The global economy is undergoing a massive transformation as the world adjusts to and seeks to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis. Across many industries, this transition is already well underway. A recent study showed that renewable energy farms are much more efficient and lower cost than coal plants, GM recently committed to selling only zero emissions vehicles by 2035 and California has mandated that half of all heavy truck sales be electric by 2035.
And it's not just the auto industry. These seismic shifts will only accelerate in coming years, forcing equally large changes in the workforce and skills development. Among other shifts, the U.S. economy will create millions of new green jobs while also making the existing jobs (and the workers in them) greener. Universities, often the slowest institutions to adapt, will need to pivot quickly in order to effectively prepare and train the labor force of the future.
The current landscape
Today, the fastest growing segment of the economy is directly linked to combating the climate crisis. According to LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report 2022, green jobs grew by more than a third from 2015 to 2021, from 9.6 percent to 13.3 percent, and renewable and environmental jobs grew by a staggering 237 percent over the last five years. The Financial Times reported that CEOs are finding it challenging to find talent that understand how businesses affect the climate and how the climate affects business. This skills gap only looks to widen in the near future.
At its current pace, LinkedIn estimates that the demand for workers with green skills will surpass the supply by 2026. If we don’t proactively address that problem now, it will continue to widen, with severe consequences for our economy and our planet.
But, the thinking around green jobs needs to extend much further beyond our idea of traditional green fields, such as climate, sustainable design, renewable energy, energy efficiency, agronomy and environmental awareness.
More and more, green skills will be required by every position in a business. Often, we think of green jobs as those in solar or green energy. But most green jobs of the future will result from the greening of traditional jobs.
CFOs and accountants will need to learn how to measure and report on sustainable outcomes and ESG initiatives at companies. Investors will need to incorporate climate risk into their analysis. Marketing teams will need to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. Operations teams will need to adjust entire supply chains. Consider this: In the last three years, the state of Georgia has attracted 35 EV-related projects and more than 27,000 related jobs. Georgia finds itself at the center of America’s EV battery revolution.
And internally, CEOs and HR managers will need to appeal to Gen Z, which currently represents a third of the world’s population, and a generation where more than 50 percent seek to work for companies they see as environmentally friendly.
LinkedIn has seen 8 percent year-over-year growth in job posts with at least one green skill, but only 6 percent year-over-year growth in members with green skills. This is evidence of a strong demand for workers but a shortage of candidates who are qualified to address the climate crisis.
How do higher learning institutions solve this mismatch?
Colleges and universities are traditionally slow to adjust given long lead times for faculty research and an intentionally thoughtful and contemplative approach to change. And, there is no shortage of criticism about academia’s careful pacing. However, given the scale of the challenge and the largely unprecedented transition of our economy, higher education must advance with the seriousness and urgency that this crisis demands.
There are a number of ways in which colleges and universities can take action and lead on this critical issue.
Professors should look to integrate sustainability into business school's curriculum, research and teaching across all academic departments to ensure that every faculty member and student has a strong foundation in sustainability principles and practices.
Administrators should be working on developing specialized degree programs to cater to the growing demand for professionals with expertise in sustainable business practices. And courses should be updating and adapting the offerings regularly to reflect the latest developments in sustainability and ensure that faculty are well-equipped to teach these subjects
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