Assessing the ‘greenness’ of jobs shows a long journey ahead

Nesta has launched a Green Jobs Explorer, which allows users to discover the environmental impact of different roles. The UK group the tool will help those setting policy for the green skills transition, as well as people looking for green jobs. 

It used AI to scan four million job advertisements to extract the green skills mentioned within them. It then combined this data with the time spent in different occupations on green tasks and industry emissions data, to gauge the greenness of different jobs.

Nesta says analysis of the data indicates:

• a broader view of green jobs is needed as there’s no such thing as a job that is ‘green’ or ‘not green’. It says this depends on numerous factors. For its analysis, it has assessed three proxy measures:

• the emissions of the industry worked in;

• the green skills applied in the role (green skills and tasks are defined as those that reduce the negative impacts of human activity on the environment and are essential for the green transition, such as implementing environmental protection measures or managing habitats); and

• the estimated time spent on green tasks.

• green skills are still a small part of most jobs. On average, the percentage of green skills that make up job adverts across occupations is low – at around 1.5%; 

• more time is spent on green tasks in emissions-intensive industries, unsurprisingly;

• geographically where most green jobs are located (in the UK the East Midlands and North East come out top, while London lags behind); and

• soft skills, such as teamwork, coordination, strategy, communication and management competency, play an essential role in unlocking green skills. Similarly, functions such as customer service and quality assurance, could play an important role in the green transition.

Informing the job market and skills policy

Nesta says that by making its proxy measures available on major job boards, job seekers could broaden their understanding of green jobs. For instance, they could search for roles that require green skills or positions within low-emitting firms or sectors.

It adds that monitoring green skills on an ongoing basis could support the transition to net zero by influencing sectors outside the ‘green’ economy. It would encourage companies to share responsibility for reducing emissions by transitioning their workforces and industries.

The tool could also be used to facilitate benchmarking of industries to assess progress towards the green transition – with a focus on the development and demand for green skills.

Nesta says that the tool allows policymakers focused on local economic growth to appraise the demand for green skills in their areas, enabling them to tailor educational and training programmes to specific local needs. Further, areas with similar industrial profiles could learn from those that have led in the implementation of green measures.

The organisation notes some limitations of its analysis, including that online job adverts can be biased, for example, they do not represent the full breadth of the labour market, or they might not be accurate reflections of the job or organisation itself. It has excluded around 250 occupations where less than 50 job ads existed.

It plans to update the tool with new data twice a year. The prototype is based on data collected from December 2020 to November 2023.

For more information and methodology see this blog.

OckiPro membership includes insights on a range of skills essential for unlocking ’green’ including, change management, communications, empowering others, influencing others, leadership, personal resilience and problem-solving.