| Location | The United States, focusing on the Appalachian (13 states), Lower Mississippi Delta (eight states) and Northern Border regions (four states) |
| Initiative | The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative |
| Program snapshot | In 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration partnered with the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority — two regional economic development agencies — to launch the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative. In 2023, the initiative expanded to include the Northern Border Regional Commission. Since its launch, six rounds of grants have invested over $209 million in 158 projects. The initiative awards grants to locally administered, place-based workforce development projects in rural communities that are grappling with long-term economic distress linked to the decline of traditional industries, such as coal mining, forestry and manufacturing. In 2024, the initiative’s sixth funding round expanded eligibility for so-called energy communities, including those with brownfields and areas with a coal-plant or -mine closure, to link rural workforce development with decarbonization goals. The WORC Initiative supports projects that identify and address regional workforce needs and boost local employers’ competitiveness. Its goal is to help communities retain residents by connecting them to family-sustaining, in-demand and quality jobs through career training and supportive services. Examples of funded projects include locally delivered upskilling and retraining programs, vocational training and apprenticeships, career counselling and entrepreneurship support, short-term certification and qualification programs and initiatives to build employment pipelines with local employers. |
| Sector focus | Projects are driven by local conditions and priorities. The 158 grant projects to date span sectors such as health care, trade, information technology, aviation, manufacturing, aerospace, clean energy and agricultural technology. |
| Time frame | Launched in 2019, the WORC Initiative completed six grant rounds between 2019 and 2024. A seventh round is currently under development. |
| Location | France |
| Initiative | The Compte personnel de formation (“Personal Training Account”) |
| Program snapshot | The Compte personnel de formation is a quasi-universal system that encourages all French working-age adults to engage in lifelong learning and skills development as part of a national strategic plan for anticipating labour market changes, including changes resulting from the net-zero transition. Workers are credited with an annual training allocation in a personal account that is managed by the state but funded through mandatory employer levies. Credits in the account can be redeemed for certified training. The digital delivery platform is also starting to enable workers to document and certify their skills and training as well as develop personalized learning plans to anticipate future career changes. While not specific to so-called green-task jobs, at least one region has used the program infrastructure to incentivize retraining for high-priority occupations in the green economy. Available data do not permit any conclusions on the take-up of training related to net-zero transition occupations, nor do data permit analyses of relative participation by workers in sectors that are more or less exposed to the impacts of the net-zero carbon commitments made by the French government. However, the program infrastructure and data systems offer a national model for monitoring and influencing workers’ training decisions and their alignment with demand during the net-zero transition. |
| Sector focus | The Compte personnel de formation is not sector specific but is adaptable as a tool to promote green-task jobs. |
| Time frame | The Compte personnel de formation was launched in 2018, building on an older program, with programmatic updates since. |
| Location | Spain (regions historically reliant on coal mining and coal-fired power plants, such as Aragón, Castilla y León, Asturias, Andalusia, Galicia and the Basque Country) |
| Initiative | Spain’s Just Transition Strategy, including the Just Transition Agreements, Job Banks and Urgent Action Plan |
| Program snapshot | Spain’s Just Transition Strategy emerged to manage the phase-out of publicly subsidized coal production and coal-fired plants, in line with national and European climate goals. Designed to mitigate the impacts of decarbonization on coal-dependent communities, the strategy promotes employment creation, up-skilling and re-skilling and sustainable growth. Overseen by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and the autonomous Instituto para la Transición Justa (“Just Transition Institute”), the strategy engages multiple partners, including Spanish regional governments, local authorities, trade unions, companies and the National Federation of Coal Mining Businesses. An Urgent Action Plan addresses immediate challenges in regions with closures of coal mines and coal and nuclear power plants. Tripartite agreements among governments, unions and companies have produced sectoral accords to guarantee compensation for lost jobs as well as new employment opportunities and vocational training, thereby maintaining local employment levels. Two Job Banks provide affected workers with advisory services, individual career counselling and priority hiring for site-restoration activities. Local business projects receive higher subsidies if they hire the Job Banks registrants. Complementary to the sectoral accords, Just Transition Agreements are place-based co-governance tools with extensive social participation. They ensure cross-government commitment and co-ordination at the national, regional and local levels, providing tailored, place-based support for economic diversification, thereby preserving employment and stabilizing rural populations. Currently, 15 agreements are in place. Funding comes from the European Commission’s Just Transition Fund, the Spanish government and the European Commission’s NextGenerationEU fund. |
| Sector focus | The focus is on coal regions, coal-fired power plants under closure and nuclear power plants without reconversion plans. |
| Time frame | The Just Transition Strategy was approved in February 2019, and the Just Transition Agreements were established in 2020. The Urgent Action Plan spans 2019-21 but remains active, continuing efforts in the 2018 Framework Agreement for a Just Transition for Coal Mining and the Sustainable Development of Mining Regions for the Period 2019-2027. Two Job Banks opened in 2019 and 2020; by 2021, their employment-improvement services were operational. As of 2023, a support plan for re-skilling and job placements was still under development. |
| Location | Harlow, Essex County, United Kingdom |
| Initiative | Harlow College’s Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Training Centre |
| Program snapshot | In 2022, the Essex County Council (the local authority governing Essex County) partnered with Harlow College (a local college serving over 4,500 learners) and the Harlow District Council (the local authority for the town of Harlow) to launch a pilot program to train local residents in electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle repair and maintenance. The program takes a proactive approach to skills development by equipping local residents, including youth and local practicing mechanics, with industry-recognized professional qualifications to meet emerging demand for the growing electric vehicle sector. During the Training Centre’s two-year pilot, a £100,000 investment from Essex County Council’s Levelling Up fund fully subsidized tuition for 50 new training spots. The pilot targeted smaller local employers who were least able to afford commercial training fees for their technicians. Since the Centre’s launch, over 200 trainees have participated in courses, ensuring local businesses can meet the growing demand for electric-vehicle-maintenance expertise as electric vehicle adoption continues to expand in the coming years. A secondary objective of the Training Centre is to serve as an accessible community space where residents can participate in workshops at the facility’s “live garage” to learn about electric and hybrid vehicles, helping build market demand over time. |
| Sector focus | The focus is on electric and hybrid vehicle aftermarket services and maintenance. |
| Time frame |
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| Location | Michigan, United States |
| Initiative | Community and Worker Economic Transition Office and Michigan Works programs for unemployed working-age residents |
| Program snapshot | The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has created a new office to co-ordinate activities in support of the net-zero transition with a statewide mandate, rather than as a response to highly localized economic shocks from employment loss. However, the office was created without earmarked funding and must find ways to leverage existing resources, particularly from federal sources created by the Biden administration. As of the time of writing, funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act has all been paused. However, the Michigan Department of Labor also maintains the U.S.’s only state-wide integrated network of workforce development agencies, Michigan Works, that delivers federally funded workforce training and employment development programs, including career counselling, vouchers for skills training, apprenticeship programs and outreach to hard-to-serve populations. However, there is not, as yet evidence of collaboration between the two bodies. This case study highlights the challenges involved in adapting existing services and funding for transition-related goals, even when there is considerable place-based flexibility. |
| Sector focus | The Community and Worker Economic Transition Office focuses on the automotive and energy sectors because of Michigan’s longstanding concentration of automotive manufacturing and ancillary businesses. Michigan Works programs are not sector-specific and, instead, target eligible unemployed workers. |
| Time frame | Created by state legislation in November 2023, with service eligibility retroactive to 2020 and anticipated until 2040, determined at the municipal, county or regional level. Existing Michigan Works programs are ongoing, but the regional board for Detroit has developed a new strategic plan for 2024-27. |
| Location | Esbjerg, Denmark (North Sea coast) |
| Initiative | Offshore Academy |
| Program snapshot | Esbjerg is Denmark’s energy hub, historically focused on oil and gas. The Offshore Academy program aims to transition workers from this hub to offshore wind jobs to ensure that Denmark’s workforce is equipped with the skills needed to accommodate the expansion of wind power installations and exports, and to ensure that the local economy stays central to the country’s broader net-zero goals. Port Esbjerg is home to more than 200 companies that employ more than 10,000 people. The Offshore Academy is governed through a partnership between Port Esbjerg (a municipally-owned port authority), the United Federation of Workers (the largest Danish general workers union) and local learning institutions. The program is funded through public funds, the European Commission’s Just Transition Fund and private investments such as pension funds. It promotes the skills needed to grow the wind industry by providing local, paid training to oil and gas workers at the port, allowing them to smoothly transition to offshore wind without needing to relocate or forgo income. |
| Sector focus | The focus is on the energy sector, specifically the transition from offshore oil and gas to offshore wind and green hydrogen. |
| Time frame | The program has been in development since 2020. An agreement between Port Esbjerg and the United Federation of Workers took place in 2022 to establish the training facilities at the port. The program is currently active. |
| Location | Taranaki, New Zealand |
| Initiative | Taranaki 2050 Roadmap and 2025/26 Action Plan |
| Program snapshot | In 2019, Venture Taranaki, a local development agency, convened a wide-ranging social dialogue to support the Taranaki region’s transition away from oil and gas. The place-based co-design process identified local assets and economic opportunities, building community consensus and mobilizing stakeholders to act. The dialogue included iwi (the Māori term for ‘clan’), local and central governments, businesses, educators, unions, workers and other community members. As a result, the community-driven Taranaki 2050 Roadmap emerged, followed by an updated 2025/26 Action Plan. Several localized skills training and workforce development initiatives took shape, particularly targeting youth and Māori communities and focusing on growth sectors, such as renewable energy, conservation, food and fibre and tourism. Guided by a community-developed monitoring and evaluation framework, these programs support workers, preserve and create employment opportunities and diversify the regional economy. The overarching goal is a sustainable future that preserves Taranaki’s quality of life. |
| Sector focus | The focus is on the energy sector, specifically transitioning from oil and gas to broader and diversified economic development by leveraging local assets in sectors such as renewable energy, conservation, tourism and food and fibre. |
| Time frame | In 2017, three district councils (local authorities), the Taranaki Regional Council and Ngā Iwi o Taranaki (a collective of eight Māori tribes) released Tapuae Roa: Make Way for Taranaki, a document comprising a high-level regional economic development strategy. In 2019, Venture Taranaki released a detailed communityco- designed planning document called Taranaki 2050 Roadmap. In 2024, these efforts were updated and consolidated into the 2025/26 Action Plan. |
| Location | Australia |
| Initiative | Net Zero Economy Authority (NZEA) and Future Made in Australia (FMiA) Program |
| Program snapshot | NZEA is a new arms-length agency that is run by an independent board with legislated powers to identify regions where energy transitions will create employment disruptions and develop transition plans engaging affected firms, both those shedding jobs and alternative employers adding jobs. NZEA is initially targeting six regions in five Australian states facing energy and industrial transitions, potentially involving tens of thousands of affected workers. The initial goal is to facilitate a faster and smoother phase-out of fossil-fuel-fired electricity generation and related activities. The goal is to ensure that workers can transition from fossil-fuel-based activities to sustainable industries without dislocation or involuntary layoffs, while preserving the economic viability of regional communities. Over time, this approach may be expanded to other high-emission sectors. The agency is supported by a complementary suite of industrial policy programs under the FMiA with financial and regulatory resources to foster the growth of alternative employers in the affected regions. The FMiA, in turn, integrates actions by several federal government departments, co-ordinated through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The activities of the NZEA and FMiA are complemented by an array of training and industrial policy initiatives, many involving partnership with state governments. |
| Sector focus | NZEA planning powers are targeted at the phase-out of fossil-fuel-fired electricity generation facilities, primarily coal and some natural gas, and closely associated suppliers, including coal mines. Regional transition plans will engage alternative employers in existing or emerging renewable energy, manufacturing, technology or transportation sectors. |
| Time frame | Legislation to establish the NZEA was passed in 2024 and the authority was established the same year. Legislation enabling various FMiA interventions was also passed in 2024. Both programs will run indefinitely. |
Global and Canadian efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shift away from fossil fuels have created a central policy question: How can workers, sectors and regions adapt and develop the skills needed for a low-carbon future?
Some communities will feel the impacts sooner and more severely, particularly smaller, rural or remote areas with high concentrations of employment in exposed sectors and limited local economic diversification.
Although Canada offers a broad menu of supports for training, employment insurance and regional economic development, many programs are designed for the general population rather than tailored to the needs of susceptible communities. Targeted, place-based interventions that integrate economic and workforce development can help address this gap. Skills training and workforce development are critical levers for enabling effective and equitable transitions. This joint IRPP–Future Skills Centre research study reviews eight international initiatives — from Australia, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States — that incorporate place-based approaches to skills training and workforce development designed to help workers stay in or close to their communities while gaining the skills they need for long-term employment. Viewed collectively, these case studies inform a comprehensive, unique-to-Canada framework for building workforce resilience in the net-zero transition. Each case highlights specific design choices, strategies, challenges and foundational elements that could be adapted to Canadian institutions and labour market realities.
For Canada, the lessons point to a practical path: identify susceptible communities using transparent indicators, and then governments can layer targeted strategic interventions — for example, training subsidies, infrastructure or economic development grants, targeted employer incentives and local employment services — in proportion to each community’s exposure and readiness. The forthcoming Sustainable Jobs Action Plan, mandated by the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, can incorporate these lessons by emphasizing robust co-ordination across orders of government and meaningful engagement with workers, unions, industry and Indigenous communities alongside investments in local capacity and policy certainty.
| ✔ Lesson 1 Consensus building and tripartite collaboration between government, industry and labour unions enable co-ordinated transition efforts. |
✔ Lesson 6 Participation of Indigenous Peoples and communities in transition planning and implementation is essential. |
| ✔ Lesson 2 Community involvement in transition planning builds local buy-in and resilience. |
✔ Lesson 7 Rural communities may require additional targeted supports to stabilize populations. |
| ✔ Lesson 3 Developing local, viable replacement industries before phasing out existing ones prevents community-level economic disruption. |
✔ Lesson 8 Mechanisms for continuous assessment and plan adaptation are essential to keeping strategies responsive. |
| ✔ Lesson 4 Proactively developing skills and leveraging transferable skills can smooth worker transitions. |
✔ Lesson 9 Workforce training harmonized with broader economic development plans is more effective. |
| ✔ Lesson 5 Robust targeted social supports mitigate transition risks for workers and communities. |
✔ Lesson 10 Technical, financial and administrative support is necessary to help communities with capacity constraints implement transition plans. |
Governments have shown a renewed interest in industrial policy in recent years as Canada navigates geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainty, along with long-term challenges such as the global energy transition. While Canada has a long history with industrial policy, robust and consistent evaluation practices are not always followed. This can perpetuate suboptimal policies and inhibit learning from successes and failures.
Canadian governments need a new and consistently applied evaluation framework for industrial policy. Too many evaluations focus on process and operational issues without considering the information needed for funding decisions. While there are methodological challenges in evaluating policy outcomes, modern approaches and tools offer promising avenues for progress.
The author recommends that governments:
The renewed interest in Canadian industrial policy should be accompanied by a renewed focus on sound evaluation practices. Governments need to break the cycle of disinterest in evaluation, given the scale of industrial policies and the risks involved. Robust evaluation practices are critical to the successful use of industrial policy to address Canada’s most pressing challenges.
