LinkedIn has released its inaugural Green Skills report spotlighting the fastest-growing jobs in the environmental and sustainability market across Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

While growth in green hiring is relatively slower in the APAC region (30 per cent since 2016) when compared to the US (70 per cent ) or EU (41 per cent), green skills are still in demand in Australia (51 per cent) and New Zealand (41 per cent) In fact, Australia is the only country among the APAC 5 where green jobs’ share of total hiring has increased every year since 2016.

Green jobs and economic growth

Green hiring is accelerating rapidly in the Australian economy. Green jobs accounted for 1.2 per cent of all hires in 2021, a 51 per cent increase from 2016 and approaching US levels of acceleration in green hiring.

The top sectors hiring green talent include construction, corporate services, energy and mining, public administration and manufacturing. The fastest-growing green jobs include Sustainability Manager (24 per cent), Ecologist (17 per cent) and Geologist (15 per cent). The most popular green skills include Sustainability, Environmental awareness, Environmental science, Environmental management systems and Environmental impact assessment.

More green skills needed in business

According to LinkedIn’s findings, the future of green jobs in Australia is less clear. The share of hiring into greening and greening potential jobs, which require some green skills, was flat between 2016 and 2021. In 2021, greening jobs took the lowest share of hiring in five years. Although the share of hiring into non-green jobs has remained static, accounting for 48.1 per cent in 2021, compared to 48.2 per cent in 2016. For this to improve, businesses need to incorporate more green skills into roles that are not conventionally associated with environmental impact.

Construction leads the way

Green power and construction are central to Australia’s greening. The energy and mining sector was among the sectors that hired the most green talent in 2021 as the government’s $1.4 billion investment in renewable generation and storage, and adoption of a Renewable Energy Target (RET), bore fruit.

Renewables accounted for more than a quarter of Australia’s total electricity generation for the first time in 2020, while power system engineer roles increased 40 per cent between 2016 and 2021, by far the fastest growth for a greening job. The construction sector will likely accelerate green hiring in the coming years as demand for green buildings and infrastructure grows. As of 31 July 2021, Australian households and businesses had already installed almost 2.9 million solar PV systems and over 1.3 million solar water heater and air source heat pump systems.

Extreme weather a driver to embrace green

The most highly sought after skills and roles reflect Australia’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. Ecologist and geologist rank as two of the three fastest-growing jobs. Popular skills including sustainability and environmental impact also show jobseekers recognise the importance of minimising the impact of new development projects on the environment.

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