At the beginning of 2023, Leonore Gewessler (BMK), Petra Draxl (AMS), Renate Anderl (AK) and Martin Kocher (BMAW) presented the “Just Transition” action plan for training and further education for the energy transition. A socially just energy transition requires a climate-friendly economic and industrial policy and the political will to shape the conversion together with the employees. Employees must be supported in switching to climate jobs and systemically important professions must be financially upgraded.
Who brings climate policy to the ground?
The government has given itself the task of taking the climate path necessary for the 1.5 degree target and of achieving climate neutrality in Austria by 2040 at the latest. The sector for renewable energies and the construction industry – keywords renewable heat, thermal and energetic renovation – must make a key contribution to achieving this goal. But even if the technology, the political will and the financial means are there: Who will set up the photovoltaic systems, who will ensure that existing buildings are renovated in a climate-neutral manner and who will install sustainable heating systems?
Only employees with the necessary qualifications can do this. There is high demand for these on the labor market. Climate policy measures and a conversion of the economy towards climate neutrality therefore mean opportunities, e.g. B. to an increased employment potential in green jobs. In a narrow sense, this includes jobs in the environmental sector, i.e. in the manufacture of products, technologies and services that avoid environmental damage and conserve natural resources. In addition to the energy and construction industries, these jobs can also be found in water and wastewater management. For the energy transition, not only people with a high level of qualification are sought, but also people with an apprenticeship and specifically qualified unskilled workers.
The Just Transition Action Plan on Education and Training presents economic and labor market policy measures for three central fields of action: “Construction and renovation”, “Renewable heat” and “Renewable electricity”. The action plan was preceded by a one-year process involving stakeholders from politics, business, science and society. The project, which started in December 2020, was carried out by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection (BMK) together with the Public Employment Service (AMS) Vienna and the Chamber of Labor (AK) Vienna with the involvement of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy (BMAW) and the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (ÖGB ) initiated. The aim was to identify the changing demand for workers and specific qualification requirements in the energy sector and to make the changes fair for all those affected.
40 measures for the energy transition
The final action plan contains around 40 projects, each of which is assigned an institution responsible for implementation. It is divided into four fields of action: education sector; companies, employees and jobseekers; framework and communication. The measures for the education sector focus on imparting the content and skills required for the energy transition. This ranges from the integration of climate-relevant content in existing apprenticeships to the development of new training, education and training formats for roofers and electrical engineers. In addition to training offensives for the apprenticeships “Electrical Engineering” and “Installation and Building Technology“, investments are also to be made in the infrastructure at vocational schools and HTLs.
Employees, job seekers and companies are to be supported in achieving their training and further education needs. Climate-relevant priorities should be promoted in existing instruments of the AMS, such as impulse advice and qualification associations or in training associations handled by the apprenticeship offices. Employees from the sectors affected by the energy transition should receive proactive career and qualification advice. Measures provide for the further training and retraining of plumbers, roofers and employees in the construction sector.
The framework conditions necessary for the energy transition are financial security during training and further education as well as their spatial and temporal compatibility, an understanding of regional differences and a sufficient number of trainers. An evaluation and possible expansion of financial support, such as the specialist grant, the self-support grant and the qualification grant by the BMAW and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF), is planned. An expansion would be necessary in order to be able to better combine work, education and private life. In addition, companies must also take responsibility when it comes to enabling their employees to (re)qualify.
Improving communication is essential to ensure that just-transition job profiles become tangible for the general public, in companies and regions. Multipliers such as parents, teachers or managers, networks and role models play an important role in this. Climate-relevant professions should be introduced to young people early and comprehensively, both in schools (e.g. careers orientation or internships) and through activities outside (e.g. holiday programs or trade fairs). Among other things, the BMK is to start a campaign on just-transition jobs and the conception and implementation of communication packages for companies and schools.
The responsibility for implementing the measures presented in January 2023 now lies with the respective institutions defined as the lead. The BMK has announced that it will create a monitoring and evaluation concept to check the effectiveness of the action plan. Whether and to what extent the planned further working groups on the mobility sector and industry will be implemented remains open.
Companies and politicians must take responsibility
The action plan is a first step in the right direction, but it is not enough. Despite the high demand for well-trained workers, many job seekers do not have the financial means to complete longer training. They need significantly better protection during their qualification. Companies are also required to invest in the qualification of their employees and to become more involved in the training of young people. An IHS study published last year shows that the Share of company participation in training costs in Austria declining is. Although the companies benefit from the well-trained workforce, the qualification costs are outsourced to the general public.
A further training fund financed by companies could support 440,000 employees with 0.2 percent of the annual gross wage with an annual further training grant of 500 euros. In addition, employees urgently need a right to one week of further training per year during paid working hours. The qualification money required by the AK provides that all employees and job seekers over the age of 25 have the right to monthly 1,500 euros for a total of three years of training and further education within 15 years.
Apart from the lack of instruments and financial resources, the lack of an ambitious climate policy also means that companies see no need to train employees in climate-related skills. Because there is only limited demand for climate-related services on the market and the order books are full. Employers – especially small and medium-sized companies – cannot afford the absence of employees in qualifications. The right signals can only be sent through consistent climate policy regulations and the government taking on the pioneering role.
Is Just Transition in what Just Transition says on it?
The Just Transition action plan for training and further education is one of a number of EU funds and processes that are already running and which are committed to the “Just Transition” label. But what does the term actually mean? The starting point is a climate policy that should help to significantly limit the rise in temperature caused by greenhouse gas emissions and thus protect the living space for future generations.
However, an ambitious climate policy also means that massive changes are necessary in sectors that are very closely linked to the use of fossil fuels. They will be affected by shutdowns or restructuring. Employees in such industries can no longer be sure of their jobs and the climate crisis is becoming a social issue of the 21st century, because: what happens to employees whose qualifications are no longer in demand on the labor market?
Just Transition, an approach developed by trade unions, aims to make the social and ecological transition towards a climate-friendly society socially just. Transformation costs associated with the conversion must be borne in solidarity and affected employees and regions must be supported. In concrete terms, this means investments in sectors that create many jobs and emit few greenhouse gas emissions, a strong dialogue between employees and employers, training and further education of employees, social security for affected employees and active management of the labor market.
Before a Just Transition Plan for Austria can actually be implemented, two things are needed: firstly, a climate policy that sets effective economic and industrial policy measures to achieve the agreed climate targets. Secondly, the political will to shape the social and ecological restructuring together with the employees and to support them in switching to climate jobs. They go beyond technically-oriented green jobs: Sustainable work also includes service-oriented, low-emission activities in areas that are essential for the common good, such as health and care, education, in the circular economy and in public transport. In order for these areas to be realistic alternatives for employees in industry, their financial and social upgrading is necessary.