Cedefop's latest Timeline of VET policies tracks this infrastructure modernisation, showing how countries move from policy to practice, investing and integrating cutting-edge digital and green intelligence and technologies to prepare learners for tomorrow's economy.

Clean: building tomorrow's green workforce

Ireland leads the charge with its ambitious National Further Education & Training (FET) Strategy, launched in 2024 as the country's first comprehensive FET framework for climate neutrality. The strategy integrates green competencies across all training programs while retrofitting infrastructure at 16 Education and Training Boards to slash emissions by half within six years.

Denmark takes a more targeted approach, establishing three specialised Climate VET institutions. The Rybners technical school focuses on wind and solar energy, while Herningsholm tackles climate-friendly agriculture and sustainable construction. Technical Education Copenhagen rounds out the trio with green transport and logistics programmes, all backed by substantial funding for cutting-edge facilities and teacher training.

Meanwhile, Estonia's innovative ‘Green Morning’ (Rohehommik) sessions, create a Baltic-Nordic knowledge network, bringing together stakeholders from Ireland to Romania for monthly best-practice exchanges. This collaborative model demonstrates how smaller member states can leverage strategic partnerships to amplify their impact.

Slovenia's dual-project approach yielded concrete results: 15 pilot schools became 'sustainable institutions' under the Climate Goals program, while the Care for Climate initiative developed 34 sector-specific sustainability frameworks now being integrated into national VET standards.

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