Over the past months, NESSIE partner Energy Academy Samsø has produced a podcast series exploring one of the most critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of the energy transition: vocational education and training (VET). With the release of the fifth episode, the series is now complete.
The podcast aims to raise awareness on how skills, education, and workforce development underpin the transition to a sustainable energy system and increase interest in the ET sector as a future career path.
While discussions on the energy transition often focus on technologies, strategies, and policy frameworks, implementation ultimately happens on the ground: within buildings, infrastructure, and local energy systems.
This raises a fundamental question:
Who is actually doing the work?
Who installs the charging stations?
Who develops and installs new heating systems?
Who builds more sustainably?
Who ensures that complex technical systems function in everyday life?
Across Europe, the answer lies with a skilled and adaptable workforce, many of whom come from vocational education and training pathways.
Conversations across sectors
The podcast series was created to open up dialogue around these themes. Across five episodes, NESSIE partners and invited experts share perspectives from education, industry, and policy, highlighting both challenges and opportunities in building the energy transition workforce.
Guests in the series include:
- Bo Sejer Frandsen, Chair of the Danish Association of Vocational Colleges and Upper Secondary Schools and Chair of the Board at Aarhus Tech
- Signe Tychsen Philip, Deputy Director at the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI)
- European partners from the NESSIE project, sharing insights from across the North Sea region
- Henrik Kjeldsen, representing EuroSkills Herning 2025
- Lise Rachlitz from Boss Ladies Europe, working to improve representation and diversity in vocational professions
Together, these conversations explore how vocational education connects to the energy transition, the role of industry and policy, and the importance of inclusion and representation in attracting new talent to the sector.
Listen to the podcast
All five episodes are now available online via the Samsø Energy Academy website and major podcast platforms:
Special thanks to our producers
The podcast series was developed and produced by Energy Academy Samsø, with production led by Noah Solkær Lassen and Frederik Løbner. Their work has helped translate NESSIE’s ambitions into an accessible and engaging format.