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Integration of Green Skills in Sustainable Development in Technical And

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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 7, Issue 12, ( Part -3) December 2017, pp.08-12

RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

Integration of Green Skills in Sustainable Development in

Technical And Vocational Education
Arasinah Kamisa,Amarumi Alwia,Bushra Limuna Hj Ismaila,Normah
Zakariab,Faizal Amin Nur Yunus b
A
faculty Of Technical And Vocational Education, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900 Tanjung Malim,
Malaysia
B
faculty Of Technical And Vocational Education, University Tun Hussein Onn, 86400 Parit Raja, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: amarumialwi@ymail.com

ABSTRACT
TVET or Technical and Vocational Education, Pendidikan Teknikal dan Vokasional in Malaysia (PTV) plays an
important role in contributing to the source of skilled manpower. PTV transformation needs to emphasise
sustainable development in producing competent students. Green skills that have a significant association with
green technology will contribute to sustainable development in terms of the environment, economy and social
activities. Indeed, green skills need to be incorporated in PTV as one of the measures to provide skilled labour
and at the same time act as an agent of sustainable development in various aspects. This article explores the
integration of green skills in the sustainable development of PTV in Education Sustainability Development
(ESD) as a method of preserving and conserving the environment.

I. INTRODUCTION sustainable development in life and entrepreneurship

The 11th Malaysia Plan contains the agenda education.
of producing and developing human capital that can Through a greater sustainability-related
stimulate the national economic growth in the future, curriculum, technical and vocational education or
and cultivating awareness about the importance of PTV, plays an important role in educating students to
preserving the environment. These efforts will not acquire awareness of the environment. The
only achieve the goal of producing high-tech human integration of green skills in the PTV curriculum is a
capital but maintain sustainable economic growth and must; it is very useful for realising our education
disseminate the knowledge of green technology philosophy in line with the goals of the national green
(RMK 11, 2016-2020). The Ministry of Energy, technology policy (DTHN). Increasing education
Green Technology and Water, Malaysia or and awareness of green skills and encouraging the
Kementerian Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air, widespread use of green technology are a continuous
Malaysia (KeTTHA) was established as a result of a effort; it helps expand the potential of individuals in a
cabinet restructuring of the Ministry, which was holistic and integrated manner that will produce a
previously known as the Ministry of Energy, Water balanced and harmonious lifestyle in terms of
and Communications (KTAK). Therefore, a new intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical
function called green technology was included. Green qualities based on the belief in and adherence to God
technology encompasses a very wide range of (Siti Nor Syazwani, MohdSafarin, & Muhammad
environmental aspects, and one of them is green Sukri, 2012)
skills. The two components, sustainability
Green skills refer to the abilities, values and Education Development, or ESD, and TVET or PTV
attitudes needed by humans to support the sustainable in Malaysia are both needed in order to produce
and effective utilisation of resources in the workplace employees that have sustainability habits in life
(CEDEFOP, 2012; McDonald's, Condon and (UNEVOC, 2012: Ramlee, 2015). Sustainability
Riordan, 2012). The green education about practices are an essential element in the area of
sustainability focuses on skills that will help preserve employment. For example, in the hospitality and food
and conserve the environment. In the year 2012, the service industry, workers will carry out sustainable
International Centre for Technical and Vocational development through eco-tourism, using renewable
Education and Training (UNEVOC), set out the energy and practising recycling of materials. Green
content of Green Technical Vocational Education and TVET can add value to the field of education through
Training (TVET), which includes these elements: these approaches: encouraging problem solving in
education that enhances problem-solving skills in the life (life skills education); teaching the practices of
daily lives (skills manage life), education in

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sustainable consumption and lifestyle; and imparting normal practices such as using own containers when
entrepreneurial skills (UNEVOC, 2012). they buy food to take home instead of using
Styrofoam or plastic containers that are not
The practice of sustainability is an important environmentally friendly (Arasinah et al., 2016).
factor in training students to be more responsible for
preserving the Earth for the future generations. Diep And Hartmann (2016) In His Research State
Studies by Siti Rohani (2013) indicate that the That Green Skills In The Field Of PTV Are A
attitude of individuals is a factor that contributes to Thinking Process That Can Be Divided Into Four
the environmental problems. Adverse impacts to the Categories:
environment are closely related to the lifestyle- 1. Skills in taking up a responsibility to protect the
conscious community who carry out economic environment such as managing energy and water
development and utilise materials without resources, and solid waste disposal.
considering the importance of environmental care. 2. Social skills such as assuming a responsible role
An estimated 25,000 tons per day of solid waste are to prevent discrimination in the workplace.
generated in the year 2012; the country's solid waste 3. Skills in taking up responsibilities in the areas of
Department, “Jabatan Sisa Pepejal Negara” (JSPN) the economy such as financial accountability,
found that food waste accounted for 45 per cent of innovation and entrepreneurship.
the total 29,000 tons of solid wastes produced in a 4. Skills at the local and international levels
day in Malaysia. Only 5% are recycled although include those in the field of health, personal life,
many recycling campaigns had been launched and employment, the environment and the
recycling bins are available in certain places. This is community.
the effect of the lack of knowledge and skills in the
solid waste management system, particularly in the The term green skills is still new compared
separation of wastes (Festus and Ogoegbunam, 2012: with green practices or "amalan hijau”; thelatter two
Licy, Vivek, Saritha, Anies and Josphina, 2013). terms are more often used in Malaysia which include
practices related to measures in conserving the
II. GREEN SKILLS environment. The whole world, including Malaysia,
As mentioned earlier, green skills refer to has now caught on to providing education that
the abilities, values and attitudes needed by humans contains green elements, such as Green economy,
to support the sustainable and effective utilisation of Green technology, Green education, and Green skills.
resources in the workplace (CEDEFOP, 2012; Ruzian and Norizan (2014) underline the concept of
McDonald's, Condon and Riordan, 2012). green technology that is interconnected with Green
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Skills. Activities involving green energy are seen as
Development, OECD (2014) defines Green Skills as a medium to help human conserve the environmental
skills of sustainability, also known as technical skills, sustainability, which is realized through green-
values or attitudes required in work to develop or technology industries. Green technology will begin to
support the sustainability of the social activities, develop and it will create a new dimension in green
economy and revenue in business, industry and the Skills, which will be in high demand in the future
community. However, teenagers nowadays see Green (Ghansyam, 2015: Ramlee, 2015: Arasinah et.al,
Job employment as unpopular, dirty and low-class; 2016).
and hence the green-skill concepts are not given
much attention (CEDEDOP, 2012). III. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Strietska-llina, Hofman, Haro and Jeon Green TVET is a term used by UNIVEC
(2011) state green skills as knowledge, abilities, (2012) to introduce the element of sustainability into
values and attitudes needed in life for growth, and the technical and vocational education. In achieving
they support the formation of a community that has the success of Green TVET, three dimensions of
an efficient and sustainable management in utilisation sustainability requirements need to be addressed: the
available resources. Pavlova and Huang (2013) environment, the economic and social aspects;
summarise in their review research that green-skill cultural elements have been added as a fourth
elements should be included in technical and dimension (UNESCO, 2009). Diep and Hartmann
vocational education, which will bring these benefits: (2016) say that climate change is worrying as the
adding value to life, not harming the environment, problem of global warming requires urgent solutions,
holding on to science and technology, working hard, and they noted that today sustainable development
and obeying the law and integrity in carrying out plays a very important role in all areas of life
tasks in the daily lives. Consumers are advised to including technical and vocational fields. Thus, the
adopt green skills in everyday life by initiating steps field of Technical and vocational education can be a
to apply them as much as possible; they can start with tool to minimise the effects of global warming by

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Arasinah Kamis. Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Application www.ijera.com
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providing an environment-conscious culture. In the IV. INTEGRATION OF GREEN SKILLS IN

year 2012, the International Centre for Technical and THE SUSTAINABLE
Vocational Education and Training (UNEVOC) DEVELOPMENT OF PTV
emphasized that Green TVET should play a crucial Sustainable Development Education, or
role in enhancing learners‟ creative, entrepreneurial ESD, is generally a process to develop concerns,
and innovative skills. These skills need to be abilities, attitudes and values in students. Through
underpinned by critical reflections of attitudes and this process, students will be involved in sustainable
values that are at the heart of ESD. Although green development more effectively at the local, national
practices are not part of our lifestyle today, we need and international levels, which in turn will help them
to change our thinking so that we still will be able to to work towards a more sustainable future.
enjoy the same quality of life we have today in the Thienemann (2014) indicates that the skills for
long run. We should also be aware that the choices sustainability, green skills, and skills learned via
made by us today will determine the quality of TVET for sustainability are different terms used in
environment for our children in the future. integrating sustainability education in TVET. ESD
Ramlee (2015) stresses that education and can help everyone to acquire the values, skills and
training play an important role in the success of knowledge needed to build a sustainable future.
transitioning the economy to the development of PTV is an agent that facilitates the creation
green economy and clean environment conducive for of a sustainable workforce. There is a need for a
the overall economic growth. Thus, elements of workforce equipped with sustainability values in
sustainability or green skills should be included in the order to overcome the globalisation issues involving
curricula of schools, universities and skills training climate change and other adverse effects. The
centres to provide human resources that are conscious technical and vocational education, through a greater
of the environment. Sustainable development of the sustainability-related curriculum, plays a crucial role
environment has many specific benefits, which are a in educating students to be aware of the environment.
positive process in solving the global problems, both Hence, the integration of green skills in the PTV
individually and as a community (Bonnett, 2010). curriculum is a must. The education and training
The PTV sustainable education involves two institutions in Malaysia have to figure out a method
important elements: firstly, an equal opportunity for that will provide the younger generation with a
everyone to obtain education, formally or informally; thorough awareness about the importance of
secondly, availability of job-related training and conserving the environment for the welfare of
opportunities of lifelong learning so that a person can everyone. In this article, the integration of green
acquire knowledge and skills in various related fields skills is elaborated in the context of four elements:
to foster professional development (Pavlova, 2015) environmental sustainability, economic sustainability,
Majumdar (2010) classified green TVET social sustainability and culture.
into five key elements in order to achieve the
objectives of sustainable development in an PTV And Environmental Sustainability
educational institution: green campus, green Education could be instrumental in
technology, green community, green research and overcoming global environmental issues and help to
green culture as shown in Figure 1 below. preserve the earth for the future generations. Students
need to be exposed to the knowledge of negative
effects on the environment, which are brought by
theinconsiderate acts of humans. Values of
environmental sustainability should be taught in line
with the skills learnt so that educational institutions
can produce a workforce that is not only skilled, but
has a concern for the good of the environment. The
engagements of responsible personnel in the
management of natural resources, waste reduction,
and the reduction of the potential risk of damage to
the atmosphere due to the business have been
identified to contribute significantly towards the
"carbon neutral" world (Majumdar, 2010). These
efforts need to be reflected in all areas of education to
address the environmental dimension of sustainability
Figure 1. The Effectiveness Of Green Management (Thienemann, 2014).
In TVET (Source: Majumdar, 2010)
Therefore, the integration of green skills in
PTV should emphasise sustainable environmental

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Arasinah Kamis. Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Application www.ijera.com
ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 7, Issue 12, ( Part -3) December 2017, pp.08-12

development. Manitoba Education focuses on three using the talents and skills to attain a holistic happy
important elements in diffusing the environmental life regardless of gender, ethnicity and geographical
sustainability: awareness, action and transformation locations (Thienemann, 2014). To cultivate and
(MacDiarmid 2015). In the aspect of awareness, develop habits of sustainability, it will not only
integration of greens skills in the curricula of involve changes of thinking and lifestyle but also a
secondary and primary education is very important; change of culture (Ramlee, 2015). Society should
green elements are incorporated into technical and becognisant that the way of life can have far-reaching
vocational subjects such as Design and Technology implications for the environment.
(Arasinah et al, 2016). For example, these topics can
be considered: solid waste management, activities PTV And Culture Sustainability
that can lower the index of the carbon dioxide To cultivate sustainable development, it will
released by humans into the air, and other green only involves change in way of thinking and lifestyle
efforts. but also changing culture (Ramlee, 2015). Majumdar
In addition, students in higher educational (2010), listed some steps in promote ESD in the
institutions must live their life as good models by effective changes of TVET like Green values, Green
practising green skills or “amalan hijau”; they should attitude, Green ethics, Green practices. ESD is a
be seen as people who are committed to a variety of process for applying the values to students in
ongoing sustainability practices such as green developing concern, ability and their attitude towards
campus, recycling, and participation in green education. Even though parents should set a good
campaigns.Several universities have successfully example to children so that they will be compelled to
implemented the „greening‟ of a university campus, adopt green lifestyle changes, but TVET has to play
whereby solid waste management programmes are roles in creating a culture that embarks the
carefully planned based on a key focus and waste sustainability practice in life. This step should start at
characterisations. Paper and paper products constitute school by the teacher and on campus by the lecturers.
a huge volume of solid waste due to academic and In reality culture and mindset change will be moving
research activities. A reduction of paper towards green technology and practice. Small
consumption is suggested and paper recycling is changes we make today will have a major impact in
encouraged. PTV must inject eco-friendliness into the future (Arasinah, et al., 2016)
the establishments of workshops or infrastructure
facilities. V. CONCLUSION
Green skills can bring many benefits to a
PTV And Economic Sustainability country and consequently to the whole world.
The developments and applications of green Integrating sustainability education into the PTV
skills will soon become a significant economic force curriculum, particularly the green skill element, will
in the world. Green skills include the tricks of the benefit mankind and the environment. Educational
trade that will utilise green technology to generate the institutions that adopt green skills and sustainable
national income. This has been proven in many of the development elements in the courses will produce a
countries that have adapted to green culture and workforce that is competent and able to contribute to
derived profits from natural resource and solid waste the preservation of the environment in the long term.
management. The country needs to implement these The policy makers should take the necessary actions
measures: transitioning to an economy of low carbon, such as promoting basic skills, and green skills so
adopting technologies that give priority to that well-equipped workers can meet the new
environment, and transforming people to think in challenges in their work place. At the same time,
terms of sustainability (Ramlee, 2015). Thus, PTV coherent policies must be introduced and there should
needs to introduce skills that are sought after in the be coordinated implementation of education and
world of globalisation; a good example is the training for sustainable development.
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Vocational Education.” International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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