Supporting a just transition through upskilling and reskilling initiatives in Austria
In Austria, between 2018 and 2022, the share of workers in green jobs increased by 12%, and those employed in renewable energies almost doubled, with a 44% increase. It is estimated that 130 000 workers will be needed to support the transition towards renewable energies. In July 2024, 14 380 green jobs were vacant according to the public employment service (Arbeitsmarktservice-AMS). Therefore, upskilling and reskilling are crucial for a just transition.
To make the net-zero transition sustainable and inclusive for all social and economic backgrounds, the government of Austria began preparing a Just Transition Action Plan in 2020. Numerous stakeholders, including social partners, were involved in this process. A Just Transition Working Group on Training and Reskilling was established in late 2020 and counted with the participation of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action (BMK), the public employment service AMS and the Austrian Chamber of Labour (Arbeiterkammer - AK), which represents the interests of workers and consumers. The working group organised three workshops between June 2021 and February 2022 to assess skill needs in the context of a just transition and conducted three studies on reskilling and upskilling needs. A Just Transition Advisory Board was set up to guide this work.
Austria developed a list of Green Jobs, containing 536 occupations. Green Jobs are defined as occupations that can prevent environmental damage and preserve natural resources. This is either because they are Green Jobs in a strict sense (such as recycling specialists or renewable energy engineers) or because they become climate-relevant or ‘green’ through additional training (such as electrical engineers who are able to install photovoltaic panels). For example, jobs in public transportation represent green jobs in a broader sense.
- Education
- Identify skill needs for green jobs and update training programmes.
- Train teachers in vocational schools and invest in technical infrastructure.
- Develop new occupational profiles.
- Companies, employees, jobseekers
- Collaborate with companies to identify skills needs and plan vocational training.
- Support training providers to integrate training for green skills in their programmes.
- Put in place a Green Jobs Fund (Umweltstiftung).
- Framework conditions and compatibility
- Provide subsidies to support the development of green skills.
- Ensure coherence with measures adopted under the Territorial Just Transition Plans for Austria funded by the European Commission.
- Improve access to upskilling and reskilling for green jobs.
- Communication
- Implement campaigns to raise awareness on green jobs, with targeted campaigns for youth.
- Encourage exchanges between companies, workers and educational institutions.
The BMK published the Just Transition Action Plan on Training and Reskilling in January 2023. The objective is to meet the demand for a skilled workforce in the context of a just transition by 2030. The action plan distinguishes between short-term (2023), medium-term (2023-2024) and long-term (2025-2030) measures and comprises four thematic fields. Each thematic field contains a set of concrete actions (37 in total), defines the responsible institution and implementation horizon. Key performance indicators have been developed to monitor progress.
Between January 2023 and July 2024, the following was reached together with social partners under the four thematic fields of the action plan:
- Education:
- The tripartite Federal Vocational Training Advisory Board has updated two occupational profiles — electrical engineering and metal technology — to include green skills. Additionally, it will establish new occupational profiles for green jobs that will benefit between 30 000 and 35 000 young people undergoing vocational training.
- For example, in the electrical engineering profile, new modules were included on generation and storage of renewable energy, and on the installation of photovoltaic panels.
- Companies, employees, jobseekers:
- Career counsellors were trained using a new module on sustainability and the environment.
- Through the public employment service AMS, between 8 000 and 9 000 persons were trained to access green jobs.
- Until the end of 2023, 345 workers (11% women) benefited from upskilling or reskilling initiatives under the Green Jobs Fund. The plan is to support a total of 1 000 workers by 2025.
- Framework conditions and compatibility:
- Scholarships are available to support the upskilling and reskilling training offered through the Green Jobs Fund.
- Communication:
- To raise awareness among youth on green jobs, a campaign, including the webpage klimajob.at, has been launched. Social partners, including the Chamber of Labour (AK) as well as the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) have been disseminating information on green jobs and this specific website.
- The public employment service AMS, training institutions and the Austrian Economic Chamber provide information regarding available green jobs and training.
As part of the European Green Deal, the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) was set up so that no person and region stay behind in the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. It includes the Just Transition Fund (JTF), which will invest EUR 17.5 billion in the 2021-2027 period in the territories most affected by the transition.
In Austria, a Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) was adopted in 2022 with funding amounting to EUR 76 million coming from the JTF. Austrian regions and municipalities undergoing significant transformation and with a strong presence of carbon-intensive industries such as metals, paper, cement, and chemicals will receive support from the JTF. The plan will create employment and mitigate job losses linked to the transition.
Several measures under the Just Transition Action Plan on Training and Reskilling are financed by the JTF and integrated into the TJTP, including extending career guidance services, supporting training institutions, and offering training under the Green Jobs Fund.
Recognising the need to shape and contribute to the skills strategies of the EU and its member states, social partners came together in Barcelona in October 2023 to sign the Barcelona Skills Declaration. The Declaration recalls the growing attention devoted to reskilling and upskilling initiatives for green and digital transitions at the EU level, while highlighting the role of social dialogue in these endeavours.
In the Declaration, social partners agree to:
- Ensure that the working age population is equipped with the necessary skills demanded by labour markets and that companies, particularly SMEs, have access to people with the skills they need.
- Commit to effective tripartite and bipartite social dialogue to improve skills development, matching and quality jobs across Europe.
- Provide support to everyone (workers, job seekers, NEETs) to access training, including through financial incentives paid educational leave, paid time off, training budget, validation of their skills and access to quality guidance and counselling, secure employment and a good working environment.
- Consider the importance of lifelong learning for the continuous development of a green and sustainable economy.
- Support access to quality and free professional guidance and to the recognition and validation of key competences and professional skills.
- Commit to improve EU and member states initiatives regarding training at the workplace.
Deliver communication and awareness-raising campaigns to underline the importance of social dialogue in accessing skills.
Key Lessons
The net-zero transition will lead to the creation of new jobs, the adaptation of existing jobs, and the replacement of current jobs. Social partners are key to accompany these changes.
To draft the Just Transition Action Plan on Training and Reskilling, it was essential to involve various stakeholders, including social partners.
Updating occupational profiles, especially by better defining specific skills, increases transparency in the labour market.
Developments at the EU level are influencing those in Austria. Social partners at both the EU and national levels are seizing opportunities to support workers for a just transition.
Read the full report
Download the Global Deal Flagship Report 2022 for the full version of this case study, plus 12 others examining the work carried out by Global Deal partners and the voluntary commitments made to promote social dialogue in addressing global-labour market challenges.
