Calvert, J; Price, V; Winch, C; Clarke, L; Sahin-Dikmen, M; Bilodeau, P L and Dionne, E (2026) Climate literacy and labour agency in vocational education and training. Buildings & Cities, 7(1), pp. 378-395. ISSN 2632-6655
Abstract
How far can climate literacy be embedded into the construction vocational education and training (VET) systems? This is investigated in North America (US and Canada) and six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and the UK). Climate literacy entails understanding the impact of climate change on society, the sector and its different occupations. Achieving zero carbon building (ZCB) is shown to involve respecting construction workers' embodied knowledge and experience, and empowering them to make informed decisions regarding their actions through climate-literate VET programmes, thus enhancing labour agency. Drawing on research for Canada's Building Trade Unions' programme Building It Green, involving interviews and analysis of case study VET systems in eight countries, this article defines climate literacy and adapts a transparency tool to map and evaluate the range of knowledge, know-how and competences required for climate-literate construction workers. The findings reveal wide variations between case studies in coordinated and liberal market economies in the incorporation of climate literacy and obstructions to this, reflecting conflicts between approaches minimising workers' discretion and those facilitating building workers acquiring abilities and agency to make informed decisions. Understanding the value of achieving socially beneficial climate outcomes can add meaning and purpose to construction work.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | agency; climate literacy; construction; labour; net zero carbon; vocational education and training |
| Index terms: | competence, vocational education and training, drawing, Denmark, construction work, occupation, society, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, construction worker, programme, interview, transparency, zero carbon building, climate change, agency, Canada, case study, meaning, building trade, variation, Sweden, net zero |
| Subjects: | climate science, sustainability and energy, contractual condition, data collection methods, practitioner, energy systems, operations management, professional development, technical documentation, communities and social development, student development, sociology, Geography, project controls, personnel development |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Information Management, Time Control, Education, Geographical Context, Contract Administration, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Research Practice, Sustainability, Stakeholder Management, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here