As Bangladesh accelerates its trajectory toward sustained economic development, the dual imperatives of meeting surging energy demands and mitigating the escalating impacts of climate change have placed the nation at a critical crossroads. Central to navigating this challenge is a fundamental shift toward a renewable energy framework, moving away from carbon-intensive power generation to ensure long-term energy security and environmental sustainability. However, realizing this ambitious green energy transition requires more than just technological investment and policy reform; it fundamentally demands a robust, future-ready workforce.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) stands as the crucial bridge between ambitious climate targets and on-the-ground implementation. By equipping workers with specialized “Green Skills,” TVET not only ensures the safe, innovative, and efficient deployment of renewable technologies but also guarantees that this economic shift provides decent work opportunities and leaves no vulnerable populations behind, embodying the core principles of a Just Transition. The following analysis explores the intersection of renewable energy expansion and vocational education in Bangladesh, highlighting the indispensable role of targeted TVET interventions in building the human capital necessary to power a sustainable, green economy.
The Global Shift and the Concept of a Just Transition
The global imperative to mitigate climate change and foster sustainable economic development has placed renewable energy at the forefront of international policy. For developing nations like Bangladesh, this transition is not just about reducing carbon emissions; it is fundamentally about ensuring energy security, driving economic growth, and eradicating poverty. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and rising social inequality pose existential threats to global stability. To combat these challenges, the world must transition to a Green Economy—an economic model that significantly reduces environmental risks and resource scarcity while improving human well-being and social equity. In the context of the energy sector, this means phasing out carbon-intensive power generation and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy sources.
The concept of a “Just Transition” is central to this shift. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines a Just Transition as greening the economy in a way that is fair and inclusive, creating decent work opportunities, and ensuring that no one is left behind. While the shift away from fossil fuels will inevitably lead to job losses in traditional energy sectors, it is projected to create up to 25 million new jobs globally in green sectors by 2030. To realize this potential, policy-makers must establish legislative frameworks, financial incentives, and robust labor market policies. At the heart of this transformation is Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which serves as the primary vehicle for equipping the workforce with the “Green Skills” required to safely, efficiently, and innovatively manage the energy transition.
The Relevance of Renewable Energy in Bangladesh
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. In developing countries across Africa and Asia, rapid economic and population growth has led to surging energy demands. Rolling out renewable energy is vital for climate change mitigation and serves as a cornerstone for sustainable economic development.
Bangladesh’s population and economy have expanded rapidly, resulting in an ever-increasing demand for electricity. Historically reliant on natural gas, the country has faced energy security challenges as domestic gas reserves face depletion. To address this, the government has pivoted toward renewable energy, marked significantly by the Renewable Energy Policy 2025. This policy sets ambitious milestones, aiming for a 20% share of renewable energy in the national mix by 2030, and up to 30% by 2041. It prioritizes the diversification of energy sources through large-scale solar and wind expansion, rooftop solar promotion, and distributed generation. The Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) serves as the nodal agency driving this institutional framework, recognizing that as the hardware and policy frameworks fall into place, a severe shortage of qualified technicians and skilled professionals remains a critical bottleneck.
Technological Developments and TVET Relevance
Renewable energy encompasses a wide spectrum of technologies, each requiring specific skill sets for manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and integration. Globally, photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal systems have seen exponential growth, with the globally installed capacity of PV systems reaching around 848 GW in 2021, more than half of which is located in Asia. In rural regions, solar home systems (SHS) and solar mini-grids have been crucial for providing basic power, driving community development, and improving health and education outcomes. Grid-connected systems, including residential and commercial rooftop PV and ground-mounted plants, are also expanding rapidly. Consequently, TVET programs must cover the planning, installation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of both decentralized off-grid systems and large-scale grid-connected PV plants.
Wind turbines, both onshore and offshore, account for a significant portion of global renewable electricity generation, with roughly 823 GW of installed capacity worldwide by 2021. TVET implications for wind energy involve specialized electro-mechanical skills, safety training for working at heights, and knowledge of aerodynamic stress factors. Furthermore, as variable renewable energies are increasingly fed into the national grid, managing grid stability becomes highly complex. Grid integration requires smart technologies to flexibly manage generation, distribution, and storage, while the energy sector must manage large data streams, requiring skills in big data, cybersecurity, and automated processes. Sector coupling, which involves linking the electricity, heating, and transport sectors via technologies like Power-to-X, further necessitates that electricians and grid technicians acquire digital skills, software proficiency, and an understanding of smart metering.
The Demand for Green Skills and Employment Potential
The employment potential in the green energy sector is vast. In 2021, the renewable energy sector employed approximately 12.7 million people worldwide, with the vast majority located in Asia. Photovoltaics is the largest employer, accounting for 4.29 million jobs. IRENA forecasts that in a positive energy transition scenario, the renewable energy sector could employ up to 38 million people by 2030. This transition impacts the labor market by creating entirely new green occupations like solar PV installers, greening existing trades such as electricians and plumbers with supplementary environmental awareness, and boosting supporting administrative roles.
However, women are severely underrepresented in the energy sector, holding less than 32% of jobs in renewable energy and facing significant barriers to technical TVET pathways due to cultural and social norms. TVET initiatives must implement gender-transformative approaches, including providing gender-sensitive programs, promoting high-profile female role models, and addressing structural barriers such as the reconciliation of family and professional commitments. In Bangladesh, efforts are actively underway to ensure that female participation is targeted in rural electrification and industrial energy efficiency training.
Exemplary Project Approaches and Lessons Learned
Drawing on international experiences provides a vital blueprint for Bangladesh’s strategy. In India, the Sector Skills Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ), established in 2015, successfully matched industry requirements with training by developing National Occupational Standards and certifying 78,000 workers. In Brazil, a partnership with SENAI established sectoral technical committees to develop qualifications for the emerging green hydrogen sector, demonstrating the value of early action to define competence standards. Vietnam pursued a holistic approach to Green TVET by establishing regional innovation centers with renewable energy-powered campuses and green institutional cultures. Nigeria brought structure to an informal sector by creating standardized courses for various qualification levels, ensuring quality and safety in technology deployment.
In Bangladesh, several milestone projects are currently transforming the TVET landscape. The “TVET4RE” project implemented by GIZ works to gear the TVET system toward sustainable energy labor markets through institutional dialogue and curriculum updates. Simultaneously, the “Skills4SE” project focuses on developing Competency-Based Learning Materials aligned with the Bangladesh National Qualifications Framework. Furthermore, ILO initiatives have successfully developed and piloted nationally-recognized qualifications for solar home servicing personnel, dramatically improving rural living standards.
Recommendations for TVET Interventions
To ensure the expansion of renewable energy is not hindered by a lack of skilled labor, development cooperation and national policies must adopt integrated, forward-looking strategies. Strategies should not focus exclusively on promoting renewable energy hardware; they must integrate employment promotion and TVET directly into energy sector planning. Large-scale energy infrastructure projects must include a TVET component, or parallel projects must establish joint working groups to coordinate efforts. Involving the private sector is critical for the quality and relevance of TVET. Bangladesh must strengthen governing bodies by forming Sectoral Committees for Green Employment to identify labor needs, forecast technological trends, and draft examination standards.
Following a multi-level approach, strategic interventions must occur across the policy, institutional, and didactic levels. At the macro level, green occupational profiles and cross-cutting environmental skills must be integrated into all courses, alongside robust labor market data systems and Recognition of Prior Learning mechanisms for the informal workforce. At the meso level, Green TVET requires holistic Green TVET institutions, meaning polytechnic institutes must be physically upgraded to reflect sustainable practices, utilizing their own buildings as live teaching tools. Finally, at the micro level, training must transition to Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET), moving away from rote learning toward action-oriented scenarios that simulate real-world occupational challenges. Instructors must be upskilled and provided with standardized, subject-specific didactic manuals to effectively guide this new generation of workers.
Ultimately, aligning the TVET system with the green economy will not only drive sustainable growth but serve as a powerful global model for executing a genuinely Just Transition.
