Bridging the green skills gap in construction

The pressing need for green skills in today's economy

The global workforce stands at an important juncture as industries pivot toward sustainability, creating an increased demand for professionals with green skills.

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, in its global Green Skills Report 2023, analyzed data from more than 930 million users worldwide to identify trends in green skill adoption in the labor market. The report splits this market shift towards a greener workforce into two broad categories: workers transitioning into new roles focused on sustainability and the green evolution of jobs themselves.

The key takeaway from the report is that the current demand for green skills is greater than the supply of green talent. This is what is referred to as the green skills gap.

Green skills gap infographic

In response to these conditions, LinkedIn describes several policy and practical considerations that governments and organizations might act on to close the green skills gap. However, the general approach remains simple:

“...the most promising path forward is through a skills-based approach to greening the global workforce.”

Why organizations should invest in green skills

Based on the analysis of “green talent concentration” across sectors, the labor force of the most polluting industries shows positive trends in the proliferation of green skills; however, a mere 1 in 8 workers possess a single green skill, and there remains significant room for improvement.

One scalable way to accelerate closing the gap is to educate business leaders on the opportunities of a green transition and how their recruitment, upskilling, and reskilling efforts produce not only social and environmental benefits but also positive economic outcomes.

Overcoming the challenges of going green

In its whitepaper on the green skills gap, The Economist shares insights from extensive research on the opportunities and challenges posed by the green transition of global labor markets across four key sectors: energy, IT and technology, transport and logistics, and construction and infrastructure.

The whitepaper summarizes five key findings:

Business leaders are failing to train or source green skills at a fast enough pace, with only 55% of respondents upskilling their existing workforce in this area.
Regions in a more advanced state of transition better understand the challenges and are more cautious about the opportunities presented by the green transition.
The green transition will positively impact job creation but disrupt more resource-intensive sectors.
Workers must undertake sustainability skills training, even if they don’t work in roles or functions explicitly concerned with sustainability
Closing the green skills gap requires a concerted effort from governments, educational institutions, and the private sector.

It’s important to address the challenges that surface in this report, particularly in the attitudes and opinions of industry leaders toward the rate of transition toward sustainability.

Why some sectors are slow to transition

Myriad factors affect the slow pace of upskilling across sectors, such as policy and regulatory environments, technical complexities, market demand for the skills, and cultural and organizational barriers.

A common organizational barrier is that some business leaders believe the changing nature of the science and regulations surrounding sustainability creates too much uncertainty and makes long-term investments difficult to quantify. This can lead to the opinion that sustainability is a cost center and that regulators are strong-arming businesses into expensive retraining, hiring, and upskilling just to keep operating.

While there is some evidence that these attitudes are changing — The Economist’s 1,000-participant survey found that 78.8% of business leaders believed the green transition “presents more opportunities than challenges.” It’s important to re-emphasize the economic opportunities presented by the green transition to further assure decision-makers, particularly in the most polluting industries, such as construction and manufacturing.

The green skills transition in construction and manufacturing

The construction industry plays a significant role in global emissions, responsible for approximately 21% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Cabeza et al., 2022). This underscores the urgent need for specialized green skills to achieve net-zero targets.

This necessity places organizations and regulators in a pivotal position to bridge the green skills gap within the sector. Regulatory frameworks, green building standards, and legislative instruments serve as powerful incentives for organizations to prioritize sustainability.

Here’s a simplified example of how this works in practice:

Regulators work with researchers, financiers, and industry leaders to develop and incentivize green building requirements, opening access to funding, offering tax credits, and shaping and directing how educational institutions prepare students for employment.
Increased access to funding stimulates economic activity and drives competition in the private sector as organizations fight to gain a competitive advantage by leveling up their competencies through hiring, upskilling, and technical innovation.
The rising demand for green skills obligates organizations to collaborate with educators and professional bodies, and to invest in both internal and external training.

The EU’s (recently revised) Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is a prime example. This directive strengthens and accelerates commitments to decarbonize the EU’s building stock by 2050, setting a robust example for global standards and stimulating economic growth by collaborating with financial institutions.

“With more than €100 billion estimated to be available from EU financing to support renovations between 2023 and 2030, the Commission is also helping to mobilize more financing necessary to cover upfront investment costs.”

Industry leaders like Ermal Kapedami of Ghelamco Group echo this sentiment, pointing out the immense business potential in “the very large number of undesirable existing buildings that need to be renovated and upgraded to meet new sustainability standards.”

To fully capitalize on these opportunities and position themselves competitively in a sustainable market, construction companies should consider internalizing green skills and prioritize cultivating green skills in the current and future labor force.

Free education to learn about sustainable construction

Professional standards bodies, non-profits, educational institutes, and both public and private organizations offer sustainable construction training and education.

As a global, time-sensitive issue drives the demand for sustainability education, there are numerous free, impartial, fully online courses for individuals looking to engage in continuous professional development in sustainability. These courses equip participants with the skills necessary to exceed the demands of modern green industries.

USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) is a non-profit organization committed to promoting sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. It is best known for developing the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. USGBC offers several free training courses and events, both live and on-demand.

RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) is a professional body for architects, primarily in the United Kingdom. It provides guidance on architecture and supports members through training, professional development, and advocacy for better buildings and communities.

AIA (American Institute of Architects) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It offers educational resources, advocacy, and community to its members, aiming to advance the profession of architecture and improve the built environment.

One Click LCA Academy: Free sustainability courses

The One Click LCA Academy addresses the growing demand for accessible professional development courses in construction and manufacturing. It's a key initiative in One Click LCA’s pledge to train one million low-carbon experts by 2030.

The Academy offers free training to construction professionals and educational institutions on embodied carbon in the built environment, life-cycle assessment (LCA), and environmental product declaration (EPD). These courses provide practical steps and strategies for integrating sustainability into industry practices.

Academy courses are taught by One Click LCA's team of carbon experts and industry professionals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. Covering a wide range of topics through both theoretical and practical demonstrations, Academy goes beyond life-cycle assessment training. Expect to find sustainable architecture education, environmental compliance and green certification training, and environmental product declaration courses.