Why Job Seekers With ‘Green Skills’ Are In High Demand

Source: FORBES | · LINKEDIN · | September 25, 2024

Source: Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images

It’s a busy week in the streets of New York, with Climate Week events, summits, panels and even concerts headlined by famous pop stars. With all this attention on the climate, let’s talk about green jobs in today’s newsletter.

Green jobs, as defined by LinkedIn, are positions that have sustainability at their center and cannot be done without some knowledge of skills directly related to fighting climate change.

With the rapid threat of climate change becoming a more present reality (just look at the strengthening hurricanes and higher temperatures), green jobs are becoming essential beyond just the energy and policy sectors. Sustainability leaders in all industries—including finance, technology and manufacturing—are just as important

Not only that, job seekers with “green” skills are in demand: LinkedIn found that in order to meet goals of curbing climate change by 2050, the talent pool for green jobs has to double. And there is already a gap: While green jobs increased by 11.6% in the last year, the number of candidates only increased by 5.6%.

Green jobs could be a good option for those looking to get hired in a tough labor market. Job seekers with green skills see a hiring rate that is 54.6% higher than the rest of the workforce, according to the study from LinkedIn.