New Toolkit Supporting Green Skills Development
Public Employment Services (PES) across the EU now have a powerful new resource at their disposal: the PES Toolkit on Green Skills and Jobs: From commitment to practical steps and strategies. Launched by the European Network of Public Employment Services on 31 July 2025, this Toolkit offers insightful guidance to help PES staff anticipate emerging skills needs and support workers during the green transition.
As the green economy transforms labour market demands, PES play a significant role in facilitating labour market transitions, improving job matching, and ensuring the green shift is inclusive. This Toolkit is designed for PES professionals at all levels—including counsellors, managers, and those working in labour market information systems—as well as related entities such as training providers, NGOs, and government agencies. Nevertheless, the toolkit may prove useful for any adult learning stakeholder targeting green skills, sustainability or working with public employment services directly.
The focus of the toolkit
The Toolkit is structured into five thematic sections, each offering lessons, strategic reflections, and real-world examples:
- PES strategies for the green transition — including internal sustainability approaches and frameworks for defining ‘green jobs’.
- Identifying green skills — using data to anticipate skill gaps and collaborating with stakeholders to plan proactive responses.
- Designing PES services — from green-skills training and career counselling to tailored Active Labour Market Programmes.
- Employer engagement — colleagues can support employers in defining needed green competencies, co-creating training, and fostering work-based learning partnerships.
- Conclusions and next steps, featuring practical checklists for PES to implement and evaluate their strategies.
Beyond the Toolkit, practitioners can explore a wealth of best practices and case studies in the PES Network Knowledge Centre and PES Practice Database, enhancing their capacity to develop evidence-based approaches to green skills.
Implications for Adult Learning and EPALE Readers
For EPALE’s community the Toolkit offers more than guidance for PES, it creates opportunities for collaboration. Adult learning providers can:
- Align programmes with emerging green-skills demand identified by PES.
- Collaborate on work-based learning models and sectoral training initiatives.
- Help ensure that transitions into green roles are accessible, inclusive, and built on quality adult education practices.
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