The green transition may be policy-driven and tech-enabled, but it is people who ultimately make it work. As companies shift towards more sustainable models, their success depends on equipping workers with the skills, adaptability, and mindset to drive real change.
Training as a first response
Across sectors, companies increasingly choose to upskill rather than recruit. The scarcity of skills for the green transition on the labour market and the need to combine sustainability know-how with operational knowledge, make upskilling via training a strategic necessity.
For instance, the sporting goods retailer interviewed by Cedefop delivered internal training in 90% of cases, resorting to external hiring only when essential. The food producer trained agronomists in digital tools for sustainable farming, while the motor engineering firm retrained hundreds of conventional technology technicians for battery and hydrogen systems.
Common challenges include:
Finding hybrid profiles combining technical, digital and sustainability skills on the labour market
Training staff to become ‘finance technologists’ who understand green KPIs and data analysis
Building transversal digital skills across corporate departments
New roles, new coordination needs
Sustainability is reshaping organisation charts. Environmental engineers, energy managers and sustainability officers are becoming core figures in guiding transition efforts. In some firms, traditional roles evolve—Chief Financial Officers become Chief Value Officers, managing both financial and non-financial flows and impacts.
Cross-departmental coordination becomes increasingly vital, as companies align procurement, R&D and communication around shared green goals.
Training ecosystems are evolving
To meet complex and fast-evolving needs, companies now mix internal training, external workshops and university partnerships. For example, organisations implement:
Waste management training for all staff to develop shared responsibility
‘Climate Fresk’ workshops (collaborative climate education sessions) to raise awareness and engagement
Collaborations with universities for training on renewables and hydrogen systems.
Leading companies extend this training beyond their own workforce, educating farmers, suppliers, and even customers throughout their value chain to maximise sustainability impact.
Across all these initiatives, soft skills—particularly problem-solving, resilience and sustainability awareness prove just as essential as technical upskilling.
The road ahead
Cedefop’s company case studies show that people are not just adapting to the green transition, they are driving it. Training is enabling transformation from within, empowering existing staff to take on new roles, use new tools and implement greener practices. This people-centred approach is also a design principle of the Union of Skills and earlier policy initiatives such as the European Skills Agenda, the Pact for Skills and the EU’s Just Transition Mechanism.
As we conclude our Skills in Transition series, Cedefop remains committed to tracking how workforce transformations evolve and providing evidence-based insights that bridge policy and practice. Understanding how change unfolds on the ground is key to shaping training systems that work—for people, businesses and a greener, more digital and more competitive Europe.
