Education, knowledge transfer and capacity building on climate change impacts and adaptation options are key foundations for building a climate-resilient society, environment and economy. A lack of knowledge and a shortage of skilled workers in relevant sectors can lead to insufficient implementation of climate adaptation measures. The aim of the research project is therefore to anchor the topic of climate change adaptation in selected areas of vocational and higher education. To this end, the project team is developing proposals on how climate adaptation can be expanded and more effectively integrated in education. This will also create the conditions to incorporate knowledge and competencies for dealing with climate impacts into professional practice. Moreover, this will help to increase the usage of action-guiding climate services.
The project will develop theoretical knowledge bases and recommendations on where and how the topic of climate adaptation should be anchored in vocational education and training. In addition to model calculations and scenario analyses by the GWS, literature research and analyses will be conducted to select occupations for more detailed consideration. Furthermore, the project team will analyze relevant political documents of the federal and state governments to identify the importance of vocational and higher education in the context of climate adaptation. Furthermore, an actor analysis will show which institutions need to be involved in order to structurally anchor climate adaptation in vocational and higher education.
On the basis of training regulations, framework curricula or instruction plans in inter-company training centers, BIBB will determine the extent to which climate adaptation topics are already integrated into training for selected occupations. On the basis of literature and expert interviews, the project team will identify the skills and competencies that will be needed in the future to implement climate adaptation in the context of occupational activities.
The IÖW team is also responsible for further developing the structure and content of the KlimAdapt network which has been initiated by the Federal Ministry for Environment and the German Environment Agency. Actors from the field of vocational education and training shall be integrated in the network, so that the network meetings support an exchange between actors from the fields of education and climate adaptation.