Identified necessary skills to establish a center of excellence in vocational education for green innovation

Abstract

Innovation is critical for any organization to maintain sustainability and to grow. In today's world, where environmental concerns are constantly increasing, companies must adopt greener innovation strategies. These greener ways of innovating promote the monitoring and preserving of our now endangered environment. Current literature lacks data concerning the necessary skills to ease the implementation of green innovations in certain regions, one of them the Vaasa region in Finland. The aim of this study is therefore to identify those skills that can be diffused through necessary educational programs and training. Such necessary skills can be disseminated through the establishment of a Center of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in a country or region, being this a suitable way by which educational programs and training can be offered. The skills needed for green innovation in the Vaasa region in Finland were collected through two extensive workshops, a series of semi-structured interviews, and a set of questionnaire surveys. This study adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods to meet the expected goals. From the study results, it is noticed that establishing a CoVE can be a good source for the regional companies to get a skilled workforce, which is ultimately essential to adopt a green and sustainable innovation mindset in their products and services development processes. The study is concluded with further research directions.