Looking for a job? Going green could be your best option. Nearly a quarter of last year’s job postings required at least one „green skill,“ according to the latest data from LinkedIn. This trend highlights the increasing demand for workers with knowledge and expertise in sustainability and environmental conservation.
Some green jobs require a bachelor’s degree, but there are plenty that simply require a high school education. Institutions around the country are recognizing the need for green skills as they adopt training programs that not only educate but may also help break down barriers to entry in this growing field.
Scripps News recently visited a room of people who are potentially the future of one of the fastest-growing job fields: green jobs. For some of them, this training class couldn’t have come at a better time. Charina Scott, who is taking advantage of a program called Green Core Training, expressed her gratitude for the program, stating, „I think I already have a job, thanks to the program.“
Backed by Kansas City, the nonprofit KC Can Compost teaches a five-week class educating students about the environment while offering much-needed job training. Green Core Training instructor Bruce Holloway explained, „It is not specific job training. It’s literacy training, literacy around environmental issues and problems and solutions and then the jobs that are attached to those solutions.“
Two green jobs that don’t require college degrees, wind turbine technicians and solar installers, have a projected increase of over 50% into 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Additionally, the bureau’s data shows that each of the green occupations has a median annual wage of more than $45,000, surpassing the average American median wage at the time of the study in 2021.
„Municipalities, in particular, are interested in greening their operations. So, there’s jobs there. Transportation, building energy, food, health, and agriculture—all of these sectors have jobs attached to them,“ Holloway emphasized.
A study by the Brookings Institution reveals that many workers are not aware of the multitude of green jobs available. The study also shows that millions more workers are needed in the green job sector, indicating a significant opportunity for job seekers to enter this growing field.
„We’ve always felt like the green jobs were the future, but the future is now. It’s here,“ Holloway stated, emphasizing the immediate need for workers with green skills in various industries.
Looking beyond traditional job opportunities, Courtnie Beasley highlighted how green-jobs training offers tools she needs to feed her passion for nonprofits that help keep teens off the streets by showing them available career paths. „There are teenagers that do want jobs, and you can explore the basic needs that help everybody,“ Beasley noted.
„It’s good to see people go toward a green job or talk about becoming more involved in their neighborhood, or just getting more interested in things that they may not have had much awareness about,“ Holloway concluded, underscoring the importance of raising awareness about green job opportunities and encouraging individuals to pursue careers in sustainability and environmental conservation.