Green Skills Training Vital to Combat Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution remains one of the most critical environmental issues, with plastic waste creation worldwide totaling 400 million tonnes as of 2024. Circular economy is among the major strategies being prioritized worldwide, with an aim at minimizing waste by keeping the materials in the loop for as long as possible. This approach has been deemed essential to help reduce the long-term environmental damage of plastic, especially in the context of projections estimating that plastic waste would double to one billion tonnes per year by 2060 if current trends were to persist.

Even as there is increasing consciousness of circularity, there remains a very large mismatch in the number of trained specialists required to power this change. Most industries that consume or produce plastic are finding that they lack staff with technical and functional skills to undertake circular operations. These include plastic redesigning to make it more recyclable, the creation of alternatives to conventional plastic products, and restaging manufacturing systems to reduce waste.

One of the underlying factors is that the traditional academic courses of study in most disciplines tend to lag behind the acute requirements of environmental sustainability. Public and political pressure towards circular systems is building in nations like those of Latin America and the Caribbean, but the slow infusion of sustainability and circular economy awareness into systems of university and technical training is slowing progress. Without properly trained graduates, industries face critical bottlenecks in adopting circular solutions.

With a view to filling this lack of skills, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has joined forces with a network of regional universities ARIUSA. All these within the grand Green Jobs for Youth Pact whose aim is to create one million new green jobs and green one million existing jobs. The program has been supported by Latin American and Caribbean environment ministers and is being promoted via a mixture of long-term academic change and short-term training programs.

In view of the reasons and timescale for changing the curricula of universities, work in the first instance is being directed towards short, skills-based courses that can quickly upskill existing students and new graduates for work within green industries. These micro-credentials, worked on by universities and the private sector, will seek to deliver actionable, work-centered training in circularity and sustainability. This approach will look to deliver learners' skills and knowledge relevant to employers, particularly in areas where demand for green skills is increasing at an extreme pace.

The training horizon goes beyond the conventional technical areas of product design and engineering. The cross-disciplinary activities at UNEP involve the enrollment of students with policy, communication, and law backgrounds in order to look at systems thinking and sustainability efforts from a wide horizon. This involves designing longer-lasting products, reuse and repair initiatives, and recycling programs at the end of life.

This talent development initiative also addresses a bigger socioeconomic problem—youth unemployment. Youth unemployment in the Caribbean and Latin America stands at approximately 14%, which is much higher than the rate for adults. Meanwhile, LinkedIn global statistics have estimated a 20% shortage of green-skilled workers by 2030. Coupling employment opportunities with environmental need offers a solution for cutting unemployment simultaneously and progressing faster toward sustainability practice.

Green skills are more and more being considered as the skills of the future working environments. Educating children in circularity is ensuring them a future employer and enabling industries to lower their carbon footprint. By focussed upskilling and curriculum building, UNEP's work is hoping to equip young people with green employment and assist in supporting the world's plastic waste reduction vision.

As plastic waste is expected to grow even more, a shift to invest in educating and building the career of the coming generations in sustainability is an absolute requirement. Educating young generations with the correct knowledge and skills can guarantee that they are best positioned to guide the transition towards more circular, sustainable production patterns. The integration of green skills into workforce development and general education is now a mandate—an obligation to take action against one of the most stark and dangerous environmental challenges of our era. Source/Credits:

Original article and data provided by: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)