The concept of a sustainability developed together with the concept of green economy (GE) serves to establish key strategic managerial directions through three primary steps: promoting a macroeconomic approach to sustainable economic growth at regional, sub-regional, and national levels; developing GE strategies aimed at identifying opportunities for green financing; and providing support to nations in the development and integration of macroeconomic policies. The growing demand for societies to embrace GE practices has prompted a vital transformation in higher education. It is crucial that the skills taught in higher education incorporate aspects of the GE, integrating them smoothly within the broader competency framework. However, there remains a lack of consensus on how to achieve this integration, specifically regarding changes to the higher education qualification system and the restructuring of study programs.

This study intends to explore the current practices in GE training within the European higher education landscape to bolster the resilience of the higher education system through open education.

Methodology:
A two-fold approach that combines a scoping review with analyses of European Universities’ practices. For the scoping review, the inclusion criteria were established to higher education, specifically in the areas of green economy, green skills, and open education. A total of 1,211 publications were initially targeted and 63 studies were included in the final analysis. In pursuit of the clustering, the VOSviewer tool were used. For European Universities’ practices analysis, we examined best practices in the GE by researching the top 10 EU universities recognised for sustainable development according to the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025. We analyzed the courses offered at these institutions to identify key themes and 1389 study subjects were selected for further content analysis.

Findings:
A scoping review has identified three key approaches within the domain of sustainability education: interdisciplinary approaches, problem-based learning, and action-oriented approaches. It is also evident that general competencies have a limited space in the curriculum needed to achieve the necessary green skill (GS) sets. Analyses of University practices reveal that, within the selected key subjects where the discipline field and the topic overlap (23.25% of all subjects), one aspect of GS is already integrated into the traditional curriculum and is regarded as an integral and inseparable component of the studies. Sustainability is the most common key topic in disciplines that develop GS, constituting 14.91% of all studied subjects.

Conclusions:
GS constitute a relatively novel concept, analysed in conjunction with sustainable competencies and environmental beliefs. These could be reached by breakdown into three components: environmental and technical skills, such as systems thinking, literacy in circular economy principles, and sustainable design practices; strategic and pedagogical skills, including the utilisation of open education methodologies, curriculum integration, and cross-disciplinary teaching approaches; and interdisciplinary competencies, such as digital fluency, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and resilience.

Keywords: Green economy, green skills, open education.