Expert Exchange: Skilling, Upskilling and Reskilling for a Just Transition in Coal Regions

The shift away from coal has significant implications for people in mining areas, with jobs in coal mines, combustion plants, and heavy industries dramatically reduced. Job losses in regions affected by structural change are often abruptly announced and demand quick responses from labour market policies at the regional level.  

Skilling strategies are at the centre of regional transition plans formed through local stakeholder dialogue processes. They play a key role in giving unemployed and laid-off workers opportunities to find new jobs in the transforming economy and to make the transition just. At the same time, sufficient qualified workers for the new green sectors are needed to develop new businesses and attract investment.  

This Expert Exchange will provide an overview of successful reskilling policies in coal mining regions.

 Objectives of the Expert Exchange 

• Provide an overview of skilling, upskilling, and reskilling instruments and strategies in regional labour market restructuring.   
• Showcase good practices from regions successfully applying skilling strategies in just energy transition

Speakers include:

• Gunjan Jhunjhunwala, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Delhi, India.
  • • Assessing the needs for skills development in coal regions in transition
• Marko Schmidt, REVIERWENDE, DGB, Cottbus, Germany.
  • • Skilling in collective bargaining and stakeholder consultation
• Ravishankar Korgal, Indo-German Programme for Vocational Education and Training – GIZ India, Aurangabad Maharashtra, India.
  • • Promoting Cooperative Skill Development, The Cluster Approach
    • Cluster Ansatz, working together with private sector players, they develop curricula for specific qualifications that are needed