According to a recent report from LinkedIn, global demand for green skills grew by 9.2% per year on average from 2018 through 2023. In that period, green talent grew by only 5.4% per year.
The gap between green skill demand and supply is also rapidly widening. LinkedIn reports that between 2022 and 2023, demand for green skills rose by 24.3% while supply rose by just 12.3%.
The green skills gap could delay green initiatives across the globe. But it also presents an opportunity for job seekers and employers alike.
Companies that value and act on sustainability may be more attractive to job seekers. And employees who have green skills may have more job security. The LinkedIn report found that green hiring sped up even as overall hiring slowed between 2022 and 2023.
Despite the severity and opportunities of the green skills challenge, a clear path forward has yet to emerge to close the skills gap. Which green skills are most needed? How can these skills be quickly and effectively taught to meet demand?
Green Skills Needs Increase Across Industries and Roles
LinkedIn reports that not only are green jobs growing, but more jobs that are otherwise non-green now require a green skill.
In a 2022 report on green skills, LinkedIn defines green jobs as roles that “cannot be performed without extensive knowledge of green skills” and green skills as “those that enable the environmental sustainability of economic activities.”
Thus, a job does not have to be green to require green skills. For example, autoworkers now increasingly need skills to manufacture and repair electric vehicles, even if their primary responsibilities are not directly related to sustainability.
As sustainability efforts expand, a wide range of jobs and industries will require green skills. Incorporating green skills into more learning and training programs, even those not primarily focused on sustainability, will be essential.
Industries with Growing Demand for Green Skills
While green skills are needed across industries, LinkedIn singles out energy, transportation, and finance as fields with high potential for green job growth.
Unsurprisingly, electricity and heating, followed by transportation, produce the greatest portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Workers in these sectors will especially need help learning new skills as green technologies are adopted.
Between 2015 and 2023, more workers (120 of them) joined the renewable energy industry than workers who left it (100), LinkedIn reports. But even within the oil and gas industry, the median national percentage of workers who use green skills in their jobs increased from just above 15% in 2016 to more than 20% in 2023. Energy transitions are also increasing jobs in utilities.
In transportation, a rise in electric vehicles is driving green job growth. LinkedIn reports that electric vehicles now account for 10% of global car sales. In finance, more professionals will need green skills to be able to help organizations meet sustainability targets and comply with regulations. For example, finance professionals may help with climate risk reporting, management, and mitigation.
Addressing the Green Skills Gap
To address the green skills gap, more precise data on which green skills are in highest demand is necessary. Stakeholders, including governments, businesses, and nonprofits, need to support the development of training programs tailored to these needs.
While the 2023 LinkedIn report highlights the green skills shortage, it does not specify which green skills are most in demand or which green jobs are growing. However, the 2022 LinkedIn report identified the fastest-growing green jobs, such as sustainability managers, wind turbine technicians, and solar consultants. It also highlighted roles for which green skills are increasingly required, like compliance managers, facilities managers, and technical sales representatives.
Usefully, the 2022 LinkedIn report lists “top in-demand green skills.” But the listed skills—like “sustainability,” “remediation,” and “climate”—may be too general to be practically useful without being defined within specific industries and roles.
The European Commission has also created a taxonomy for green skills, which includes “381 skills, 185 knowledge concepts, and 5 transversal skills.” This taxonomy could be a potentially useful resource for planning skills-based learning programs for green transitions.
Solutions to the green skills gap will likely resemble those used for closing other skills gaps. One promising solution is to build local learning ecosystems supported with investments from government, business, and nonprofits.
Whatever solutions are used, the urgency is great. Speaking with the World Economic Forum, Allen Blue, co-founder of LinkedIn, clarified the enormity of the challenge: “We need to figure out a way to essentially reskill hundreds of millions of people, to ensure we can pursue the carbon transition without slowing down.”
Michael Dedek is a frequent contributor to the Global Opportunity Forum. 