Building Skills for a Just Energy Transition in Coal Regions
The Challenge
Coal-dependent regions like Western Macedonia (Greece), Centru (Romania), and Southeastern Bulgaria face the dual pressure of economic transformation and fossil fuel phase-out.
Local workforces — often tied to traditional industries — need new skills and tools to stay relevant in the emerging green economy.
Beneficiary
Self-employed workers, unemployed individuals, youth, and vulnerable groups across the three regions.
Secondary beneficiaries include SMEs, training providers, public authorities, and community stakeholders.
Delivered by
The COALition consortium, under Horizon Europe, with key partners including ICEBERG+, CERTH, UMFST, Sofia University, and regional councils and agencies.
The
Solution
Qualitative Survey
900 participants engaged to identify concrete training needs in each region.
Educational materials
Co-developed based on real local input — covering both technical skills (e.g. photovoltaics, biomass, land restoration) and soft skills (e.g. innovation, entrepreneurship, commercialization).
Courses
These materials were converted into structured online and physical courses, adapted to each regional ecosystem.
Activities
Stakeholders from the public, academic, and private sectors participated in 45+ training missions, local workshops, and info sessions.
The
Impact
Courses ready for delivery, aligned with EU and regional Just Transition Plans
3 R&I projects selected and prepared for pilot phase
Strengthened trust and coordination among HEIs, local authorities, businesses, and civil society
Foundation laid for reskilling workers in coal-phaseout sectors, enabling long-term employability
The
Timeline
2023
Needs analysis & co-design
2024
Course development & local engagement
2025
Launch of e-learning, pilot testing, scale-up preparation
The
Results
Regional excellence hubs activated in all 3 countries.
Just Transition aligned strategies + investment plans under development
Individuals engaged
Custom learning tracks created (soft skills + technical energy skills)
OUT
SMART THE MARKET
THINK THE STRATEGY
DO THE STATUS QUO
SMART THE MARKET
For startups, SMEs, academia, authorities.
For Bold ones.