UK Backs Mexico’s Green Skills Revolution
The UK’s Skills for Prosperity Programme is turbocharging green industries and boosting women’s role in STEM across Mexico.
Green Jobs Soar but Skills Gap Widens
Mexico faces a clean tech crunch. Green jobs have jumped 8% annually over five years, yet skilled graduates only grew 6%. LinkedIn’s global report warns the country can’t keep up with this soaring demand.
Most Mexican schools and universities aren’t tailoring courses to the booming green sector. Without employer input, graduates lack the skills businesses desperately need. Even more worrying: women are seriously underrepresented in STEM fields. Only 4.5 women study STEM for every 10 men at university and technical colleges.
UK Programme Steps In to Close the Gap
The Skills for Prosperity Mexico Programme (SFPMX), a UK government initiative, partners with 16 universities and technical schools in Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Puebla, Jalisco, and Yucatan. It revamps curricula, trains teachers, and focuses on green tech courses.
- Solar thermal & photovoltaic system training
- Energy-saving tech for manufacturing
- Electric vehicle industry skills
- Green tech-focused English lessons
So far, SFPMX has upgraded 3,139 educators who went on to train 12,573 students nationwide.
Teachers & Students Reap Benefits
“Previously, we only had basic solar power equipment. Now, I can teach students how to measure energy efficiency, monitor solar cells, and calculate carbon emission reductions,” said José Alfredo Casillas Ortega, professor at Paso del Norte Technological University.
Itzel Enríquez from the Technological University of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca added, “Traveling for top-notch technical training motivates me to improve and be a better professor.”
In December 2022, a pivotal course on energy-efficient power generation took place in Chihuahua, including visits to one of northern Mexico’s largest solar and thermal plants. Alongside technical skills, participants completed gender equality workshops tackling discrimination and gender-based violence.
Bridging Education & Employment
SFPMX also helps students land jobs. The programme coaches on CV writing, interviews, job hunting, and connects learners with top green industry employers. This employer-education partnership is shrinking Mexico’s employment gaps and boosting opportunities, especially for women and vulnerable communities.
Though SFPMX wraps up in March 2023, it leaves a lasting legacy: a new generation of skilled teachers and green-savvy graduates, driving Mexico’s clean tech future while championing women in STEM and sustainability.
