The Growing Demand for Green Skills: Insights from LinkedIn's Study

As we launch our first blog article, it’s essential to highlight the growing importance of green skills in both the current and future job markets. A recent study by LinkedIn offers compelling evidence of this green wave sweeping across industries.

LinkedIn’s 2023 Global Green Skills Report uncovers significant trends where the workforce intersects with sustainability. Leveraging data from LinkedIn’s vast global user base, the report highlights the escalating demand for green skills and their crucial role in today’s job market.

Globally, the findings reveal that only one in eight workers possesses at least one green skill, meaning a significant majority—seven out of eight workers—lack these essential competencies. Nonetheless, the share of "green talent"—workers in green jobs or those who list at least one green skill on their LinkedIn profiles—is increasing across all 48 countries studied.

However, the demand for green skills is rising faster than their availability, signaling a potential shortage on the horizon. Between 2018 and 2023, the proportion of green talent grew by 5.4% annually, while job postings requiring green skills surged by 9.2% each year. This gap became even more pronounced from 2022 to 2023, with green talent growing by 12.3%, whereas job postings demanding green skills skyrocketed by 22.4%.

One of the report’s most striking insights is the resilience of green skills and related jobs during economic downturns. Despite a global slowdown in hiring from February 2022 to February 2023, job postings requiring green skills increased by 15.2%. Furthermore, since March 2020, individuals with green skills have been hired at a rate 29% higher than the overall workforce, underscoring the strong value of these skills in uncertain economic times.

The report also highlights key industries vital to achieving sustainability goals. The shift toward a greener economy is fueling the growth of green skills across all sectors, even those traditionally associated with high carbon emissions. For instance, the oil and gas industry has seen a steady rise in green talent concentration, reaching 21% in 2023. Meanwhile, the renewable energy sector continues to thrive, with 120 new workers joining for every 100 who leave.

The finance sector offers a particularly intriguing example. While the median concentration of green talent across industries is 12.3%, in finance, it lags at just 6.8%, indicating the sector is behind in adopting green talent. However, with a 14.8% year-over-year increase in green talent, finance is now catching up more quickly than most industries.

Between 2015 and 2022, the skill profile of the average job has changed considerably, with green skills becoming increasingly integral to new job requirements.

In conclusion, LinkedIn’s report underscores the pivotal role of green skills in the evolving job market. As demand for these skills continues to outstrip supply, workers who develop green competencies are positioning themselves for greater opportunities in a job market that is increasingly focused on driving sustainable development.