When governments plan for sustainable development they need to consider at least two dimensions; human development index and ecological footprint/performance. 
Qatar ranked 32nd out of 188 countries in 2014 and ranks as one of the top Arab countries for human development. However, the performance on environmental sustainability dimension as measured by World Energy Council (2015) is low as it ranked 101st out of 129 countries overall. Assuredly, the country scored well in terms of energy security and energy equity.
For Qatar to achieve high human development within the Earth’s limit, the country requires a particular focus on how to deal with environmental challenges. 
One of the pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 is environmental development and the government of Qatar has established a number of projects that highlight the importance of this agenda to the country.
“For countries like Qatar, issues of climate change, health, and other aspects of personal and social well-being are closely related to the quality of the environment, and this has become a primary concern for governments,” says Dr Margarita Pavlova, Director of the UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre in Hong Kong, while talking to Community. 
An expert in TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) with special focus in the area of environmental development, she was recently in Qatar to give a talk on ‘Greening of skills and economies for a successful transition to environmentally friendly low-carbon development’ at College of North Atlantic-Qatar (CNAQ).
In addition, she says, Qatar as a very rich country has more resources that can be used to tackle global issues related to climate change; for example, by developing green technologies for the oil and gas industries, or other sectors and helping to transfer these technologies to developing countries. 
In Qatar, all industry sectors need their operations to go green, Dr Pavlova suggests. It is one way the overall economy could get greener within a short timeframe.
At the moment in Qatar, the most obvious sector that needs to go green is construction due to its substantial environmental footprint and its capacity to significantly reduce emissions. 
“There are so many construction sites in Doha, and the construction sector has a significant impact due to CO2 emissions. For example, buildings take up over 40 percent of global primary energy use, GHG emissions and also waste (UNEP, 2007),” says the expert. They also consume 32 percent of the world’s resources and account for 12 percent of global water use, she adds, quoting ‘Fien & Winfree, 2014.’
The importance of transitioning towards a greener economy has been recognised globally in different regions and countries. 
Greening of economies contributes to a reduction of waste, pollution, combined with the responsible use of resources, materials, and energy to revitalise and diversify economies, says Dr Pavlova who is also Associate Professor at Department of International Education and Lifelong Learning at Honk Kong Institute of Education.
She is internationally recognised for her high level of scholarship and concrete action and policy-oriented approach to research. Her current research and development projects are in the area of education for sustainability, development and green skills.
Challenges associated with the current and future shortage of resources, their inflating prices, technological development and innovation, new markets, and changes in industrial practices as well as consumer demands have led to structural economic changes and the ‘greening’ of business and industry.
“In our research, when we are talking about green skills or greening of skills we make a distinction between green industries on the one hand such as waste and water management, renewable energy, eco-tourism, environmental consulting services and the greening of industries across the board on the other,” elaborates Dr Pavlova.
For developing occupational skills standards in the first type of skills, occupational and business chain analyses are used. These are no different from the ways other occupational standards are developed. 
For the second type, a different approach is required, she says. Their research, Dr Pavlova, suggest has identified four types of skills or competencies that are required and should be included in training programs in the context of greening. 
These include cognitive competencies, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal competencies and technological skills. 
“Our research in Hong Kong identified that there are two main ways companies are becoming greener. It is by greening their operations by implementing particular management strategies and focusing on green technical innovations and by producing green products such as gas stoves and solar panels,” says the expert.
Quoting her research, she says vocational and professional training institutes like CNAQ play a critical role in greening of skills.
They play a significant leadership role in meeting the social and economic needs of greening by integrating green concepts and processes into the curricula as well as by greening campuses, thereby preparing workers for new, changed or emerging jobs in greening economies. 
However, to stimulate the process of greening, current practices in curriculum development, links with industry and patterns of teacher training should be studied to provide targeted support for policy formulation within an institution and practice development in greening.
“A very proactive role on the part of the management of the college is required. A working group of teachers and students should be set up to analyse the current situation and to develop an action plan,” suggests Dr Pavlova, referring to CNAQ’s potential role in the greening of skills in Qatar. 
To increase general awareness, she adds, the college can provide training for change agents at all levels. People across society at all levels of skills should be involved in the communication or education processes relevant to green growth and green skills development. 
It is also crucially important to acknowledge the need for continued professional development of TVET staff. 
“Considering that every single job can become greener, environmental aspects have to be included in all training, not just training for newly emerging occupations. For example, training at the ministerial level is required for stakeholders who are involved in skills development policy formulation and implementation strategies,” suggests the professor.
She says the development of on-line training modules for generic green skills and awareness for teachers’ professional development must be prioritised. “Let me also express my hope that we will establish close collaboration between two UNEVOC centres in Hong Kong and Doha to work further on issues of greening skills,” says Dr Pavlova.
In addition, she suggests, the college could lead the establishment of consortia, funded by the government, of existing practitioners and researchers to assist with the development and implementation of green skills best practice.


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