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Will Labour Shortages and Skills Mismatches Throw Sand in the Gears of the Green Transition in Belgium?

Author

Listed:
  • Mikkel Barslund
  • Wouter Gelade
  • Geoffrey Minne

Abstract

[eng] This article aims to identify green shortage occupations, to characterise people who transition into these occupations, and to explore the factors that facilitate or hinder transitions into green occupations, focusing on the skills required to exercise these occupations. By linking Belgian Labour Force Survey data with international (O*NET) green job definitions and regional lists of occupations in shortage, we examine green shortage occupations, the workers who transition into them, and the role of skills and skill distances in facilitating or hindering these transitions. We find that half of green employment falls into shortage occupations. Technical and resource management skills are important drivers of transitions into green shortage jobs. Skill mismatches for green shortage jobs are large, yet workers who move into green shortage jobs experience less skill disruption than expected.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikkel Barslund & Wouter Gelade & Geoffrey Minne, 2026. "Will Labour Shortages and Skills Mismatches Throw Sand in the Gears of the Green Transition in Belgium?," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 550, pages 45-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:nse:ecosta:ecostat_2026_550_3
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.24187/ecostat.2026.550.2147
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Boeckx, Jana & Struyfs, Kristof & Torsin, Wouter, 2025. "Changing workforce dynamics under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme: job profiles and the color of the collar," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects

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