A few weeks ago I listened to a presentation on green jobs by Carol McClelland of GreenCareerCentral. According to the United Nations Environment Programme Green Jobs report, “green jobs include work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative, and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality. Specifically, but not exclusively, this includes jobs that help to protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and water consumption through high-efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution.”
Green jobs are predicted to grow significantly over the next two decades and the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is positioned to invest in innovation and support emerging industries such as high tech and green tech. In addition to creating new jobs, emerging industries also require the same infrastructure as traditional industries and it is important for job seekers to examine their skills and think about how their core competencies can be utilized in a new role in an emerging industry.
According to Green Career Central’s free report, Six Strategies to Find Your Green Career, there will be ample opportunities to transition existing areas of expertise into a green career. For example, there will be a need to secure funding for green industry initiatives and talent in finance, investing, grant writing, and market analysis will be in demand. Infrastructures will need to be created to manage reliable and efficient production of new innovations and supply chain specialists, distribution managers, and software designers will be an integral part of making this happen.
So maybe the grass is greener on the green jobs side. It’s certainly worth it to take a peek over the fence. Be sure to check out GreenCareersCentral for more information on the green jobs movement.