Advice for School Careers Counsellors on Green Careers
Why is this important?
There are more “green” jobs across all sectors
As the climate is shifting, and the natural world is diminished, the economy is responding. In the UK, the number of green jobs is growing while job availability overall is contracting. PwC reported that job adverts in 2024 increased to 3.3% of the total compared with 2.3% the previous year, and green job advert numbers grew by over 9% while jobs overall fell 20%. The UK needs two million green jobs by 2030 if it’s going to stay on track to meet its Net Zero target. The government’s Green Jobs Taskforce estimates that one in five jobs will be affected by the transition to a low-carbon economy.
And people want them
Young people are increasingly interested in, and anxious about, the environmental issues that loom over their futures. We can help them avoid anxiety, and increase motivation for their school studies, by showing them that they can be part of the solution, regardless of their interests: every profession is getting involved, from games design to law.
According to the Green Alliance, 94% of people aged 15 to 24 are looking for green jobs and careers, while the Learning & Work Institute recently found that 79% of young people want to work for an organisation tackling climate change.
Students need more knowledge and skills
In the Green Alliance report, only 22% of 16-23 year olds said they were informed about the range of green jobs available – and as many as 87% don’t know what ‘green skills’ are. 75% of students interviewed agreed that they would like to learn more about climate, sustainability and environmental topics at school.
What can School Careers Advisors do?
1. Explain to students that environmental action by organisations is creating exciting new opportunities across all sectors – it’s not just climate science, and ecology. See the student information sheet.
2. Avoid separating “green/sustainable/ethical” jobs in your materials and advice. Otherwise we labelling most jobs as environmentally damaging and unethical.
3. Make a distinction between ethical jobs, and ethical organisations. Doing any job for an ethical organisation supports their activities. There are plenty of organisations listing ethical companies.
4. At careers fairs ask organisations to explain their environmental issues and actions to the students: help the students engage with a questionnaire.
5. Encourage employers to offer work experience which touches on their green activities.
6. Help teaching colleagues appreciate how environmental knowledge and skills supports their students’ career aspirations and may motivate them in their studies. They could use resources from UCL IoE Sustainability Centre. Signpost interested colleagues to the Oxfordshire Schools Sustainability Network via Oxford Earth Academy for support.
7. Help students and teaching colleagues what green skills are. See the student info sheet. Every career is a green career
Every career is a green career
1. The economy and jobs are changing in response to our climate and biodiversity challenges.
2. Environmental issues are being addressed through ALL careers.
3. YOUR own interests and skills, whatever they are, can help create a better future.
The key “soft skills” that everyone needs are
· listening and communication
· understanding other people and working together
· appreciating how everything is connected (systems thinking)
· understanding the basics of how knowledge is created through logical (scientific) methods
· keeping up to date with the relevant environmental issues as your career interests evolve.
THE ENVIRONMENT AFFECTS THE ECONOMY e.g.
Tropical crops such as coffee and chocolate are affected by climate change, and therefore the prices are going up.
Fruit and grain crops around the world are being affected by increasing disease load, and more challenging growing conditions due to climate change.
Lack of snow is killing the skiing industry. Flights are experiencing more turbulence.
Insurance costs are rising to cover extreme weather and losses.
New businesses are springing up to address environmental issues such as plastic waste, energy consumption and toxic pollution.
“The UK job market is embracing sustainability like never before. According to PwC's Green Jobs Barometer, which measures the success of the UK's regions and industries in creating green jobs, the number of sustainable jobs advertised has almost tripled in 2024.
And it's not just companies driving this trend, but also employees accelerating the green transition. The World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2023 reveals that just over a quarter of adults consider sustainability a non-negotiable when looking for a job. This represents a major shift in the priorities of the workforce, with employees increasingly seeking roles that contribute positively to the planet.”
From: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/the-topic/going-green-getting-hired-a-guide-to-sustainable-careers
“In 2024, LinkedIn reported that, “By 2050, there will be twice as many jobs requiring green skills as people qualified to fill them if today’s trends continue…. Job seekers with green skills or titles see a 54.6% higher hiring rate than the workforce overall.”
In addition, according to a report by Hays, leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment: “Overall, a third of employers (33%) said they expect the need for sustainability specialists and green skills to increase over the next 12 months.” Furthermore, they state that “97% of those hiring sustainability professionals have experienced skills shortages in the last year.”
According to a 2024 report from the Climate Coaches stated that “Only 8% of sustainability professionals now consider technical skills more important than soft skills”.”
From: the Green Careers Hub of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment