Green Careers on the Rise

The global demand for green skills is currently exceeding supply, with projections showing that by 2050, green jobs will outnumber qualified workers two to one. A recent Labour Market Pulse Report from Microsoft, LinkedIn and Ireland's Industrial Agency (IDA), states that demand for green skills in Ireland has grown at twice the global rate between 2021-2024.  

As the world races to meet climate goals and transition to a low-carbon economy, the demand for workers with “green skills” is soaring. From renewable energy and sustainable construction to circular economy management and climate finance, businesses and governments are urgently seeking expertise that is still in short supply.

A rapidly expanding market

Renewable energy alone employs more than 13 million people worldwide, a figure expected to rise sharply as countries expand solar, wind, and hydrogen capacity. Industries not traditionally associated with sustainability—finance, transport, IT, agriculture—are also re-tooling, embedding sustainability into their core operations.

This surge has created an urgent premium on workers with the technical and managerial skills to drive change. For example, engineers with expertise in battery storage, grid integration, and offshore wind are being recruited faster than they can be trained. Meanwhile, managers with knowledge of carbon accounting, environmental compliance, and sustainable supply chains are highly sought after across sectors.

The Green Skills Gap

Despite this demand, supply is lagging. Many professionals in mid-career are eager to transition into green sectors but lack the necessary certifications or hands-on training.

A global survey in 2023 found that only one in eight workers had green skills listed on their professional profiles. The top 10 most in-demand sustainability jobs that will play key role in the green transition, according to Sustainability Bulletin, include sustainability managers, renewable energy engineers, green building architects, environmental consultants, sustainable supply chain managers, climate change analysts, waste management specialists, water resource managers and corporate social responsibility managers.

It was climate education in school that sparked the interest of 12 year old Sumaya Mohammed, into taking action. Now a law student at UCC she has organised large-scale youth climate protests and co-founded the Student Climate Action Network. "The climate movement needs lawyers, farmers, scientists, teachers, artists. I’m hopeful - not because change is guaranteed or the system is just, but because I believe in people. I believe in our capacity to choose courage over comfort, justice over delay, and action over apathy. This climate crisis is a human rights crisis, and time is running out" states Sumaya.

Industry needs

"Every year the need for skilled professionals in the sustainability and green jobs sector grows rapidly" states Christina Fox, VP Business Support, Statkraft Ireland, Europe's largest generator of renewable energy. Universities and economies have struggled to meet industry needs as the transition from fossil fuelled economies occurs.

"The excess demand is good news for workers and graduates with green skills as the severe shortage of workers with the right skills means that they can demand higher wages.  However, it is not great news for the green transition if the pace of adjustment in labour markets is too slow. The higher wages commanded will also increase the cost of the transition" states Dr. Bernadette Power, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, Cork University Business School (CUBS) and Programme Director of International Sustainable Business .

However it is not only full-time sustainability education courses that are required. There is a burgeoning demand for short bespoke sustainability programmes and microcredentials for busy professionals already in the workforce. To meet this demand universities will need to have the capacity to pivot quickly responding to rapidly changing sustainability skills needs.  For example, in 2024, University College Cork established the UCC Sustainability Academy, the first university sustainability training and education unit of its kind in Ireland which uses a unique model for tailoring high quality sustainability education delivery to market needs. On request from industry, public sector or local authorities the Academy can rapidly develop bespoke programmes based on the latest international research and expertise of over 100 sustainability academics in UCC.

“We work closely with industry and provide short courses to match where there are skills gaps. There is an unprecedented need for training and upskilling for sustainability in the workforce and broader society. Many employees are finding that sustainability has now become part of their job but may not have the time to return to full-time education to up-skill and require shorter tranches of education. Sustainability requires everyone's involvement not just those with 'sustainability' in their job title" states Dr Paul Bolger, Head of UCC's Sustainability Academy.

The case for new leadership

The renowned business academic Peter Senge has called the shaping of a sustainable, flourishing world as the greatest leadership challenge ever faced by humanity. When historians look back on the 20th and early 21st centuries, they will not only measure progress by technological marvels and rising prosperity, but also by the decisions — or indecisions — of leaders in the face of mounting environmental risks. Leadership has always been the force that shapes societies’ trajectories. In the case of climate change, it is also the force that has brought us to the brink of a crisis.

Through UNIC, an alliance of ten universities across Europe, UCC is focusing on developing the next generation of leaders across Europe who will lead and inspire change to a sustainable future. This Autumn at the UNIC International Autumn School, UCC welcomed 25 international participants who engaged in a citybased challenge within Cork City.

The convenor of the Autumn School, Dr Paul Bolger says “We need to ask whether we can rely on the current leadership approaches that got us into this mess to get us out of it or do we need new leadership forms to address complex, uncertain, and dynamic sustainability challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable consumption.” 

Words: Eoin Hahessy, Patricia Finucane Images: Clare Keogh, Unsplash, Nicole Flemming (UNIC)