It’s unmistakable that we are in the midst of a global shift in how people work. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered offices nationwide, leaving many workplaces scrambling to stand up remote work systems and reimagine collaboration in a digital office. But this isn’t the only shifting component of today’s workplace. More than ever, jobs throughout the economy require green, environmentally conscious skills–even those not traditionally associated with environmental protection.
That’s one of the key takeaways from LinkedIn Learning’s recent Global Green Skills Report 2022, which provides new data on green skills and jobs to empower policymakers and business leaders with actionable insights to help them transition the global workforce to a green economy future.
LinkedIn’s report reveals that employers’ demand for green skills and talent vastly outpaces the supply. Our economy lacks the human capital in crucial skill areas that will enable us to reach our global and U.S. climate targets. While LinkedIn job postings requiring green skills grew 8% annually over the past five years, the share of green talent has grown roughly 6% annually in the same period.
Meanwhile, a stubborn equity gap exists in the space. The share of green talent grew cumulatively by 39% between 2015 and 2021 in high-income countries, 37% in upper-middle-income countries; 31% in lower-middle-income countries; and 18% in low-income countries. We’re also facing a gender gap: Globally, in 2021, there are only 62 women for every 100 men considered green talent—a number that has been stagnant since 2015.
As an industry leader, this new data has me examining what role Brightmark can have in doubling down on our recruitment, training, professional development, and retention efforts, as well as revisiting our diversity, equity, and inclusion plan for additional opportunities. Our policymakers are also an important voice in this conversation—federal government programs like coal community retraining, technical skills training at Minority Serving Institutions, and critical infrastructure construction job creation are examples of what can be done to build a 21st-century green workforce that helps us to achieve our climate goals.
If you want to transition into a green job, reach out to Brightmark today and join us on our Reimagine Waste journey.
With green in mind,
Bob Powell
