A New Wave of Green Skills:

How Taiwan’s TVET Assistance is Becoming a Sustainable Engine for Prosperity and Mutual Growth

Have you noticed lately that electric buses are becoming a common sight on the streets, convenience store coffee lids have quietly switched to biodegradable materials, and even neighborhood gas stations are installing EV charging piles? These seemingly small daily shifts are reminders that a green transition is unfolding all around us.

Yet, as we enjoy the conveniences brought by this green transition, the world—especially many developing nations—faces a much more pressing challenge. Once buses are replaced with electric vehicles and solar panels are fully installed, who will be responsible for their future maintenance, repair, and continuous operation?

According to data from the International Labour Organization, the growth rate of green jobs globally is more than double that of the overall labor market. However, the supply of talent equipped with green skills falls drastically short. This talent gap is particularly pronounced  in developing countries. Where local technical and vocational education and training (TVET) resources are already limited, failing to cultivate new skills in a timely manner to keep pace  with industrial transition could lead to severe consequences. Beyond facing a critical shortage     of maintenance personnel after green infrastructure is built, the vast base of lower-level workers might lose their traditional employment advantages and face the threat of displacement due to rapid industrial shifts. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned: “Moving to a low-carbon economy offers immense opportunities, but most importantly, we must help people learn new skills to ensure no one is left behind in the transition.”

Consequently, traditional TVET is no longer merely about imparting a practical skill; it has increasingly evolved into a vital policy instrument for assisting nations in promoting industrial upgrading, cultivating talent, and creating jobs. Echoing this trend, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has actively promoted the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project. Through the Eight Flagship Programs covering sectors such as new energy, smart agriculture, and smart transportation, Taiwan is converting its industrial strength and TVET experience into international cooperation. How to further construct these strengths into a sustainable and deep rooted assistance model presents a crucial opportunity for Taiwan to expand its influence in the global movement toward sustainable development.

Centering on the theme of green jobs, sustainable skills, and Taiwan’s TVET experience, this issue brings together diverse perspectives from the TaiwanICDF, think tanks, and academia. It explores the evolving role of TVET assistance amidst the wave of green transition across policy, practice, and international experience.

In terms of operational practices and policy evolution, the TaiwanICDF has demonstrated that Taiwan’s TVET assistance has evolved from an input-oriented focus toward a sustainable model that integrates institutional capacity building, industrial alignment, and local empowerment. From an international perspective, major donor nations—including the U.S., European countries, and Japan—are actively aligning green aid with their technological and industrial strengths. This indicates that Taiwan can further leverage its key strengths in green digital technologies and the circular economy to generate higher value-added foreign aid strategies.

Frontline case studies, such as Paraguay’s transition toward electric mobility, demonstrate how Taiwan—through the TaiwanICDF and industry-academia collaboration—has extended the scope of cooperation from vehicle introduction to local talent cultivation, including high- voltage electrical maintenance and battery management system diagnostics. By bridging hardware installation with skill development, this concretely showcases how Taiwan can help is transformed into real action that creates local green jobs. Furthermore, drawing insights from Japan’s artisan spirit value chain and South Korea’s digital and green twin transition, Taiwan can combine its advantages in ICT and smart agriculture to establish a hybrid assistance model of Taiwanese-style smart monitoring and skill empowerment.

In our special report section, we have included special interviews with Her Excellency Katherine Vanessa Meighan, Ambassador of Belize to the ROC (Taiwan), and Dr. Shun-Chin Chang, President of the National Academy for Environmental Research (NAER).

In her interview, Ambassador Meighan highlights that Belize is fully driving its green transition and blue economy while establishing a TVET three-part wheel that integrates government, educational institutions, and enterprises to ensure youth acquire market-relevant skills. At the same time, the Ambassador highly commended Taiwan-Belize cooperation and expressed hopes to draw on Taiwan’s successful experience in closely linking education with industry. She looks forward to deepening collaboration in digital skills and sustainable tourism to jointly empower a new generation of youth equipped to navigate climate change and industrial transformation.

Dr. Chang provided an in-depth analysis of the cross-disciplinary and specialized demands for green skills under the global net-zero transition. He shared how NAER is promoting the cultivation of net-zero green collar talent through cross-university alliances and modular courses. Addressing the skill gaps between TVET education and industry in Taiwan, Dr. Chang proposed concrete solutions and expressed his aspiration to take Taiwan’s rich experience in talent training and credential digitization to the international stage, pioneering a new path for green TVET diplomacy! Looking across all perspectives, the essence of international technical cooperation and assistance is undergoing a profound shift—from a past emphasis on one-way resource injection to a win-win partnership of co-creating capacity building and sustainable development with partner countries. The value of TVET assistance no longer stops at teaching a skill, but extends to helping partner nations build the talent, systems, and local capabilities required to support industrial transformation.