Setting a green standard

In the UK, a 2025 report by LinkedIn showed that from 2021 to 2025, growth in green hires was +7.8%, and growth in green talent was +3.4% (ii), driven globally by government policies and regulations, sustainable technology adoption, corporate and investor pressure, growth in green sectors, public awareness and employee motivation. Hiring for green talent continues to grow at twice the pace of skills in the workforce (iii), acknowledging the green skills gap that is developing. In the UK alone, the government aims to create two million green jobs by 2050 (iv).

Discussions on the importance of creating new positions that fit within a green economy and skilling individuals appropriately are not new, but the call for a general upskilling of every worker with green literacies and competencies is becoming louder. This is particularly so in sectors already facing transitional changes, such as the energy industry and wider infrastructure design, delivery and management. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also draws attention to the need for a competent global workforce, highlighting the need to integrate green skills into education and training to meet future needs (v).

Universities play a pivotal role in addressing societal skills gaps, and green skills are no different. Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is committed to embedding the development of knowledge and competencies related to sustainability across higher education provision, from undergraduate to postgraduate, in the arts and sciences, from the practical to the applied. This will support students from diverse background and career stages in acquiring the skills they need to thrive in sustainability-aware careers and the green jobs of the future.

Through curriculum innovation, experiential learning and embedding sustainability across disciplines, Education for Sustainability (EfS) is integrated into undergraduate modules, complemented by initiatives such as live briefs, where students respond to real-world briefs provided by external organisations, connecting students with challenges that hone the skills they will need upon graduation. Another example is the ‘Green Heron initiative’, co create sustainability and planetary health content, collaborating with lecturers.

This interdisciplinary approach allows students to shape learning materials for their cohorts while developing practical sustainability skills through locally grounded, industry relevant examples. They earn digital badges for completing modules embedding sustainability and for employability skills gained through audits – credentials that enhance career prospects. Effective collaboration has been essential, ensuring accurate data collection, meaningful stakeholder engagement (including with lecturers) and the development of actionable recommendations. Together, these advance the integration of sustainability across our curriculum.

Such efforts show what collaboration between academia, industry and other partners can achieve in the development of courses and activities that embed green skills in the curriculum.

The MSc in sustainability, delivered as a collaboration between ARU and the Eden Project, implements an active and experiential learning approach that brings the EfS principles to life. Rather than confining sustainability education to the classroom, the programme immerses students in living laboratories of change. Through a hybrid model of online learning and five in-person residentials – three in Cambridge and two at the Eden Project – students experience sustainability in action.

The curriculum is informed by the UNESCO sustainability competencies (vi), ensuring that graduates develop key green skills, such as systems thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills. A professional development placement of 165 hours further bridges the gap between academic learning and professional practice, giving students tangible experience in sustainability roles and the opportunity to experiment with creating real change in a workplace.

Student feedback consistently highlights the benefits of the learn, experience, practice model co-created by ARU and the Eden Project, both in terms of student understanding and achievements and employability opportunities upon graduation.

Importantly, the programme’s accreditation by ISEP positions ARU as a contributor to the global conversation on sustainability education, demonstrating that partnerships and experiential learning are not optional extras but essential strategies for equipping graduates with the green skills the world urgently needs.

Despite the successes highlighted above, embedding sustainability within education is not always smooth sailing. Knowledge gaps among staff, competing priorities and uncertainty about integrating sustainability into diverse disciplines initially slowed progress. Addressing these required a common language, shared resources and leadership commitment.

These challenges are not unique – they reflect issues present in all higher education institutions. Without institutional clarity and policy coherence, green skills risk becoming everyone’s priority and no one’s responsibility. To overcome this, higher education institutions must invest in staff development and create frameworks that make sustainability integration in curricula practical and achievable, while ensuring that institutional change is supported by national policy and cross-sector collaborations.

Traditional education is essential, but systemic change demands more. Interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral and innovative collaborations, industry engagement, coherent policy frameworks and investment in lifelong learning are all fundamental requirements to design courses that can equip students with the skills they need to create change.

Other universities should follow ARU’s best-practice example and act as conveners, bringing together employers, policymakers and communities to co-create pathways for green skills development. Collaboration is not an optional extra; it is the catalyst for scaling green skills development globally.

Authors

Dr Davide Natalini is a senior research fellow and course director of the MSc Sustainability at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University
Sarah Strachan is a senior lecturer practitioner at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Philippa Calver is a senior lecturer and deputy course director of the MSc Sustainability at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Tom Hambley a postdoctoral research fellow at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University
John Gibson is education for sustainability Coordinator at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University

References

(i) Strachan, S., Greig, A. and Jones, A., 2022. Going green post COVID-19: Employer perspectives on skills needs. Local Economy, 37(6), pp.481-506.

(ii) LinkedIn, 2025. LinkedIn Green Skills Report 2025 https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/economicgraph/en-us/PDF/linkedin-global-green-stocktake-2025.pdf (Last Accessed 05/12/25)

(iii) LinkedIn, 2025. LinkedIn Green Skills Report 2025 https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/economicgraph/en-us/PDF/linkedin-global-green-stocktake-2025.pdf (Last Accessed 05/12/25)

(iv) Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2020. UK government launches taskforce to support drive for 2 million green jobs by 2030. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-launchestaskforce-to-support-drive-for-2-million-green-jobs-by-2030 (Last Accessed 03/10/2025).

(v) UNESCO 2025. UNESCO's Global Skills Academy https://www.unesco.org/en/global-education-coalition/skills-academy#:~:text=wutzkohphoto/Shutterstock.com-,Green%20skills,WHO%20Academy (Last Accessed 05/12/25).

(vi) Advance HE and QAA, 2021. Advance HE and QAA (2021) Education for Sustainable Development Guidance.