Preparing for Green Jobs
The eco-business sector is expected in the coming years to be a major driver in terms of employment.
The development of eco-businesses, both in the “traditional” environmental sectors and also in new low-carbon economy sectors, requires, more than ever, strengthening the skills present within companies, both to meet the needs of these new domestic markets and also to compete internationally with other countries that have developed innovative and efficient solutions.
There is a real need to adapt training offers to this reality.
The majority of eco-businesses report difficulties in recruiting the right profiles. This is why eco-business networks are mobilizing to inventory environmental training programs in their territories and to list green jobs.
Recruiting qualified staff as well as supporting and training eco-entrepreneurs represent priorities identified by companies.
Raising awareness of the issues.
Under the impulse of the CD2E eco-business network, the educational platform [avniR] was launched. The objective of this platform is to promote the teaching of Life Cycle Analysis and eco-design in all higher education fields, to provide tomorrow’s professionals with modern strategic decision-making tools respectful of sustainable development. To do so, the platform offers participating teachers a space for training, exchange, and sharing of educational tools. At the platform’s launch, nearly 50 teachers and experts gathered to learn about the objectives, functioning, and tools offered by the platform, as well as to share their teaching expectations. The [avniR] educational platform is a space for collaboration and co-creation of training tools, where everyone can contribute to the development and improvement of the offered tools.
Co-developing training offers. Another initiative, the Sénart Eco-Activities Club participates in ICAM’s working group on the theme of industrial ecology, aiming to develop an engineering training on this topic. The club also tries to structure training offers on energy themes, in connection with local actors (IUT, ICAM, Employment and Training Center, BTP 77, and voluntary companies) with the goal of analyzing needs and proposing new training offers aligned with the expectations of companies in the sector.
Supporting leaders. Regarding training and support for eco-SME leaders in 2011, the Paris Ile-de-France CCIR launched the first PLATO Eco-Actif specifically dedicated to SME leaders in the sector, composed of large companies engaged in this field. For 2 years, the PLATO Eco’Actif network offers its members a support path based on coaching leaders and transferring know-how by executives from large companies in the Paris region. The PLATO Eco’Actif network’s mission is to promote exchanges and experience feedback among leaders, strengthen managerial skills, and provide access to a network of experts. It also allows benefiting from the dynamics of a business network, developing business flows, creating inter-company alliances, and thus amplifying the company’s visibility.
The aim is therefore to support the eco-SME leader in their practice and strategy through business networking and an original exchange and training program.
Regional Institute for Environmental and Sustainable Development Training – IRFEDD
Starting from the observation that strengthening skills was urgent, the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur eco-business networks launched a Regional Institute for Environmental and Sustainable Development Training.
The original approach for the institute’s creation was to associate public and private sectors in a joint one-year work effort to carry out 3 parallel tasks:
– A study with socio-economic actors aimed at identifying local training needs (study conducted by Éa éco-entreprises).
– Work on the scope to be retained for the future institute in terms of fields and jobs.
– An exhaustive inventory of existing training on the territory.
Following this identification work, a cooperative joint-stock company (SCIC) was launched at the end of 2009. The members of the SCIC are distributed in 5 colleges: Regional public actors; Chambers of commerce, PRIDES, Companies, and Resource centers.
The institute has been assigned the following missions:
1. Carrying out qualifying and professionalizing training actions as well as social and professional integration
2. Incubating new training linked to the development of technological, pedagogical, and sociological innovation
3. Organizing documentary and strategic monitoring, particularly for professionals and trainers, including training trainers
4. Objectifying school and professional orientation work to better clarify social training demand, in connection with specialized actors
5. Regulating the regional training offer in this range of activities, in connection with competent institutions including the Regional Council, National Education, and social partners
6. Disseminating knowledge to a wide audience (lifelong education) in the form of colloquia and conferences, popular universities, or other actions supporting behavioral or practice changes for citizens, professionals, and other institutional or socio-economic actors.
Results achieved:
– Creation and launch of several apprenticeship sections (BTS Water Trades; BTS GEMEAU; BAC pro TEMSEC…)
– Implementation of various continuing education actions, notably aiming to integrate sustainable development into existing training (use of water-saving plants; setting up a composting platform; biodiversity and architecture; information and awareness on the environment in the context of aquatic environment contracts; rivers and outdoor sports activities; ecological restoration of aquatic environments; aquatic invertebrates and watercourse quality assessment; Risk and Consultation training; control of collective sanitation connections; solar thermal and thermodynamic water heater installer)
For more information: www.irfedd.fr