Developing the right skills for green jobs in Mauritius

“Today’s workshop is important for the implementation of these priorities, (…) the assessments are focused on education and skills for future jobs in the green and blue economy and local energy production, both with environmental and climate action at their core.”, said Sébastien Vauzelle, Senior Economist, United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office for Mauritius & Seychelles, in his opening remarks.

The event aimed to validate a series of reports; including the Skills Roadmap for a Green Economy supported by PAGE, the feasibility study for the establishment of a Vocational and Research Campus for Blue Economy Jobs supported by the Joint SDG Fund Project and the Rapid Skills Needs Assessment on marine-based renewable energy. Additionally, the event discussed the development of training modules through ITC-ILO on decent work and sustainable entrepreneurship in the blue economy.

The presentation of the Skills Roadmap developed for Mauritius provided an opportunity to validate its approach and to discuss how such a national initiative, potentially replicable in other countries, could be reinforced and brought to implementation through the work at sectoral level.

Mustupha Mauderbacus, Ag. Deputy Director, National Employment Department, Ministry of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, underlined: “The Skills Roadmap for a Green Economy is highly welcomed and it comes at the right moment. This Roadmap has been prepared by the ILO and with PAGE’s support.  It aims to bring all key research findings, qualitative data and forward-looking recommendations produced in recent ILO studies with the objective to accelerate the process of setting up a sound national roadmap and implementation action plan.”

The International Labour Organisation under the aegis of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office for Mauritius and Seychelles in collaboration with the Government of Mauritius has organized a Tripartite Validation Workshop and brought together the representatives of the Government, the private sector, civil society organizations and the academia.

Mauritius has transformed into an upper middle-income diversified economy, benefitting from dynamic industrial and financial sectors and high levels of human development. Yet, coastal ecosystems are under threat and income inequality, unemployment and global competitiveness remain a concern.

PAGE has supported the achievement of the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and several SDGs, including SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

In September 2022, Mauritius celebrated eight years of partnership in the country after joining PAGE in 2014. It is now a Graduating Country.

The United Nations Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) puts sustainability at the heart of economic policymaking.

The partnership brings together  five United Nations agencies; UNEP, UNDP, ILO, UNIDO, and UNITAR, whose expertise and support assist and lead partner countries towards their transition to an inclusive green economy.