Launch of the Green Skills and Green Jobs Youth Consultation report at the United Nations High Level Political Forum 

The Green Skills and Green Jobs Youth Consultation report has now been launched at the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at an official side event in New York.  

The consultation was coordinated and prepared by SOS-International for the UN Environment Programme on behalf of the Green Jobs for Youth Pact Youth Advisory Group. Over 1,000 young people from 43 countries shared their views and aspirations for green skills and jobs through inclusive youth-led workshops.

This global consultation has provided a youth-led definition of green jobs and green skills, uniting voices from all corners of the world.  

Green skills are… the necessary knowledge, attributes and competencies to create a fairer, more sustainable future for all. Green skills are interdisciplinary, and must include both technical and soft skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, systems thinking and digital skills. Green skills are a golden thread that weave through multiple knowledge systems, including STEM, as well as the arts, humanities, and local and indigenous ways of knowing. 

Green jobs are… Roles that promote sustainability, aim to conserve the environment, and respond to the climate and ecological emergency. Green jobs will foster a sustainable future for ourselves and for future generations. We recognise that almost all jobs can be oriented towards being a green job, and sustainability knowledge should be considered a necessity for every job description. 

Through the consultation, there was global consensus that more needs to be done to improve the accessibility and availability of green skills and green jobs for young people, leading to some key youth calls to action for educators, employers, and policymakers, which are summarised in the report. 

The UN High Level Political Forum saw Zamzam Ibrahim, SOS-International Director and Youth Advisory Group member for the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, moderate discussions at the International Green Skills and Green Jobs for Youth roundtable. A three-part dialogue between young people and high-level stakeholders from higher education, industry and employers, and policymakers discussed what is needed to equip students for a just transition to a green economy. Quinn Runkle, SOS-UK Director of Education, presented the consultation outcomes, and the roundtable was attended by representatives from various UN agencies, universities, businesses, and government.

The outcomes for the consultation and roundtable will accelerate progress for green skills and green jobs worldwide and drive the transition towards a just green economy with the future of young people at its heart. The definitions developed through this consultation will be used by the Green Jobs for Youth Pact to inform its wider work and upcoming initiatives. In support of the Pact, the International Green Learning and Skills Accelerator aims to address the critical need for integrating green skills into education and workforce development. The Accelerator is being designed in collaboration with Times Higher Education and UNEP in support of the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, aiming to build a new coalition of actors to fast-track the provision of green skills by education institutions in collaboration with employers, youth, and government. 

Thank you to all our partners in the Pact (UNEP, UNICEF, and ILO) as well as all those who have been involved and all the young people who led and participated in the global workshops for the Green Skills and Green Jobs Youth Consultation. Finally, thank you to the HESI Student Action Group and PRME for hosting the roundtable event at the UN HLPF.   

Blog by Quinn Runkle

30/06/2024

Member Updates June 2024

Find the latest updates for our members in our newsletter here including:

• Announcement on the upcoming SOS-International monthly member exchange on the 8th of August. Click here to register and join.

• AASU to host a webinar, The Africa Climate Dialogue: “Harnessing Africa’s Climate Action Strategies: Lessons for Global Adoption.” on Friday, 26th July 2024 use this link to register https://bit.ly/tacd24. For more information contact info@aasuonline.org

• Tobias attends a Workshop at Cologne. See post
• Launch of the International Green Learning and Skills Accelerator (IGLSA) scroll down to read more about it.
• Saying Goodbye to Tobias. Tobias worked in several roles at the Green Office. The staff of SOS-UK, SOS-International and GOM wishes him the very best of luck in your future endeavors.

Do you have an update for next month’s newsletter? Please reach out to us via contact@sos.earth

THE LAUNCH OF THE INTERNATIONAL GREEN LEARNING AND SKILLS ACCELERATOR (IGLSA) 

SOS-International is delighted to be a part of the launch of the International Green Learning and Skills Accelerator (IGLSA), 12th June 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand. A collaborative three-year initiative by the United Nations and Environment Programme (UNEP) and Times Higher Education (THE), the Accelerator will drive the global transition to a net zero and nature positive future by enhancing the role of higher and further education institutions in expanding green learning and skills.

According to their new research, 75% of sustainability professionals in education believe their institutions aim to support green learning, yet only a quarter have audited their curricula for green skills. The main barriers identified include lack of teacher training, unclear definitions, and insufficient incentives and assessments. The IGLSA aims to overcome these challenges, build new coalitions, and rapidly accelerate change.

SOS-International has been working alongside UNEP to help shape this initiative through a major global youth consultation, with workshops taking place in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Asia.

The outcomes of this work were presented on behalf of SOS-International at the Global Sustainable Development Congress by Mana Saza, youth climate education advocate and Founder of SWiTCH. In addition, Zamzam Ibrahim, SOS-Intl Director, also shapes this work as the SOS-Intl representative on the Green Jobs for Youth Pact Youth Advisory Group.

750 young people participated across the five workshops, exploring how youth understand green skills, green jobs and the importance of youth engagement in a pact Just Transition to a sustainable world. Participants defined these terms and worked together to articulate their significance in their own regions. “Green skills” were seen as interdisciplinary skills, such as critical and systems thinking. Many of the skills also included softer skills, rather than solely ‘technical skills’ as are often cited when discussing green skills. To quote one young participant, “green jobs are the only way to a long-term inclusive and just society with respect for our planet”.

What action do young people need our educators, policy makers and employers to take? There is a need to drive investment in educational reform, with sustainability integrated across the curriculum. Educators must know the urgency of climate action and be trained

and able to convey this to their students. There is a need to make every job a green job and, overall, the youth voice must be at the heart of all of this.

The global youth consultation outcomes will be presented at the United Nations High Level Political Forum in July 2024, where SOS-Intl will launch the accompanying report.

For further details of the Accelerator and the option to register interest to be involved: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/green-skills 

Blog by Quinn Runkle and Amy Padfield

“Green Skills for Youth” workshop in Kenya

SOS-International had its second “Green Skills for Youth” workshop in Kenya on 3rd May, during the inaugural National Workshop on Green Jobs and Skills Development. The first of the five planned workshops was organized in March at the SOS-International Summit in Netherlands.

The Kenyan workshop featured a panel discussion on “Green Skills for Youth” which was moderated by Bismark Amefianu Kudoafor, and had Sumaiya Abdikadir and Jeremy Kaburu as speakers. Among others, the panel explored how youth around the world define green skills and green jobs.

The session also discussed the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, which is a collaborative initiative by the International Labour Organization Cairo office, UN Environment Programme, UNICEF and Generation Unlimited, to create meaningful opportunities for young people by 2030. The Green Job for Youth Pact is Championing Green Employment and Entrepreneurship​, Green Education and Skills​ and Green Empowerment and Youth Engagement.

Watch the sessions of the Workshop Green Jobs and Skills Development: https://lnkd.in/dvdz4Gyg

What do you understand by “green skills”?

Does the current higher education system adequately prepare students for careers in green jobs? What skills come to mind when you think of “green skills”? These are just a few of the questions SOS-International and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are asking young people in a series of workshops worldwide.

The research is being conducted by SOS-International and UNEP as part of the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, where SOS-Intl is a key youth partner. The GJYP works to tackle the green skills shortages and education system’s inabilities to meet the world’s sustainability needs and to develop 1 million new green jobs, transform 1 million existing roles into green roles and support 10,000 young green entrepreneurs in setting up their businesses.

Quinn Runkle-Director of Education, SOS-UK

The first of these workshops took place in the SOS-International Summit 2024, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, led by Bismark Kudoafor (All Africa Students’ Union) Peter Kwasi Kodjie (AASU and current SOS-Intl President) and Quinn Runkle (SOS-UK). Three key aims of this work were shared with the young attendees: to explore how youth define and understand green skills and green jobs around the world; to develop a shared understanding of green skills and jobs in the development of a youth definition; and to empower and support young people to advocate for green jobs. If we are to increase the provision of green skills and support for green jobs, we need to see change across all aspects of society, formal education, throughout industry and with policy makers. 

Peter Kwasi Kodjie-SOS-INT President

Over the coming weeks the remaining four workshops will take place globally, with the next being taking place in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday 3rd May as part of a wider launch of the Kenya Green Jobs Observatory Hub. Further workshops will also take place in Brazil, Canada and Thailand. The outcomes, along with a shared youth definition of green skills, will be presented by Mana Saza, a youth climate education advocate from Japan to delegates at the Global Sustainability Development Congress in Bangkok, Thailand in June 2024.

31/07/2023

Member Updates June-July 2023

Find the latest updates in our newsletter here, including:

• the new Rotational Presidency by AASU
• Sustainability Summit 2-4 November 2023
• Green Impact updates
• Green Office Movement updates

Do you have an update for next month’s newsletter? Please reach out to us via contact@sos.earth.

20/03/2023

Member Updates March-April 2023

Find the latest updates in our newsletter here, including:

• the General Assembly on 30 May 2023
• Sustainability Month April 2023
• Green Impact updates, such as the International Meet-up
• Green Office Movement updates, such as the upcoming GOM Summit (31/03 – 1/04)

Do you have an update for next month’s newsletter? Please reach out to us via contact@sos.earth.