‘GreenPulse for Youth’ collaboration launched to boost green transition

Beijing, China (ILO News) - The ILO and Tsinghua University in China officially launched the ‘GreenPulse for Youth’ collaboration. The collaborative initiative integrates a component based on the ILO Guide on Core Skills for the Green Transition into the Tsinghua University Student Social Practice Programme. The initiative aims to strengthen youth competencies for the green transition and expand public awareness of green skills through student outreach across China and ASEAN countries. Based on the guide content and mentored by ILO experts, university students developed standardized green skills teaching resources. Young student teams will then lecture green skills and raise awareness to grassroots communities and targeted groups in various provinces of China and abroad. A preparatory training workshop was held to equip student teams with a systematic understanding of green skills and relevant teaching methods. Over 230 university students from 18 teams participated in the workshop.

Addressing the launching event on 12 January, the Director of the Center for Global Competence Development at Tsinghua University, Cheng HUANG, extended gratitude to the ILO for this partnership. Ms. HUANG outlined the context, significance and goals of the collaboration. She encouraged students to deepen their understanding of green skills, enhance public awareness of green literacy through social practices and develop effective green solutions. Deputy Secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee at Tsinghua University, Yujie FU, emphasized the contemporary significance of ‘green development’. He suggested students to leverage technical resources provided by the ILO to foster innovative practices on the ground and share outcomes to amplify their social impact.

© ILO

© ILO

In the keynote session, National Project Manager of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, Xian GUAN delivered a thematic lecture ‘Green Employment and Skills Development for Youth to Drive the Just Transition’. Ms. GUAN introduced the ILO work on just transition and decent work. She also detailed the trends, current landscape, and future directions of green employment and green skills. Ms. GUAN highlighted that the green transition profoundly impacts the global labour market, not only creating new green jobs but also challenging traditional occupations to upgrade skills. Therefore, developing ‘green skills’ is crucial for both youth labour market entrants and working adults. In conclusion, she expressed the expectation that this collaboration with Tsinghua University would enhance young people's green literacy and competencies, empower youth to become pioneers in disseminating green skills to the wider public, and showing Chinese youth's determination and wisdom in advancing just transition. Deputy Director of the Cyrus Tang Center for Student Global Development at Tsinghua University, Wenkai JING, explained requirements for the initiative and provided an in-depth presentation of key content of the ILO Guide on Core Skills for the Green Transition via the standardized teaching resources.

Since 2025, the ILO Quality Apprenticeship and Lifelong Learning in China Project Phase 2 launched the ‘GreenPulse’ initiative and released the groundbreaking Guide on Core Skills for the Green Transition. The current ‘GreenPulse for Youth’ collaboration integrates a green skills component into the Tsinghua University Student Social Practice Programme. It aims to not only enhance green competencies of youth and cultivate green skills youth pioneers but also promote wider public awareness of green skills through youth engagement. 18 student teams will deliver social practices in 20 counties and cities across 11 provinces in China, as well as three ASEAN countries to inject youth energy for the green transition.