le or dark, it’s a green jobs bonanza

PaAt least 400,000 posts could be created if companies are willing to invest
Carly Chynoweth
If Gordon Brown is right, 1.3m people in Britain will be working in green jobs by 2017 — and at least 400,000 of these positions do not exist today. This is good news, particularly in a recession and with the UN climate change conference coming up next month in Copenhagen. Underneath the headline figures, however, there is debate about how to define green jobs and whether the British workforce has the skills required.
Under the most straightforward definition, green jobs produce some sort of green product or service — wind-powered turbines, for example, or cars with low emissions.
Sherry Coutu, an associate at the Cambridge University’s Judge Business School and an angel investor, said it will be entrepreneurs in these innovation industries who create most of the green jobs in Britain.
She believes they will come from small and medium-sized firms that are innovating and hiring faster than anyone else. “Jobs are driven by innovation, which is in turn driven by the demand for low-carbon products and energy efficiency,” she said.
Support for start-up businesses and investment in university science and engineering courses are needed, Coutu added.
However, many of the skills needed in a low-carbon economy already exist, according to a recent report from the Aldersgate Group, a coalition of businesses and environmental organisations.
“Although some entirely new jobs will be created and special training arrangements must be made for those, in many key jobs there are similarities between the skill sets that already exist and those that are needed in the low-carbon economy,” said John Edmonds, who chaired the Aldersgate report team.
Similarly, Jenny Bird, part of the climate change team at the Institute for Public Policy Research, a think-tank, argues that we need to start taking a broader view of what constitutes a green job.
“The risk is that we start seeing green jobs as just another subset of the economy. If we are to meet targets for reducing carbon, all companies and other employers will need to assess how these jobs will fit into their organisations,” she said.
“Gradually it will become more important for all businesses to be able to manage their own emissions and they will need people to do it.”
This is where government initiatives are already having an effect on employment, said Andy Cartland, managing director of Acre, a recruitment agency that specialises in green jobs. “The thing that really drives job markets, especially this one, is legislation,” he said. “For example, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which comes into force next year, will require 5,000-6,000 businesses to monitor their carbon output. They will need carbon managers to measure this because, if they don’t, they will be burdened with additional costs.”
The CRC, which applies to organisations that use more than 6,000MWh of electricity a year through half-hourly meters, will begin with a three-year introductory phase next April.
Many companies are hiring energy efficiency managers to examine everything from staff behaviour — turning equipment off when not in use makes a difference — to manufacturing and supply chain processes, said Cartland.
Overall, he sees “dark green” jobs — those requiring qualifications in sustainability — remaining a small and specialised market. However, he estimates there could be 500,000 “pale green” jobs — lawyers, managers, carbon traders, sales people and engineers who are employed primarily for their professional skills but whose job prospects are underpinned by climate change issues.
Also, as small green technology companies expand, they are hiring managing directors and chief executives with sound commercial skills. “These are people who are more likely to have an MBA than a sustainability qualification,” said Cartland.
Specialist qualifications still have their place, especially at the technical end. Alastair Hutson, a director at Utilyx, an energy consultancy, said there was a shortage of graduates with financial and green skills.
Jonathan Lee, an engineering recruiter, wants to see more engineering graduates. “We need to focus on ensuring that enough graduates leave our universities with degrees in subjects such as emissions control, nuclear physics and materials science ... as well as more common engineering subjects such as mechanical and electrical engineering,” he said.
Coutu added: “Other countries are ploughing money into this. If we have the skills and create the companies, we will create the jobs. But if we do not do it, other countries will.”
Paul Jackson of the Engineering and Technology Board said: “The problem is not so much a shortage of graduates but of senior technicians, who tend to come through apprenticeships.” These are the people who will have to do everything from fitting solar panels to maintaining electric vehicles. “There are a lot of good things being done in apprenticeships but they have to be supported by employers,” he said.
Skills that are wanted now...
- Energy efficiency specialists — engineers, strategists and managers. Energy managers responsible for power usage across an entire organisation require experience in areas such as technology, behavioural change, compliance and procurement.
- Environmental managers are needed to ensure that organisations comply with legislation and other procedures.
- Supply chain experts are needed by large retailers to monitor and minimise the carbon footprint of all the goods they sell. Such specialists will become more important next year when the Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme begins.
- Renewable energy specialists are also being sought. Many will be mechanical and electrical engineers.
... and those needed in 2020
- Food security experts, including supply chain managers, agricultural scientists and crop geneticists.
- Water conservation specialists, including engineers to develop water-saving technology and managers to ensure that businesses minimise their use of water.
- Nuclear experts will be needed but demand will depend on whether the next government decides that nuclear power is needed to meet the country’s energy needs while minimising carbon emissions.
- Energy efficiency specialists and supply chain experts will become increasingly important to businesses as the price of carbon increases.
- There will be more renewable energy jobs as low-carbon businesses expand; low-carbon transport, both road and air, will be an important subsector here.