Curricular Improvement to Deliver Green Skills for the Future

At the WorldSkills Event, held in partnership with the Education and Training Foundation in November 2001, green skills and education for sustainable development were examined through two different lenses: the educator and the employer. The panels represented a rich variety of backgrounds and industries and these sessions explored what knowledge, skills, behaviours and values learners might need to deliver green skills for the future

A key message that emerged from a panel of employers was the need to develop learners’ growth mindset and commitment to lifelong learning . This was cited as vital so that people are able to easily adopt new skills in the future, ensure their knowledge is up to date, and are open to innovation. The term ‘transitional principles’ was used – developing a mindset that’s open, resilient and adaptable to change and understands short and long term perspectives – these are the skills that will help learners throughout their whole careers as jobs, context and technology will perpetually change.

The further education and training sector has a vital role to play in combating climate change and enabling the achievement of sustainability and social justice, both nationally and globally, but the landscape of ESD can feel overwhelming, and there are gaps in the ESD knowledge that must be addressed. The further education and training sector is also at full capacity, and many teachers simply do not have the time or resources to pursue ESD. Over 60 per cent of educators don’t feel well-equipped to bring this into their teaching and learning practice.

The commonsense message is that there has to be root and branch reform of education at all levels, beginning at the top with jobs that deliver prosperity with contentment and at the bottom with an international cross curricular syllabus and a pedagogy for schooling that integrates culture with ecology.