ILO promotes green skills to empower sustainable development in China

Zhengzhou (ILO News) – On 21-22 September 2025, the ILO, in collaboration with Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China (MOHRSS), successfully organized the ‘Green Skills for Sustainable Development’ Symposium in Zhengzhou in conjunction with the third Vocational Skills Competition of the People's Republic of China.

This Symposium is a crucial component of the Quality Apprenticeship and Lifelong Learning in China Project Phase 2, bringing together over 200 representatives in person or online from governmental agencies, social partners, sectors, project pilot enterprises, pilot TVET schools and research institutions. Participants jointly delved into how green skills development can cultivate a workforce to meet demands of the green transition.

In the opening remarks, Kaori Nakamura-Osaka, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, highlighted that the green transition can serve as a powerful engine for decent work. Green skills play a pivotal role in translating the vision of the just transition into tangible outcomes. The ILO has prioritized green skills development as a core area of work. In China, the ILO has collaborated with national partners to develop a series of groundbreaking guides and tools on green skills. These technical products are designed to support policymakers and practitioners in addressing challenges of the green transition and jointly building a greener future.

It is green skills that will empower people to become the drivers of this change. They connect climate actions to economic growth, and national strategies to decent work on the ground.

Kaori Nakamura-Osaka, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific

Yulin LYU, Director-General of International Cooperation Department of MOHRSS, highlighted the importance of green human resources development in his opening remarks. He calls for multi-stakeholder collaborations to increase investment in green skills development, enhance workers' employability, advance high-quality sustainable development, and jointly build a community with a shared future for the world of work.

The Symposium officially launched the ‘GreenPulse for TVET’ initiative. It is an integral part of the Quality Apprenticeship and Lifelong Learning in China Project Phase 2, focusing on skills development for the green transition. The initiative consists of policy research and advocacy, tool development and global guide compilation, capacity building for teachers, students and workers, and international knowledge exchange. These four interlinked components aim to provide comprehensive support to policymakers and practitioners in China on integrating green skills into the vocational training system.

Under the ‘GreenPulse for TVET’, the new Guide on Core Skills for the Green Transition (Teacher’s Book and Student’s Book) was developed in collaboration with national experts and launched in the Symposium. This Guide is a pioneering tool to meet current skills needs emerged from the green transition in China. It aims to enhance young and adult workers’ green literacy, foster their green thinking and apply them to ‘green’ production and life. The Guide will be piloted in 110 project piloting institutions, covering over 2000 students and 200 trainers. The Guide will be further upgraded based on the country piloting feedback.

The Symposium also launched several key outputs under the project initiative, including:

• Comparative Analysis Report of Regional and National Experience on Green Skills Development;
• Chinese version of the ILO Guide to Green Employment Diagnostics;
• Chinese version of the ILO Research Brief Navigating the Future: Skills and Jobs in the Green and Digital Transitions;
• Generic Green Skills by Sector Guide Series, developed by MOHRSS and supported by the ILO, covering sectors such as construction, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, cultural tourism and so forth. This is the first popular science series in China dedicated to generic green skills.

Based on these key results, international and national experts offered in-depth insights and shared recommendations on various topics, including how skills development can adapt to the green transition demands, how sectors and enterprises keep abreast of the trends to upskill and reskill workers, how TVET schools ‘green’ teaching and training, and how green skilling is combined with other core skills development. Speakers from sectors, enterprises and TVET schools also presented innovative approaches and best practices on green skills development in apprenticeship and vocational training.

On the second day, participants observed events on green occupations in the 3rd Vocational Skills Competition of China. They also visited Zhengzhou New District Sewage Treatment Plant under Zhengzhou Zhongyuan Environmental Protection Co.,Ltd and Zhengzhou Electric Power Technology College. By experiencing training centers and discussing with senior trainers, participants gained a further understanding of skills development in ecological and environmental protection, energy conservation, emission reduction, and green low-carbon practices.