Profeedback policy brief : towards a sustainable future for youth : green employment policies and enabling digital skills in the EU

Abstract

The European Union is at a critical juncture, navigating a dual green and digital transition that is fundamentally reshaping its labour markets. This policy brief, "Towards a Sustainable Future for Youth," highlights the immense opportunities for inclusive and sustainable job creation for young people within this transformation, particularly in sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, circular economy practices, building renovation, and low- carbon transport. The brief's core emphasis is on fostering green-specific skills and successfully integrating youth into the green economy, with digital skills serving as essential enabling tools rather than standalone objectives. While the potential for green job growth is substantial – with projections indicating millions of new jobs by 2030 across the EU – the analysis reveals persistent challenges. These include uneven policy implementation across Member States, leading to disparities in access to opportunities (e.g., only 42% of youth in a global survey found accessible green jobs locally). Significant skills mismatches exist, with education systems often failing to equip young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the necessary skills and mindsets for the new green economy. Furthermore, structural barriers disproportionately affect marginalized youth, such as young women who report greater skill deficits and a lack of awareness regarding green opportunities. Crucially, robust policy evaluation, vital for understanding actual impact and ensuring equitable opportunities, is often hindered by a lack of universally agreed-upon definitions for 'green jobs' and sparse or contradictory empirical evidence on policy effectiveness. Therefore, these brief underscores the critical need for a more coherent framework to facilitate such evaluations by both national and international bodies, leveraging insights from existing (though fragmented) assessments to refine policy approaches. [extract]