Plenary Session 1: Future-Proof Skills

Which future-proof skills are crucial to prepare young women and men to enter the workforce in the energy sector?

This panel discussion lies at the intersection between education and employment. It examines the most relevant skills that allow youth to smoothly transition from their studies and into the energy market workforce. The main themes include the university-employment gap, entry-level opportunities, and re-skilling for a just transition, with a specific consideration of gender dimensions.

University-employment gap:
• Which essential skills for the energy transition are not currently tackled by curricula?
• How can we develop a formal education that is more relevant to the energy job market?
• How to encourage more young women graduate to delve into energy transition-related subjects?
Entry-level opportunities:
• Which are the sought-after skills that recruiters look for when filling in entry-level jobs in the energy sector?
• What kind of job opportunities are young graduates looking for in the energy sector (types of jobs, company profile, and values…)?
• How can we combat age and gender discrimination and other barriers to youth employment?
• Re-skilling for a just transition:
• How can we combine youth-skills development with the re-skilling needs of countries transitioning to more sustainable fuels? What specific considerations are there with regards to women?
• What other forms of training or informal education can we offer to equip young women and men with future-proof skills?