Top 10 Fastest Growing Green Jobs

Green roles and skills have a remarkable growth the recent years. Linkedin has published its Global Green Skills Report 2022, indicating that millions of new jobs are about to be created globally in the next decade, driven by new climate policies and commitments. For example, the report focuses on the USA market, where in the last five years, the number of Renewables and Environment jobs has increased by 237%, in contrast to the 19% increase for Oil and Gas jobs. By the end of 2023, it is estimated that at this pace, the Renewables and Environment sector will outnumber Oil & Gas in total jobs on Linkedin’s platform. The top 10 fastest-growing green jobs are the following: 

1. 1. 1. Sustainability Manager
      2. Wind Turbine Technician
      3. Solar Consultant 
      4. Ecologist
      5. Environmental Health and Safety Specialist
      6. Compliance Manager
      7. Geotechnical Engineer
      8. Safety Technician
      9. Farm Manager
      10. Risk Advisor

The time period the first five green jobs showed fast growth was between 2016 and 2021. Although the above jobs showed fast growth, the report highlights that green skills intensity has to be increased in all sectors and countries to build the supply needed and meet the demand required to achieve climate goals.

It is a fact that there has yet to be much progress made. Giving workers the green skills they need to meet the growing demand’s expectations is underestimated. The report indicates that growth in the demand for workers with green skills has outpaced the growth in the supply of green talent. This can be concluded from the data below. More specifically, over the past five years, job postings requiring green skills grew at 8% annually. However, in the same period, the share of green talent has grown at roughly 6% annually. This phenomenon is characterized as a significant missed opportunity for the planet and workers in the report, which emphasizes that it must be addressed immediately.

At the same time, employers’ top in-demand green skills in 2021 were Sustainability, Remediation, Occupational Safety and Health Advisor, Climate, Renewable Energy, Environmental Awareness, Environment Health and Safety, Solar Energy, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Recycling.

The share of job postings in 2021 requiring the skill of Sustainability was 27,6%, while the share of job postings in 2021 requiring the skill of Remediation was 8,8%. The share of job postings in 2021 requiring the skill of Occupational Safety and Health Advisor was 8,6%, and the share of job postings in 2021 requiring the skill of Climate was 5,6%. The share of job postings in 2021 requiring the skill of Renewable Energy was 5,4%. The share of the job postings in 2021 requiring the rest of the skills mentioned above was between 4,9% and 2,1%.

Also, several of the fastest-growing green skills across all sectors were not necessarily – as the report indicates – in-demand skills. However, they suggest the emergence of new trends, including Sustainable Fashion, Oil Spill Response, and Sustainable Business Strategies, among others. The top 1 fastest growing green skill between 2016 and 2021 was Sustainable Fashion, with 90,6% growth. The four fastest-growing green skills that follow Sustainable Fashion are Environmental Services, Oil Spill Response, Climate, and Sustainable Growth, with 82.5%, 80.4%, 68.7%, and 67.2%, respectively, skill growth. Surface water, Occupational Safety and Health Advisor (OSHA), Sustainable business strategies, Solar systems, and Sustainable landscapes complete the top 10 fastest-growing green skills between 2016 and 2021. 

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