On September 9, 2022, at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, a public defense of a master’s thesis was held on the topic “Development of a model of green competences as a prerequisite for the transition to green technologies”. The goal of the research is to create a model of green competencies that includes 3 key segments, namely:
- a framework of green competencies, which integrates generic and technical green competencies,
- a model for the development of green competencies, which represents the development process through several levels, starting from the impulse to develop those competencies and
- a value scheme for the impact of green competencies, which represents a set of activities for adding value to the entire society and creating a competent workforce with developed green competencies.
The detailed theoretical analysis indicates that green competences do not always represent something new and unknown, but integrate already existing and well-known competences. The identified generic green competences are a set of unambiguously defined competences within the framework of the European Union, namely: competences for lifelong learning (Key Competences for LifeLong Learning), life competences (LifeComp), entrepreneurial (EntreComp) and digital competences (DigComp), while the identification of technical green competences is linked to the identified priority domains in regional and/or national strategies for smart specialization.
Entrepreneurial competencies refer to the capacity to act on opportunities and ideas and transform them into values for others. They are based on creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, taking initiative and persistence and the ability to collaborate in order to plan and manage projects of cultural, social or financial value. EntreComp, with its goal of establishing a bridge between the educational and working worlds, to be used and adapted to different contexts and to serve as an inspiration for introducing changes for a better future, significantly influences the development of green competences, and further green technologies and innovations.
