Skills-first approach to climate education

Controversial take: Less people should quit their jobs to work on climate. Here’s why. Too many people feel they need to leave their day job and work specifically for a green company. ↪️ This creates silos: the incumbent companies bleed green-curious talent and loose the people who could push forward meaningful change from within. ↪️ On the other hand, the sustainability sector is already hyper-competitive and (sometimes) underpaid. We need to move away from the belief that “to make a change, I need to quit my job and go work for a climate company” and instead encourage people to ask “How can I be the green champion within my existing company?” And this starts with education. I believe we need university education that includes green skills as a baseline part of regular jobs. This could look like: 🛠️ Engineering courses that automatically discuss greener ways of building.  💸 Finance courses that acknowledge the impact of investments. 🎨 Design courses that prioritise circularity and low-impact materials. That’s why when a journalist recently asked me: “Where do you see the next wave of green ideas and leaders coming from?” My answer was: Everywhere! You shouldn’t have to change jobs to drive change in sustainability. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is lead from where you are. Thoughts? PS. I talk more about this in an article by BusinessGreen. If you’re curious, take a look: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dmJSZDwQ #Sustainability #Leadership #GreenSkills

I loaded all 290 pages of the World Economic Forum's 2025 "Future of Jobs Report" into ChatGPT and asked it to summarize what was most important for K–12 educators to understand: Five “big rocks” K-12 educators should take from the Future of Jobs 2025 report: 1. Higher-order thinking > routine recall 2. Tech literacy now starts in elementary school 3. Human skills are a differentiator, not a ‘nice-to-have’ 4. Sustainability & global citizenship move centre-stage 5. Teachers themselves must model continuous learning You may think that 2 and 3 are competing with 4 (sustainability) but quite the opposite. Technology (yes, this includes AI) are key to solving big environmental concerns. Practical next steps for K-12 systems: 1. Re-map standards: Audit where analytical, creative and tech-fluency outcomes live in your existing scope-and-sequence; close gaps early (K-5) to avoid last-minute “career readiness” remediation in high school. 2. Design interdisciplinary “future skills” modules: Example: a Grade 7 unit where students analyse local climate data (science + math), build a simple ML model to predict heat-wave days (CS), and pitch a community adaptation idea (ELA/social studies). 3. Invest in teacher capacity first: Offer micro-credentials in AI-enhanced instruction, cybersecurity basics and project-based facilitation; schedule regular “un-conferences” where teachers share rapidly evolving best practice. 4. Guarantee equitable digital access: The report flags broadening digital access as the single most transformative trend. Work with districts, libraries and telecoms to eliminate device/connectivity deserts so every learner can practise the tech skills employers will require. 5. Use authentic career exposure: Invite professionals in green tech, data science, health care and education (all forecast growth areas) to co-teach or mentor, helping students see concrete pathways from classroom skills to real jobs. ⭐️ The TLDR: Future-proofing students about cultivating adaptable, ethically grounded problem-solvers who are fluent in both technology and humanity. K-12 educators sit at the starting line of that journey—embedding these mindsets early is the single most powerful lever the labour-market data suggests. https://lnkd.in/gW9UpSGJ

🌍 Planet is no longer an external risk—it’s an internal imperative. In the age of disruption, every strategic choice organizations make is measured not just by its business impact, but also by its planetary impact. That’s why Planet → Sustainable and Responsible Learning is the fifth pillar in my “From Strategy to Skills” framework. Here’s the shift L&D leaders must make: ✔️ From “what we do at work” → to “how we do it responsibly.” ✔️ From siloed sustainability modules → to skills that shape everyday decisions. ✔️ From compliance → to innovation, efficiency, and cultural resilience. 🌍 In the AI era, the stakes are even higher. Generative AI is powerful—but it comes with a planetary footprint. We must teach employees not just to use AI productively, but responsibly—balancing efficiency with environmental impact. The good news? Organizations already show the way: - France & UC San Diego → mandatory climate literacy courses - Unilever → embedding sustainability into product innovation - PwC → upskilling 328,000 employees on climate & biodiversity - Google → training data center teams on green computing Lesson: Sustainable and responsible learning isn’t “extra credit.” It’s a survival strategy. 👇 Read the full article ---- #Innovation #Sustainability #Management #Technology #Education #FutureOfWork #LearningAndDevelopment #AIAndSustainability #ResponsibleLearning #StackFactor