Keywords

Foreword

This book is the result of a regional research study initiated by the Education University of Hong Kong (EduHK), a UNEVOC Centre, and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in Hamburg, Germany. The project, “The inclusion of green skills in the recognition, validation, and accreditation (RVA) of outcomes of non-formal and informal learning: A comparative study in Asia and the Pacific Region” was implemented by selected technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and some UNEVOC Network members between 2015 and 2017 in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Nepal, the Philippines, and one territory, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), PRC, as well as by other organisations from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan. The research team, led by Margarita Pavlova and Madhu Singh, comprised representatives from each participating country or territory and included university academics and representatives from government organisations. Their governments increasingly view research as an important foundation for evidence-based policy-making. Therefore, a productive research collaboration between seven countries and one territory through this study served as a regional platform for sharing current practices in greening industries and discussing the ways greening of skills required for this restructuring can be developed and recognised. Thus, this study can be viewed as an essential enabler for supporting green economic restructuring (definition included in the glossary) via the development of a model that can inform government policies in the region on green skills recognition through mechanisms such as RVA.

1 Rationale

The study reported in this book contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly that have been crafted to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA) goals. The SDG targets and indicators measure countries’ success across 17 areas of development. The recently published Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2020 (ESCAP 2020) assessed the progress towards these Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets in the region and stated that “the region’s lack of progress on environmental sustainability is striking. To achieve its 2030 ambitions, the region needs to significantly accelerate its progress or reverse trends on most of the measurable environmental targets. Among the top priority targets are the ones related to climate action, including energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, climate-related hazards and natural disasters, air quality and waste management in cities, and the impact of human activities on marine and coastal ecosystems” (ESCAP 2020). Although many factors have contributed to these results, it is important to acknowledge the role of industry in terms of its impact on the environment. According to a 2016 UNESCO regional review of TVET progress in the APR titled “Enhancing Relevance in TVET. Review of Progress in the Asia–Pacific since 2012: Enhancing Relevance in TVET—Review of Progress in the Asia–Pacific since 2012” (UNESCO 2016), the main barriers to progress on environmental sustainability are the lack of knowledge and/or technical capacity on how to develop environmentally friendly practices, lack of funds, and lack of information about the knowledge, skills, and competencies required for green jobs (definition included in the glossary). In particular, the report states that “employers in many South-East Asia, South Asia, and Pacific countries assign a relatively low value to sustainability skills, such as resource efficiency and waste reduction” (UNESCO 2016). The cumulative impact of industries, as well as electricity and heat production, agriculture, transport, and buildings as measured by CO2 generation, was equivalent to 49 gigatonnes in 2010 in the form of direct and indirect emissions (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2014). Therefore, the use of environmentally friendly practices by the companies plays a crucial role in improving environmental sustainability in the region.

Green skills development (or greening of skills in short) in the context of lifelong learning, which underpins many SDGs, goes hand-in-hand with environmental protection and climate change-related measures, as well as inclusive economic growth and decent work for all. Greening of skills is one of the focus areas for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in UNESCO’s 2030 education agenda. More specifically, the development of green skills (definition included in the glossary) in the APR is particularly urgent given the general shortage of such skills in the region. The 2015 TVET progress review report highlights that “employers [in the APR] cite difficulties finding candidates with relevant technical skills and competencies, industry-specific certifications, and/or professional qualifications, and many consider TVET graduates’ problem solving/analytical skills and critical/creative thinking skills to fall below their job requirements” (UNESCO 2016, p. 23). There is, therefore, a clear need to align TVET training more closely with labour-market requirements, particularly in areas where there are critical skills shortages, such as “green skills and ICT skills area” (UNESCO 2016, p. 25). At the same time, the region’s vulnerabilities in the overall green skills development (definition included in the glossary) effort should be acknowledged. Most of the places lagging behind in terms of green skills training provision are low- and lower-middle-income countries in the Pacific and South Asia, the two sub-regions most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Therefore, if greening TVET (definition included in the glossary) has the potential to accelerate economic growth and productivity, reduce poverty and unemployment, and address environmental problems, while only some countries have the resources to green TVET, the economic, social, and environmental gaps between countries are likely to deepen (UNESCO 2016).

Green skills can be developed through formal, non-formal, and informal learning (definitions included in the glossary) in support of governments’ commitment to greening the economy. And they should be a part of lifelong learning (definition included in the glossary) that is designed to ensure that “all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development” (Hinzen and Schmitt 2016, p. 10).

As early as 2017, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, pointed out that “without skilled and employable young people, our chances of achieving the [Sustainable] Goals are greatly diminished”.Footnote 1 Thus, considering that the development of skills is essential for implementing all SDGs, this research is thereby crucial in moving the SDG agenda forward. Among the reasons for initiating this study were two key issues in particular.

The decisive role MSMEs play in green practices and green skills development

Solutions for diverse global problems can be often found in specific country contexts. MSMEs are the backbone of the economy for many countries, which is why the research study presented in this book takes up the issue of the decisive role that MSMEs of the formal and informal economies must play in contributing to environmentally sustainable development and promoting green skills. The ability of employees and employers to manage changing environmental requirements flexibly has become a decisive ethical, attitudinal, and valuable foundation on which sustainable development depends as well as the future sustainability of decent work. However, many of these skills, attitudes, and values are not acquired in formal settings such as schools or colleges, but by informal and non-formal means, on the job in the workplace, and through practice-based learning. Often these skills remain invisible or may lead to qualifications that are not formally recognised by authorities.

Making visible the invisible: Recognition of outcomes of workers’ learning in the context of green economic restructuring

One of the objectives of this research has been to raise awareness about what education beyond formal education might entail, and for people to give thought to the meanings of terms such as “lifelong learning” and “recognising learning in non-formal and informal settings”. In response to the call for green skills to be made more visible, the study presented in this book looks at how green skills can be included in RVA mechanisms in the public systems as well as in MSMEs and industries mainly employing TVET graduates. This research does not focus on the development of green skills.

The development of procedures for the recording, validating, and recognising skills; prior learning; and work experience obtained in non-formal and informal settings, together with the implementation of the UNESCO Guidelines for Recognition, Validation, and Accreditation of the Outcomes of Non-formal and Informal Learning (UIL 2012), have been defined at the global level by UNESCO as key strategies to make visible and give value to the hidden and unrecognised competencesFootnote 2 that individuals have attained in various settings and to promote lifelong learning. This is the first study that looks at RVA in the context of promoting environmental sustainability.

2 Aims

The research study aimed to explore environmentally friendly practices in MSMEs in four industries (automotive, catering, PVC manufacturing, and waste management), the extent to which green skills are embedded in these practices, and the ways RVA mechanisms are viewed and used by MSMEs. The outcomes of the research were intended to map environmentally friendly practices in the four industries, identify mechanisms used to recognise and assess existing skills, and identify factors and principles for effective green skills inclusion in RVA mechanisms to ensure that Asia and the Pacific Region (APR) is moving towards a sustainable future. In addition, the results of the study can be extended to benefit similar research in other geographical regions.

3 Terminology and Definitions Across the Cases Under Study

3.1 Green Skills and Greening

The “greening” of all industry sectors is important if we are to decrease environmental impacts and support progress towards the SDGs. The framework for this study links greening practices with the skills that are required to implement these practices. This section examines the interpretation of green skills and “greening” terminology that frame this study and highlights some insights from it.

The “greening” of business and industry or green economic restructuring refers to initiatives that promote economic growth but decrease environmental impacts by applying operational practices that reduce the use of materials, energy, and water and minimise waste and emissions. Therefore, greening refers to ways of moving away from traditional production processes, services, or organisational arrangements to production processes, services, or organisational arrangements that have a reduced environmental impact.

For this study, a broad interpretation of green skills is adopted: “Green skills are those skills needed to reduce environmental impacts and support economic restructuring with the purpose of attaining cleaner, more climate-resilient, and efficient economies that preserve environmental sustainability and provide decent work conditions”.Footnote 3 As argued elsewhere (e.g. Pavlova 2018), research into green skills emerged after 2009 when the need to understand the nature of skills that can support green restructuring was identified. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) was among the first to suggest a differentiation between generic (similar across different occupations) and specific (relevant to a particular occupation) green skills (2010). In this study, the term skills is used in a broad sense and refers to the ability to apply knowledge, use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems, and carry out the tasks that comprise a particular job (Cedefop); it is, therefore, very close to the concept of competencies and incorporates knowledge in its definition.Footnote 4

The classification of generic green skills suggested by Pavlova (2014) is based on OECD (2013) categories of generic skills and a list of generic green skills proposed by Strietska-Ilina et al. (2011). It includes the following:

  • cognitive competencies (e.g. environmental awareness and a willingness to learn about sustainable development; systems and risk analysis skills; innovation skills to identify opportunities and create new strategies to respond to green challenges);

  • inter-personal skills (e.g. coordination, management, and business skills to facilitate holistic and interdisciplinary approaches that encompass economic, social, and ecological objectives; communication and negotiation skills for discussion of conflicting interests in complex contexts; marketing skills to promote greener products and services);

  • intra-personal competencies (e.g. adaptability and transferable skills to enable workers to learn and apply new technologies and processes required to green their jobs; entrepreneurial skills to seize opportunities presented by low-carbon technologies) (Pavlova 2014).

Generic green skills identified above align with the key competencies or “soft” skillsFootnote 5 employers already recognise as crucial for a modern workforce—but, importantly, they are also contextualised within the perspective of environmental awareness and an understanding of sustainable development (Pavlova 2017b).

The fourth component of the generic green skills classification, which is labelled technological skills, refers to environmentally friendly processes that are similar across different sectors:

  • Quantification and monitoring (waste, energy, and water).

  • Management systems (waste, energy, and water).

  • Procurement and selection.

  • Material use and impact quantification.

  • Impact and use minimisation.

  • Impact assessment.

  • Risk management (Per Capita 2010).

This list of generic skills, in relation to “green processes”, is the result of an analysis of greening approaches used in Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Per Capita 2010).

Generic green skills described above under four categories are required for the workforce to understand issues of green economic restructuring, to interpret environmental legislation, to adopt processes that limit environmental impact, to be proactive in seizing opportunities that emerge due to the greening of economies, and to find solutions required for greening practices. Generic green skills include general knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, and they are necessary for contributing to sustainable social, economic, and environmental development in any job (level two in Fig. 1.1). The development of generic green skills is important for the greening of all industries, as they enable a person to develop a green mindset, apply generic (soft) skills within environmental context, and adopt generic green operational practices that minimise environmental impacts.

Fig. 1.1
A pyramid with 5 parts reads from top to bottom as follows: specific green skills for new occupations, new skills; topping up skills for greening existing occupations; generic skills within environmental context; generic technological processes for greening; and positive attitude towards sustainability, green mindsets.

Source Author

Typology of green skills.

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The proposed four-category analytical framework for the classification of generic green skills (for more details, see Pavlova 2018) forms part of the typology of green skills suggested by Pavlova (2017b) that is based on a positive attitude towards sustainability and the development of green mind-sets (Fig. 1.1). Pavlova (2016) indicates that attitudes and values should be viewed as an essential element of green skills.

In addition, green skills include topping-up skills for greening all occupations and specific green skills for new green occupations (in such green industries as waste and water management, renewable energy, eco-tourism, and environmental consulting services)—third and fourth levels in Fig. 1.1. This model also suggests that generic green skills and green skills top-up are required for the greening of all occupations—and for green occupations, additional specific green skills are needed. The need for topping-up skills is usually associated with the introduction of green technologies and processes in industries and service sectors.

The concept of a green economy was first introduced with Pearce et al.’s (1989) Blueprint for a green economy for the UK Department of the Environment (Georgeson et al. 2017, p. 3). In 2008, in the context of the financial crisis and fears of a global recession, the term was revived and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) championed the idea of “green stimulus packages” and identified specific areas where large-scale public investment could kick-start a “green economy” (Atkisson 2012). Although there is no internationally agreed definition of the green economy, the definition provided by UNEP in its 2011 Green Economy Report has been the most commonly used in recent publications (definition included in the glossary).

In this study, the notions of green skills and the green economy are closely related, and green skills are key factors in the development of green economies. Most of the case studies, including Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, India, and Nepal, adopt a similar understanding of green skills—skills that are not limited to professional or technical skills but are interpreted as a set of competencies that may include knowledge, values, and positive attitudes towards environmentally friendly practices. For example, Kazakhstan defines green skills from the concept of a green economy that places a strong value on welfare and social justice while emphasising a significant reduction in environmental risks and depletion.

Within this broad conceptualisation of green skills, different countries demonstrate specificities in their interpretation of the term green skills. Malaysia’s strong focus on green technology means that green skills are often understood as being directly related to that particular sector. Generally, and across countries, green skills are viewed as an ability of employees to perform activities that could lead to a reduction in pollution and a cleaner environment. In the People’s Republic of China, green skills are seen as a requirement for all jobs, including the development of technical skills for sustainable products and services as well as non-technical skills (i.e. communication, negotiation, and support of sustainable business practices) to carry out the appropriate organisational change. India defines green skills as a means of promoting green jobs, with a view that it is essential for green skills to be integrated into wider training and skills development policy rather than being an additional, standalone subject separate from other forms of skills development. In Kazakhstan, green skills are related to actions aimed at reducing energy consumption, protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, and minimising pollution emissions and waste; they simultaneously require a high level of environmental competency, together with environmental knowledge and social and professionally significant qualities of a person.

3.2 Different Nomenclature for Skills Recognition

UNESCO uses the acronym RVA to refer to recognition, validation, and accreditation of outcomes from non-formal and informal learning. According to the UNESCO Guidelines (2012), recognition is a process of granting official status to learning outcomes and/or competences, which can lead to the acknowledgement of their value in society. Validation is the confirmation by an official body that learning competences acquired by an individual have been assessed against reference points or standards through pre-defined assessment methodologies. Accreditation is a process by which an officially approved body, based on the assessment of learning outcomes and/or competences awards qualifications or grants equivalences, credits units or exemptions, or issues documents such as portfolios of competences. In some cases, the term accreditation applies to the evaluation of the quality of an institution or a programme as a whole.

A wide variety of other terms tend to be used for skills recognition across countries. In the USA, for example, RVA is referred to as prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR). In the UK, the terms accreditation of prior learning (APL) and accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) are used. In the seven countries and one territory surveyed for this study, the term recognition of prior learning (RPL) is used. According to the Australian quality-training framework, “Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) means recognition of competences currently held, regardless of how, when or where the learning occurred” (ANTA 2001, p. 9). Although the official term used in India is RPL, some recognition practitioners in industrial settings dispute this term, arguing that “competences” are more relevant in enterprises and industrial settings than “learning” (Saxena 2015).

4 Methodology

The study had three phases for each country or territory: Phase 1 consisted of identifying and analysing policies and legislations relevant to environmental protection and RVA, standards, regulatory processes, and quality assurance mechanisms in the selected seven countries and one territory; Phase 2 consisted of identifying participants, conducting interviews and observations with industry, and analysing data; and Phase 3 consisted of identifying existing patterns and developing recommendations for a model of inclusion of green skills into RVA.

The development of the research study was a collaborative and iterative process between two lead researchers, Margarita Pavlova and Madhu Singh, and research team leaders from each participating country or territory. They were the core of three focus groups that were integral to the study. In addition, research teams that hosted these meetings invited scholars and practitioners involved in green economic restructuring, green skills development, and RVA processes. During this study, three focus group discussions formed the basis for the development of building blocks and recommendations that aim to guide policy and practice on green skills inclusion in RVA. Each meeting lasted for 2 days that supported intensive interactions among teams and experts. The first focus group discussion was held in Hong Kong SAR, PRC, and was hosted by the Education University of Hong Kong in August 2015. This was followed by a second focus group discussion in August 2016 hosted by the UIL in Hamburg. The third meeting took place in Manila, in the Philippines, in September 2017 and was hosted by the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Focus group discussions promoted clarity and consensus on rationale, aims, and methodology. In addition, they allowed participants to share their case studies at different stages of the project and learn through presentation, exercises, and group work. The discussions not only highlighted the diverse ways in which government policies, industry practices, and educational approaches were working to achieve the greening of economies and lifelong learning through a variety of RVA models, but how the status of RVA varied across countries and enterprises. The results of the third focus group discussion are presented in Part III.2. It was aimed at developing recommendations for supporting green skills inclusion in RVA and was based on the results collected through the case studies.

Four industries were selected for this study: automotive, catering, PVC manufacturing, and waste management,Footnote 6 representing both the service and manufacturing sectors. They were selected as they have the potential to mitigate the negative effects of environmental degradation as well as play a role in the greening of industries and economies. To evaluate current practices in selected industries, this study applied a qualitative research methodology that aimed to understand aspects of MSME operations and their views on currently little-known issues of greening and RVA.

The research used a case study approach to investigate practices and perspectives in a real-life context, using multiple primary and secondary sources of evidence, such as interviews with MSMEs representatives, observations of environmentally friendly practices of MSMEs, and the analysis of relevant documents such as laws, policies, and industry regulations that enabled a detailed examination of issues related to the greening of economies, the required development of skills, and their recognition. Each case study was conducted using the instruments for data collection developed by EduHK and UIL, adapted within the setting. The researchers conducting case studies followed internal ethics procedures relevant to the study context. For all enterprises, participation was on a voluntary basis.

4.1 Selection of Enterprises

Each country or territory used the same approach for data collection, with some contextualisation. Researchers were asked to visit eight enterprises in each of the four industries: automotive, catering, PVC production, and waste management (32 in total). Of these enterprises, four had to be small- to medium-sized enterprises in a formal sector and the other four had to be micro-enterprises in the informal sector. Table 1.1 presents the actual number of enterprises visited and interviewed in each country or territory: although the cases are not identical in terms of size, they present rich contextualised data that are useful for addressing the aims of the study and increasing the understanding of micro-level realities. The intention was not to compare one country or territory to another but to develop a model that can help governments to ensure the role of MSMEs in greening economies and the role of RVA in these processes.

Table 1.1 Number of enterprises interviewed in each industry sector
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The following definitions were applied for the identification of companies:

  • Formal enterprises are regulated by labour laws, whereas informal enterprises are unregulated.

  • Micro-enterprises are composed of between two to ten workers, whereas small and medium enterprises (SMEs) consist of more than ten employees.

Hence, this methodology focused on data collection from MSMEs in both formal and informal settings to understand their greening practices and recognition of on-the-job learning. Further details on the companies are presented in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Enterprise profile
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4.2 Data Collection Methods

The use of interviews and observation as primary data collection approaches in this study was determined by its qualitative nature, which sought to understand the experiences, different perspectives, and attitudes of MSMEs. Thus, both the attitudes and understandings of employers and managers and practices in real-work environments were investigated. In exploring attitudes and knowledge of individuals, we used the interview method, which is recommended for evaluating attitudes in relation to particular issues (see Bird 2009). According to Patton (2005), interviews enable the observation of behaviours that may be hard to observe directly. For this study, a semi-structured approach was chosen to help identify context-specific practices or behaviours.

Although interviews are a widely used tool for qualitative research, they have limitations: answers may be restricted to what respondents can think of in a particular moment, and subjects might misinterpret questions or the same question might be understood differently depending on subjects’ backgrounds and experiences. Therefore, to minimise possible limitations, direct observation of practices was also used in the study. According to Raudenbush and Sampson (1999), observations enable a more objective examination of existing practices in a specific context, although they do not help in the understanding of people’s attitudes, knowledge, or mechanisms underlying practices. Thus, the two methods of primary data collection complemented each other to bring about an understanding of the practices and attitudes of employers, employees, and workers in MSMEs. The input from the questionnaires and the observation checklist were collated. Companies were not identified (unless otherwise agreed to by the company).

Semi-structured interviews

During visits to enterprises, experts from each country or territory conducted semi-structured interviews designed by EduHK and UIL to record and examine environmentally friendly practices, or the potential for introducing environmentally friendly practices, in respective industries. They also identified mechanisms for recognising and assessing existing skills, and the potential for green skills inclusion in the RVA of prior non-formal and informal learning.

The interview schedule consisted of several sections: general information about the participating companies such as environmental policies and regulations, respondents’ conception of green skills and the need for them, the use of RVA, the inclusion of green skills in RVA, workplace learning and training programmes, and suggestions on how to support the use of RVA for green skills recognition (see Appendix A). Although the interview was mainly semi-structured, some questions were single-choice, and others had multiple choices and rating scales. The term “skills” was used in the interviews in a broad sense and referred to knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviours. This was clearly explained to interviewees before interviews were conducted.

Observation

This study employs observation for the systematic recording of practices (see Marshall and Rossman 2006) for several reasons: firstly, because it enables the researcher to witness environmentally friendly practices and behaviours as they occur, which often results in more accurate information (Sapsford, Jupp, and Open University 1996); secondly, because it allows researchers to observe any abnormalities (Creswell 1994). An observation checklist was developed based on an Australian unit of competencies, “AHCWRK202A Observe environmental work practices” (Appendix B), and was supplemented with information obtained from interviews.

Observations in this study looked at whether organisations

  • followed environmental workplace practices;

  • sought to improve environmental work practices;

  • recognised and reported on potential environmental threats;

  • maintained environmental records.

As Sapsford, Jupp, and Open University (1996) argue, “It is possible to use more-structured observation to collect data on a large scale by employing a team of observers all using the same observation schedule in the same way” (p. 61). The extent of implementation was assessed on three levels—limited, moderate, and fully present. Thus, the use of observation lists ensures consistency for data collection across companies and across the seven countries and one territory.

4.3 Data Analysis

To analyse enabling conditions for the inclusion of green skills in RVA, the study adopted a comprehensive systemic approach at three levels—macro, meso, and micro (Table 1.3). Macro-level analysis concerns policies and regulations in countries or territories. Meso-level analysis addresses occupational and curriculum standards and recognition systems and procedures. Micro-level analysis, the focus of this research, includes practical greening operations, learning needs, and recognition of green skills in the workplace.

Table 1.3 Macro, meso, and micro-levels of analysis
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Macro-level

The macro-level includes political decisions ensuring environmental regulations and the legal basis of RVA and entreprise-based training. An important starting point for the analysis has been to understand the influence of government, and the joint role of government and sectoral stakeholders in enforcing, at the level of country or territory, the political and legislative requirements of green practices in MSMEs and green skills inclusion in RVA. Political decisions ensuring the legal basis of RVA in enterprises as well as direct funding and financial involvement and the governance of green skills recognition are also the areas for analysis at this level.

This area of analysis, which focuses on government policies and RVA legislation, is considered to be of crucial importance for the promotion of a sustainable lifelong learning system, where bridges are developed between formal, non-formal, and informal learning and where training and qualifications systems take into account the outcomes of non-formal and informal learning at the enterprise level. The analysis at the government level considers questions such as: How much importance do education and training systems attach to practice-based training as well as workplace learning in attaining the goals of sustainable development? Is there a long-term strategy to facilitate changes in behaviour patterns that contribute to sustainable development? Is there a comprehensive workforce development strategy at the government level to address the greening of skills that includes both formal and non-formal education and training? Greening of skills is one of the focus areas for TVET in the United Nations’ SDGs, so to what extent are countries or territories greening TVET by also considering non-formal and on-the-job training in enterprises to be an integral part of TVET?

Meso-level

At the meso-level, standardisation and quality assurance, including quality of input, processes, and outputs, are used to understand the principles and enabling factors in including green skills in RVA. On the input side, this study analyses activities addressing the need for green skills that have taken place in the context of developing green qualifications and green occupational standards through sectoral bodies such as sector skills councils devoted to promoting green jobs and green sectors. What is the potential of using this increasing standardisation and formalisation of green qualifications for recognising green skills in MSMEs? Incorporation of the notions of the value chain and skills standards into the company’s standards as measured through International Organization for Standardization (ISO) quality management systems is of interest for this study, as these processes provide a potential for improving the situation in MSMEs.

“Processes” refers to the role of regulatory agencies, inter-institutional relationships, and multi-stakeholder partnerships that are important to ensure quality processes in the development of green skills standards and maintaining recognition procedures and tools. Certification and the accompanying entitlements relate to the output side and are an option for individuals and enterprises interested in the official recognition of green skills. Thus, analysis on this level ensures an understanding of advocacy processes and support for MSMEs in standardising the use of RVA for green skills recognition.

Micro-level

The micro-level, the primary focus of the research reported here, is the level of collection of primary data from MSMEs. The study was interested in their views, as employers and employees, on greening their practices: developing green skills and using recognition mechanisms. Ultimately, the crucial question concerned the usefulness of skills recognition for individuals and enterprises, the involvement of local stakeholders in supporting MSMEs, and the factors that could enable green operations, promote green skills development, and stimulate interest in RVA.

As stated in the rationale, the underpinning ideas for this research are government policies and standards that will have little impact if employers and training providers do not engage with green practices and are unable to include them in RVA mechanisms to support the SDGs. It is for this reason that the study analyses green practices and green skill requirements at the local level, in addition to identifying several needs at the macro-level for transitioning to a green economy.

Our analysis also considers a comparison of macro-level needs with realities in MSMEs, such as compliance with government regulations on the one hand and the views of MSMEs on required skills, attitudes, and behaviours on the other. We believe this comparison facilitates the development of principles and the identification of enabling factors that frame an advancement of the model for supporting the inclusion of green skills in RVA. The research considered the important role of employers in promoting green skills and green enterprises, specifically the extent to which employers considered training and skills development and recognition initiatives to be advantageous in terms of a company’s cost–benefit analysis of engaging in such activities. Berger and Pilz (2009) have highlighted the importance of touting the clear advantages to companies in terms of cost–benefit analysis if a long-term acceptance of skills development initiatives is to be expected. Since employers’ acceptance cannot be assumed, Pilz (2017) has suggested that state targets and training regulations should be defined as clearly as possible and written in a comprehensive non-bureaucratic way, so that it is possible to secure these advantages.

Green skills development and recognition in enterprises depend on opportunities in the education and training system as well as options within the employment system. Consideration needs to be given to how skilled workers can be appropriately deployed in green jobs so that the competences held by the workforce can be applied to adapt to more sustainable practices of job, improve their performance vis-à-vis the changing profile of jobs greened, or promote career mobility as well as job security. Factors playing a role here include not only the demand for green activities but also such aspects as the role of workplace health and safety and the availability of decent work. Even more important, however, are salaries. The likelihood that green skills training and RVA will bring success depends on there being a long-term monetary advantage to individual employees in acquiring green skills and having those skills recognised.

Skills training within the employment system should pay attention to making training as attractive as possible. All green skills training programmes should, therefore, be assessed in terms of the extent to which they motivate participation (Young and Raffe 1998). State bodies should work towards ensuring that learning processes culminate in a test of skills development that is then recognised and certified according to accredited procedures. This is the only way to ensure transparency with respect to the standard achieved by individual participants and enhance worker mobility.

As previously mentioned, the primary focus of the research reported here is at the micro-level, which concerns MSMEs. More specifically, we analysed data on environmentally friendly practices in the four industries, challenges to and opportunities for exercising green practices, and the similarities and differences across industries and countries/territories in interpreting the notion of green practices. The aim was to analyse data on green practices related to workplace procedures as well to rules and regulations, the disposal of waste, use of renewable resources, recording of environmental-related data, use of brochures and events, innovations and use of new technologies, incentives in the enterprises, marketing strategies, and advisory services for consumers. Data analysis at the macro and meso-levels addressed secondary data, including documents and legislation, which were analysed based on the UNESCO Guidelines.

Data analysis for each country or territory focused on the following:

  • greening practices;

  • strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in current RVA services;

  • the need for establishing such mechanisms and services;

  • inclusion of green skills into mechanisms of recognition of prior non-formal and informal learning.

Moreover, in the analysis of green practices, we sought to understand the ease or difficulty with which workers were able to translate green practices into green skills requirements. We focused analysis on the importance given to green skills by employers and employees, and their understanding of green skills in terms of technical, cognitional, inter-personal, and intra-personal skills. We also analysed differences between “green practices” and “green skills” as perceived by interviewees.

In terms of RVA, the analysis focused on the level of understanding of these mechanisms and their usefulness for current practices. We also analysed the benefits enterprises can expect from establishing such mechanisms and services and on how the introduction of RVA mechanisms could be helpful, and why. This approach to data analysis helped us to shed light on perceptions of the ways that green skills recognition could help enterprises to equip their members with competences that nurture green behaviour. Regarding the inclusion of green skills into mechanisms of skills recognition, the analysis was based on case studies and focused on understanding whether or not skills recognition in relation to green jobs has been formalised in the qualifications frameworks of countries or territories, and if it is viewed within enterprises as a human resources development tool. As the RVA process usually takes place either before or after training, an important area of analysis was understanding how the inclusion of green skills in RVA could be embedded into non-formal workplace training opportunities organised internally by enterprises or externally through non-formal or formal training providers.

All data collected were analysed by country/territory research teams. Considering the primary outcome of this study, that is to identify critical factors for the development of a model that governments can use to promote green skills in RVA frameworks, the focused group discussions were used to provide additional thinking into the ways data can be contextualised and analysed. Thus, experts in the field of environmental protection in the host countries or territory were also invited to take part in focus group discussions. Project participants were, therefore, exposed to information regarding, for example, the implementation of RVA in relation to the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework and its applications within industries, concepts, and international research concerning RVA and green skills, how Germany was using RVA to recruit skilled and qualified artisans in green trades by building on the practical experiences of refugees, and private-sector perspectives on environmentally friendly practices in the tourism and waste management industries.

Comparative data analysis took place during the third focus group discussion that took place in Manila, the Philippines, in September 2017 and was hosted by the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). This discussion was used as an additional tool for analysing data from different places to pool together the insights from different contexts, different industries, as well as across the three levels of analysis in order to arrive at a model that included principles related to the following:

  • policies and laws;

  • advocacy and support;

  • implementation and benefits (see Chap. 3).

5 Book Structure

This book is based on evidence collected during the 2015–2017 study period in each participating country/territory and analysed through a systematic (i.e. carried out in a step-by-step procedure) multi-level approach. Results presented in this book reflect differences and similarities across countries and identify enablers that can support a transition to greener economies. Initial analysis conducted by experts is presented in  Part II. Subsequent analysis by EduHK and UIL and results of focus group discussions that assisted in the development of a comprehensive holistic framework are presented in  Part III. The book opens with debates on contemporary issues in the greening of skills and their inclusion in RVA frameworks.

Throughout, the aim is to develop an understanding of how to approach the greening of skills through RVA in order to support the greening of MSMEs operating in formal and informal economic sectors. The analytical model developed as a result of policy analysis, data collected from MSMEs, and focus group discussions underpins the approach presented in  Part III and is designed to ensure that the greening of skills and RVA mechanisms can work together to stimulate green economic transitions. This book provides evidence and cogent arguments for policy-makers and draws clear conclusions with respect to the factors for, and effects of, recognising green skills in non-formal settings. Heretofore, there is much talk about the potential role of green skills and RVA, but very few tangible results.

Mechanisms for the recognition of prior learning (RPL)—or RVA as it is referred to by UNESCO—can be an important means for individuals to realise their labour-market suitability or employability in the area of green skills. For people already employed, RVA can help to further their green skills. RVA can also help to identify the overall stock of green skills and qualifications in an organisation, thus, making it easier for employers to invest in green skills training for their employees. More flexible and customised training courses can be offered by enterprises and NGOs by using RVA to gauge the existing skill levels of individuals. The training becomes more profitable to invest in for the organisation when it is expressed in terms of industry sector standards, which employers and employees regard as relevant in the changing world of work.