Climate KIC launches academy to close green skill gap

Earlier this week, Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), a European climate innovations agency, announced the launch of the Climate KIC Academy in an effort to close the green skill gap. 

This initiative is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

Currently, the skills gap is seen as a major barrier to the energy transition for many experts in the field. 

The academy will integrate technical green skills with transversal leadership capabilities, while touching upon conflict resolution and communication.  

Climate KIC, learning director, Solla Zophoniasdottir added that ‘the Climate KIC Academy exists to encourage more people to lead by providing necessary education that combines essential technical and transversal skills’.

According to the European Year of Skills data, up to 40% of European workers are contributing to the green transition. Yet, between 2015 and 2021 the labour shortages in key sectors of the green transition doubled. 

A further study by CSE net, revealed that from 2023 to 2024, ‘green talent supply’ in Europe increased by a mere 5.6% while there was a rise in demand of 11.6%. This clearly shows the unclear balance between supply and demand of skilled workers in the sector. 

Founded in 2010, Climate KIC is an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) when it received 720m EUR to develop its project. 

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Featured imaged by Aerial view of graduates wearing hats photo – Free Black Image on Unsplash.