Workers with experience with green and sustainable practices are in a better position to land a job, according to a new report.
Those who had some experience with sustainability or at least one green skill had a 29% higher hiring rate than the workforce average.
Job listings in which applicants are required to have at least one green skill are on the rise, having increased by a median of 22.4% since 2022.
Between 2022 and 2023 alone, green talent in the workforce rose by a median of 12.3% across the 48 countries analyzed.
The data was published as part of LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report 2023, which took in data from 48 countries between 2022 and 2023 to build a picture of worldwide job listings and hiring.
While green talent across the worldwide workforce is increasing, having risen by a median of 12.3% across the period, this is not keeping pace with the growing demand for green skills.
Business leaders have bet on sustainability to ward off disruption, and firms across sectors are expected to expand their green investments in the face of economic uncertainty and the climate crisis.
The study found that businesses could soon experience a green skills shortage, with green roles still largely being filled by those with prior experience rather than upskilled workers.
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Over the past year, 81% of workers who took up green jobs already had some green skills, but some emerging roles are more available to those with no prior experience with sustainability.
New roles include energy auditor, with 43% of UK hires for this position across the period having had no green experience.
Some businesses have embraced green commitments by retaining existing employees while changing role descriptions. The study found that between 2015 and 2022, 24% of the skills in an average job description have changed, with green skills now emphasized.
The utilities industry has marked the lowest hiring decrease of all measured sectors at just 7% year-on-year amidst a record-breaking shift to renewable energy, while the tech sector has reduced its LinkedIn hiring rate by more than 50% year-on-year.
Green jobs could buck the trend of big tech layoffs and AI-linked job cuts, by offering firms a route for positive growth amidst global financial upheaval.
Tech workers may increasingly seek out green jobs as their demand grows and other tech sector opportunities dwindle.
The study indicated that some existing skills offer an advantage for workers looking to transition into green jobs, including backgrounds in STEM, digital skills, and an understanding of hardware and software.
Workers with a background in mathematics were found almost 1.75x more likely to transition to a green job, which could offer hope for tech sector firms looking to increase their green roles.
IT workers with experience in supply chain management could also be well-suited to green jobs, with supply chain understanding noted as an important skill for the renewable energies sector, as well as for reducing carbon emissions.
Workers in different regions are facing increasingly-disparate hiring landscapes. Green IT ranks in the top ten fastest-growing green skills in the EU, but does not rank in the US at all.
