- Green job postings increased 8% annually over the past five years, but green talent can't keep up.
- To help meet demand, job seekers should consider adding green skills to their résumés.
- Networking, online training courses, and fellowships are good places to start.
The portion of green talent — workers with the knowledge or skills needed to support environmental sustainability now and in the future — in the global workforce rose from 9.6% in 2015 to 13.3% so far in 2022 — a 38.5% growth rate, according to LinkedIn's new Global Green Skills Report 2022.
"We're seeing workers with green skills being hired at a higher rate than those without," Sue Duke, head of global public policy at LinkedIn, told Insider. "So that means getting ready for this is going to be good for you as well as good for the planet."
While the number of workers transitioning into "green" jobs, or roles that benefit the environment or support sustainability, and adding "green" skills, like pollution mitigation, waste prevention, and sustainable procurement, to their résumés is growing, it's still too low to keep up with growth in the industry. According to LinkedIn's report, job postings that required green skills increased 8% annually over the past five years, but the share of green talent grew by just 6%.
"The trend is in the right direction, but based on those projections, we're going to hit a skills gap in 2026," Duke said. "That means the demand for green talent is going to outstrip the supply, and that's something that we have to come to grips with immediately. That's not good for workers, and it's not good for the planet, so we need to act now if we're going to ensure that gap doesn't emerge."
The demand for green jobs is being driven by governments and companies making commitments to reduce carbon emissions or achieve other sustainability goals, she said. But other sectors not traditionally thought of as green, like the financial or tech industries, are increasingly seeking workers with green skills.
"Demand is coming, not just in the growth of the green sector, but from companies across the board making those commitments and starting to implement their climate plans," Duke said.
The most in-demand green jobs
LinkedIn found that the fastest-growing green job titles between 2016 and 2021 included sustainability manager, wind turbine technician, solar consultant, ecologist, and environmental health and safety specialist.
The most in-demand "greening" job titles, or roles that can be performed without extensive green skills but typically require some of them, include compliance manager, facilities manager, and technical sales representative.
"There are lots of opportunities for people to incorporate climate action into their job, no matter what that job is," Evan Hynes, the cofounder of Climatebase, a job platform that helps match job seekers with companies focused on addressing climate change, told Insider.
He said he's seen more demand for climate-tech jobs like data scientists and software engineers, but many companies are struggling to find the right talent.
"We desperately need more people to make climate the focus of their careers," Hynes said.
Millennials are more likely to have green skills already. According to Pew Research Center data, people between the ages of 25 and 40 have been more active than others in addressing climate change. There's also a need to address gender and educational inequities in the green job market to meet the demand, as many of the green job sectors, like science and technology, have traditionally been male-dominated. Duke said that for every six women considered green talent, there are 10 men, a number that hasn't changed since 2015.
Upskilling will help meet the green talent demand
Green skills — including remediation, recycling, and knowledge of Occupational Safety and Health Administration policy, climate change, and renewable energy — are among the most in demand, according to LinkedIn. Across job sectors, employers are looking for people with experience in sustainable fashion, oil-spill response, sustainable business strategies, and environmental services.
About 10% of job postings on LinkedIn last year required at least one green skill, even for roles not in the environmental sector, Duke said. For example, skills around renewable energy showed up in job posts for financial analysts and business engineers, as companies across industries are launching sustainability goals and initiatives.
Re-skilling or upskilling is needed to meet the green-job-market demand. Hynes said today's workers need a "base-level understanding of sustainability, climate change, and climate solutions."
Climatebase recently launched a climate-career-accelerator fellowship program to help professionals work with mentors in green industries to gain green skills through coursework, projects, and mentorship.
Networking and seeking online training courses through universities, two-year colleges, or trade associations, or talking to your employer about continuing-education programs are some ways to boost green skills, Duke said.
"There are ways for you to transition your existing role in your existing sector in a more sustainable way," she said.