IP’s plan includes skills development zones close to where the three key sectors operate:

• Mpumalanga: electricity
• Eastern Cape: automotive industry
• Northern Cape: centre for the green hydrogen economy

Working with stakeholders and taking a geographic approach is the right step in preparing individuals for a world where these sectors will be the focus.

It also brings together local partners to support their area’s economic development.

Spain: understanding the big picture to identify skills gaps

Spain’s National Climate Change Adaptation Plan demonstrates how green jobs can help the country address the certainty of climate change.

That said, it also shows the challenges surrounding these roles and how they can deliver the adaptation plan:

• Finding workers with the skills required;
• the need for workers to upgrade their skills; and
• the impact that these jobs can have on vulnerable groups.

To respond to these challenges, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge identified the jobs Spain will need and the skills and training needed to perform them.

The ministry’s research found 40 strategic occupations related to green jobs and engineering, including electric vehicle specialists and transport planners. It also covered new construction and maintenance skills related to sustainability.

Its study also noted that training programmes weren’t flexible enough to adapt to changing labour market demands (e.g., green jobs).

Responding to concerns

To address these concerns, the government created the green entrepreneurial network. Its aim is to help provide training for the unemployed, workers, and entrepreneurs to support them in acquiring new and upgraded skills. It will also promote green jobs in infrastructure.

Since the ministry’s study was published, it’s also worth mentioning that the government has called for proposals to ensure that vulnerable groups are included in the training process.

This involves including different courses in institutions that are designed to train individuals with all levels of experience.

Including everyone will help everyone prepare for a labour market that focuses on sustainable infrastructure.

About the ICE-UNEP joint event

The event is the first in a series of UNEP and EBI webinars on scoping ahead to drive success in 2025.

Watch the recording of the entire event

You can also register for the next session, which will take place on 25 June 2025.