On the road to a local 'skills ecosystem'? Green skills in Cologne

At a time when climate change is posing major challenges to our cities and communities, Prof. Dr. Martina Fuchs and Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne, together with Prof. Dr. Claudia Ziller from Cologne University of Applied Sciences, have launched the innovative “SkillsEco” project. The project is funded by the RheinEnergieStiftung Jugend/Beruf, Wissenschaft. The aim of the project is to analyse, to develop and promote sustainability skills in order to make Cologne a "greener" and more sustainable city. Businesses in urban areas have a crucial role to play in achieving climate targets and conversing resources and need employees with the appropriate “green skills” to achieve the sustainability goals. These skills include technical, social and personal aspects in the field of environmental sustainability.

The project focuses on three main areas:

Micro level: Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz is leading the research into the teaching of “green skills” at learning locations in companies and educational institutions.

Meso-level: Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Martina Fuchs, regional stakeholder networks and the local "green skills ecosystem" are being studied.

Technical specification level: Prof. Dr. Claudia Ziller is focusing on the implementation of sustainability concepts in the field of building technology and use in order to develop Cologne into a "Green City".

The research project includes a variety of measures, including interviews with local stakeholders, workshops and scientific publications. The results will not only contribute to Cologne's transformation into a sustainable city but will also serve as a model for other regions.

So far, an initial pilot study has been carried out between May and July 2024 based on an initial stakeholder network. In this study, the project team focused on the evaluation of green skills in the field of building automation, as a sub-sector of technical building services.

Based on this and the further elaborated stakeholder network, the project team organized a first kick-off workshop on 7 October 2024. Scientists from the three specialist areas involved in the project were present. Thanks to the workshop, the project team was able to refine the actor network and now start the main study in a targeted manner.

The main survey was carried out between January and July 2025 as part of the research project. A total of 53 semi-structured guided interviews were conducted with experts from politics, business, administration, chambers, guilds, associations, vocational schools and universities. The interviews are being evaluated using qualitative content analysis.

The initial findings were presented on 25 November 2025 at the University of Cologne and digitally via Zoom. The findings were discussed in various discussion rounds. The exchange provided the research team with valuable input for the ongoing evaluation. 

We are also very pleased that the SkillsEco project has received a follow-up funding grant from the RheinEnergieStiftung. This will enable us to continue and expand our work in the next project phase. The funding will run from June 2026 to June 2027 and will provide support in particular for the two doctoral dissertation projects by Farina Koller and Hanna Link.