Happy Earth Month! As we celebrate the only planet we (currently) populate, we thought it would be interesting to see what the green job market looks like. 

According to LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report 2023, the green skills/jobs market is booming. Between 2022 and 2023 the share of green talent in the workplace rose by 12.3%. However, the share of job postings requiring at least one green skill rose by 22.4%. That is a significant difference. Moreover, the study found that around the world only one out of every eight workers have one or more green skills.

There is an enormous amount of data in this report, and we will do our best to summarize.

First, the three main sectors for green job growth are Energy, Transportation and Finance.

As you would expect, many of the skills are highly technical and require a strong foundation in STEM knowledge. From solar power to battery production to water quality, these are growth areas that demand a skilled workforce.

However, you do not need to be a chemist or biologist to be a green worker. For example, some of the fastest growing green skills categories in the US: Carbon Accounting, Carbon Credits, Energy Audits, Hazard Communications, Waste disposal, Landscape Assessment and Tree Preservation.

Three areas the report highlighted that are not only experiencing growth but are employing a high percentage of workers who have no green experience are: Solar consultant, Waste Management Specialist and Environmental Technician.

This is all encouraging news, you may be thinking, and it is intriguing, but you may lack the time or the money to receive advanced training for the more specialized roles. Good news. The report delves into what it calls Gateway Jobs. These can serve as stepping stones that can provide a worker with the opportunity she will need to acquire the green skills needed to move on to traditional green roles.

Green skills are being incorporated into a wide variety of fields from facilities or park management to technical sales to interior design. They involve skills ranging from design to analysis to operational management to communications.

If this sounds interesting, we encourage you to read this report. Opportunities in this field abound and will continue to grow.

What you may not realize is that many of the opportunities at Goodwill of Greater Washington generally contribute to sustainability. For example: keeping  donations out of landfills or recycling plastic film. While you may not think of these as "green" jobs they are so much more than what you would think of as a retail job. And as our sustainability efforts continue to grow this will create even more green opportunities. Goodwill of Greater Washington and its regional partners are making green job training available to up to 1500 donated goods/retail team members by the end of 2024.

Find out more here: https://dcgoodwill.org/careers/careers-at-goodwill-of-dc/

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