AS Asean economies move toward low-carbon and sustainable growth, the region faces both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges.
Traditional sectors, including manufacturing, transport and fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—are undergoing major transformation and may shed jobs. Yet emerging industries such as renewable energy, waste management and circular economy services are creating new opportunities.
Globally, the shift to green jobs is predicted to create far more employment than it displaces. The latest International Labour OrganiSation (ILO) research indicates green transition can create 37.2 million additional jobs if effective policy measures and investment are undertaken, with Asia and the Pacific region accounting for 70% (26.3 million additional jobs) of the total gain worldwide.
To grasp the opportunity this offers Asean’s 353 million workers, the region requires a workforce equipped with new skills, capacities and knowledge. It also needs a just transition, one that through the right mix of policies, investments and institutional reforms guarantees decent work, reduces inequalities and leaves no one behind.
Investing in people is central to helping bridge the green skills gap with ESG frameworks providing a powerful business rationale for this. Inclusive skilling is both a moral and strategic imperative: enhancing worker opportunities and well-being, brand reputation and investor confidence while also supporting higher productivity and sustainability. When the private sector integrates skilling and inclusion into its ESG strategy, it not only fulfils sustainability commitments but builds resilient, innovative and competitive enterprises.
But fostering an environment in which green skills flourish cannot be the responsibility of the private sector alone. It requires the active participation of governments, employers, workers and education providers to design and implement the green skills programmes offered by technical and vocational education institutions. Public–private partnerships and social dialogue mechanisms are necessary to help identify emerging skills needs and co-design training that is relevant to real labour market demands.
For the transition to green jobs to reach its full potential, workforce development must also be inclusive. Barriers that prevent marginalised groups from accessing and completing training need to be removed. Women, youth, informal and low-skilled workers, persons with disabilities and the nearly 10 million migrant workers in Asean require access to skills training and certification. Inclusive, adaptable training for older workers is vital to address demographic shifts and prevent widening labour-market gaps.
The ILO has been at the forefront of these efforts in the region. Through a variety of initiatives, it is introducing responsible business practices that strengthen business resilience and protect employment while promoting inclusive labour and skills policies. These actions will help prepare Asean entrepreneurs and workers for a green, sustainable and future-ready economy.
As a technical partner to the Malaysia government in its role as Asean chair, the ILO supported the design and delivery of the Asean Year of Skills 2025 and helped Asean governments develop the Joint Statement on Skills Development for the Future Workforce of Asean, adopted in October this year. These initiatives set a regional vision for skills development that supports, among others, green and digital transitions while enhancing productivity.
In Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, ILO has facilitated dialogue, identified skills needs and helped formulate sector-level strategies. Other actions across the region are advancing skills mapping, sector-specific planning and technical assistance to keep training aligned with the needs of emerging and traditional businesses alike.
Meanwhile, the recent Global Skills Forum in Malaysia, held by HRD Corp. in collaboration with the ILO and the International OrganiSation of Employers, served as a platform to explore how the private sector can support workforce transformation amid digitalisation, the green transition, demographic shifts and emerging industries.
Despite the progress made in Asean to promote green skills, implementation remains uneven and there is still much to do.
One challenge that remains is the unclear definition of what exactly constitutes a “green job”, especially at sector and occupational levels. Here ILO is helping the development of a green dictionary methodology to clarify which jobs are becoming greener and what skills are needed to guide training reforms.
Slow adaptation of training programmes, limited dialogue among governments, employers and workers, and uneven adoption of greener business practices are suppressing demand for green skills. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for the lion’s share of employment in Asean but which also tend to have less capacity than larger firms also risk being left behind in a rapidly changing employment environment. Addressing these gaps will require sustained coordinated efforts across governments, businesses, trade unions and education and training institutions.
The green transition gives Asean a once-in-a-generation opportunity to mitigate and adopt to climate change and build a future-ready workforce. Aligning skills with business needs, strengthening dialogue and embedding just transition principles will help ensure this workforce is green, inclusive, and resilient, turning sustainability goals into real opportunities for workers, businesses and society alike.
