Catalysing Green Skills: Exploring a Collaborative Charter

As the global economy accelerates towards a low-carbon future, the demand for connected green skills, talent, and training pathways is growing rapidly. Ensuring the workforce of tomorrow is equipped to deliver the Net Zero transition is a major challenge that spans sectors, geographies, and generations. Addressing this gap requires coordinated action from policymakers, industry leaders, educators, and young people alike. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between education, today's workforce requirements and the demands of a sustainable future.

This working group will explore how Generation C and Innovation Zero can address this wider skilling agenda, acting as a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation. A central part of the discussion will focus on discovering the need and requirement for a Green Education, Skills, and Innovation Charter with a core focus on Youth Voice and Engagement. Such a charter aims to empower individuals, particularly young people and provide them with a voice to lead this transition to support building not just a skilled, net-zero-ready workforce but igniting a generation of climate leaders.

By promoting the embedding of green skills from the classroom to the boardroom, the Charter could transform UK education, drive business innovation, and ensure a sustainable, equitable future.

We will delve into the potential elements required to bring such a charter to reality, considering how it could foster collaborative action and ensure tangible progress through clear commitments. The session will focus broadly on understanding the systemic barriers and opportunities in preparing the next generation for a green economy, using the proposed Charter as a framework for discussion and potential action. We aim to explore a future where young people in the UK are at the forefront of a green, sustainable, and innovative society, empowered with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to become active agents of change.