The April/May edition of Transform included an article that referred to some work IEMA and Deloitte had in train on the topic of green skills and jobs.
That work has now reached its climax and a report, Blueprint for a Green Workforce Transformation, has been published, alongside a suite of tools to help organisations across the economy ensure their workforces are ready for a ‘green economy’.
The report sets out the current state of play in terms of green skills and jobs in the UK, as well as the range of interventions that will be required to unlock the additional provision needed to meet the country’s various climate, biodiversity and wider environmental commitments.
The tools that have been published alongside the report will help organisations to measure their maturity in terms of the green skills and knowledge they have across their core job families. Resources and training solutions for upskilling are also set out.
It is important to recognise that the report and tools are geared towards making all jobs greener, and that the focus isn’t solely on creating more conventional sustainability jobs that will directly drive positive environmental outcomes. Jobs across the economy, from finance and procurement to communications and marketing, will all have a role to play in making environmental considerations mainstream.
This initiative comes at a crucial time, with public awareness of this agenda being relatively low. A recent YouGov survey found that 56% of British adults have never heard of the term ‘green job’, while 64% don’t understand the term ‘green skills’. In addition, 65% say they don’t have access to green skills training through their employer.
The report and suite of tools can be found at bit.ly/GreenBlueprint
