Background/Setting The Scene

The UK Government has set the target of becoming “net zero” by 2050 and it regards any career that helps the UK work towards net zero to be a ‘Green Career’. Green jobs in the UK are defined as ‘employment in an activity that directly contributes to or supports the achievement of the UK’s net zero emissions target and other environmental goals such as nature restoration and mitigate or adapt to climate change.’ 

It is also worth noting that in a recent report ‘Every Job is a Climate Job’ produced by Kite Insights (2022), 83% of employees surveyed wanted to take action on climate change in their jobs and it is a major motivating factor that helps employees develop a sense of purpose and gain additional job satisfaction by doing something positive.

HM Governments ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’ (2020) identified low carbon industries currently supporting 460,000 jobs across the UK and identified the opportunity for a further 250,000 jobs by 2030 and the importance of developing new skills throughout life are necessary to achieve this.

With the demand for green skills globally growing nearly twice as fast as the growth in green talent – a global green skills gap is looming, which will have implications for us as a nation. 

  • Green job listings worldwide requiring at least one “green skill” grew nearly twice as fast (22.4% between 2022 & 2023 on LinkedIn) as the growth in green talent in the workforce (12.3%). 
  • Jobs requiring green skills now make up 30% of UK job listings. 

A recent YouGov poll on behalf of Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) (2024), highlighted that 65% of British adults believe they do not have access to green skills training through their employer, there is clearly a need to act speedily on policy interventions to create a greener workforce. The same poll also found that 56% of British adults have never heard of the term ‘green job’, while 64% also demonstrated a similar lack of awareness of the term ‘green skills’. 

The 2024 National Environmental Services Survey revealed that 58% of respondents revealed that there is or will be a green skills gap. This is backed up by the fact that 49% of respondents involved in recruitment have experienced difficulties in recruiting candidates. 34% of respondents indicated that their organisation provided sustainability training for their employees. Lack of expertise was one of the top five main barriers to their organisations achieving net zero emissions.

The top five biggest opportunities relating to green jobs identified by the survey respondents

  • Expansion of the Circular Economy
  • Advancements in Clean Energy Technology
  • Public Awareness and Engagement in Sustainability
  • Strengthening of Environmental Policies and Regulations
  • Development of Green Infrastructure

Coloured pie chart show the top five growth areas for green jobs

Source: National Environmental Services Survey 2024.

In the same survey the following types of green skills were seen as the most in demand

Coloured boxes showing green skills most in demand

Green skills, and jobs, will be the engine which drives a net zero carbon economy will be driven and the demand for discreet, and embedded, green capabilities will become commonplace for anyone entering the job market.

National Grid estimates that in the coming decade low energy carbon generation will need to be increased by 50% and low carbon heating systems will be needed by circa 2.8 m homes and approximately 60,000 additional EV Charging points will be needed to power eleven million EV’s.

In their ‘Blueprint for Green Workforce Transformation IEMA and Deloitte identified four shifts in the transition to a green economy:

  1. Expansion of skills and scope in existing specialist sustainability roles.
  2. Increased need for green skills in non-specialist roles.
  3. Transition of workforces from unsustainable sectors to new roles.
  4. Demand for green skills in new green sectors and organisations.

This Roadmap is a starting point to support educators, employers, and investors to identify, access and embed green skills in their daily activities. It introduces key topics and provides signposting to where additional support and information can be found. It also highlights some of the key work around green skills that is already taking place and how opportunities can be accessed. The transition to sustainable and greener economies is a huge opportunity not just for our wider health, wellbeing, and social wealth but also for the individuals who will drive the change over the coming years. This is an opportunity to not just address a pressing challenge but to think differently about how we make that change.