Green skills labelling in ESCO

The European Union is pursuing the ambitious goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and ESCO responded to this call to action by introducing the Green skills labelling in January 2022.

In ESCO, the definition of Green Skills is based on the suggested definition by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), which states that green skills are:

the knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a society which reduces the impact of human activity on the environment (Cedefop, 2012)

Content

• 1. Methodology
• 2. Results & Use Cases
• 3. Accessing data
• 4. Supporting documentation

1. Methodology  

Green skills and knowledge labelling in ESCO was based on a 3-step process, combining human labelling and validation, and the use of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms:

• Manual Labelling: skills and knowledge concepts are manually labelled based on the definition of green skills suggested by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP).
• Machine Learning Classifier: an ML classifier is developed to extract green skills from all the ESCO skills.
• Comparison and Manual Validation: the list of concepts manually labelled as green and the concepts classified as green by the ML algorithm are compared.

2. Results & Use Cases

A total of 571 ESCO skills and knowledge concepts are labelled as green. This includes: 381 skills, 185 knowledge concepts, and 5 transversal skills. The labeled green ESCO skills and knowledge concepts can benefit several ESCO implementers, including:

• Public Employment Services: Compare vacancies and CVs, suggest green carrier pathways.
• Private Companies and HR Services: Forecast skills needs and invest in the development of green transversal skills
• Research Bodies: Collect information on green skills and detect green skill gaps.
• VET providers: Describe and translate green learning outcomes.

3. Accessing the data

ESCO green skills and knowledge concepts are avaiable in the ESCO Download Section. To access the list, users are required to download the classification in the desired version (recommended the latest one), and the file "greenSkillsCollection" will be part of the downloaded package.  

Finally, ESCO portal offers the possibility to add filters; therefore, the ESCO green skills can be accessed by adding the Green Label under the filter section.

4. Supporting documentation

For further insights into the development of Green skills labeling within ESCO, please refer to the Report:  Green Skills and Knowledge Concepts: Labelling the ESCO classification