Vocational education plays a vital role in fostering green skills that are central for achieving climate goals, sustaining economic competitiveness, and promoting social inclusion. Expectations are especially high for collective vocational education systems, in which both employers and the state are deeply involved in governance and funding. However, little is known about the extent to which collective systems have adapted to the skill demands of a green economy. Using Denmark as a case, this paper examines how collective vocational systems adjust skill content to support a net-zero carbon economy. Using natural language processing, we analyze the integration of green skills in the training ordinances of 101 Danish vocational programs from 2015 to 2024. Rather than a uniform transition, this explorative study identifies diverse trajectories of skill adaptation. Based on the analysis, four reform trajectories are inductively identified: trailblazers, that rapidly integrate green skills; adaptors, that make substantial but incremental changes; laggards, that make limited updates; and late bloomers, that initially delay reforms but later accelerate green skill integration. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
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