2023-07-18 14:29:35
Tackling climate change requires a transformation of the global labor market, both in terms of the tasks performed and the skills required of professionals. LinkedIn’s 2023 Global Green Skills Report shows that despite rising red flags and concerns about the urgent need to curb climate change, the global workforce currently lacks the skills to lead the green transition economy. Despite the growing demand for green talent, the supply of professionals with sustainability-related skills is still below the demand. Worldwide, only one in eight workers possess one or more green skills: we are far from the diffusion of the green skills we need.
The importance of green jobs
In recent years, the sector of green job it still experienced significant growth, despite the slowdown in hiring globally. According to recent data, while the overall hiring rate has declined, job postings for green jobs have increased by 15.2%. This phenomenon highlights a growing interest of companies for sustainability professionalswhich can contribute to achieving climate goals.
The importance of green jobs is also confirmed by the results of LinkedInwhich identified three of the fastest growing professions between 2018 and 2022 as green jobs: Sustainability Analyst, Sustainability Specialist e Sustainability Manager.
In the European context, thebuildingi public utility services and the oil sector, gas and mining are among the sectors most interested in sustainability professionals. However, there is also a notable increase in professionals from the technology and finance sectors acquiring green skills across Europe.
The map of green skills
What are we referring to when we talk about green skills? First of all it is essential to point out that Sustainability-related skills permeate almost all professional sectors. Green skills include planning the climate action, corporate sustainability and sustainable sourcing strategies. 24% of required skills changed between 2015 and 2022, increasingly including green skills as core requirements.
However, accessing green jobs can be difficult for workers with no prior experience. LinkedIn data indicates that 81% of workers entering green jobs have at least some skills or experience in the field of sustainability.
“It’s not enough to create more green jobs and just wait for people to fill those jobs. Without the right skills, these new jobs can be difficult to access. We need to make it as easy as possible for workers to enter green jobs, and this requires the joint action of politicians, businesses and training bodies. Targeted and tailored retraining programs and on-the-job training are key to building a global workforce with the skills to address the threat of the climate crisis,” she said, Sue Duke, VP, head of Global public policy & economic graph at LinkedIn.
Growing sectors
From 2015 to 2023, employment in the renewable energy sector grew. For every 100 workers who have left the renewables sector globally, 120 have entered.
The transition to a more sustainable economy is stimulating the growth of green skill in all sectors, including carbon-intensive ones. For example, the concentration of green talent in the oil and gas industry has increased steadily since 2016, reaching 21% in 2023.
The percentage of workers in the automotive sector with skills in electric vehicles increased by an average of 61% between 2018 and 2023.
The countries with the highest percentage of automotive workers with electric vehicle skills, as of March 2023, are the Sweden (8,1%), il United Kingdom (7.3%) and the Germania (6.1%). The United States are lagging behind, with 3.7% of automotive workers possessing EV skills.
Although the average concentration of green talent across all sectors is 12.3% (meaning that one in eight workers possess green skills), in financial sector it is only 6.8% (which means that one in fifteen has green skills). This places financial behind sectors ranging from energy and mining to agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing, as far as green talent is concerned. However, with a 14.8% year-over-year increase in the concentration of green talent, the financial sector is becoming greener faster than most others.
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