Green Job Opportunities are Growing in Diverse Industries
The number of “green” job vacancies has been on the rise and several educational institutes are providing courses and programs to gear students to grab these opportunities.
According to a report published jointly by Net Impact and Ellen Weinreb CSR Recruiting, the analysis of 1,255 CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) job openings posted between January 2004 and June 2007 indicates a rise of about 37% in such job postings. The study highlighted three sectors in which the growth of environmentally oriented jobs was the fastest, namely clean technology, consumer products and public relations. The report went on to say that the financial markets were also supporting “green” businesses by providing funds for several green banking ideas, green buildings and green startups.
Tourism is one of the largest contributors to the global economy and ecotourism has been offering several entry level job opportunities. A report by Robert Pollin and Jeannette Wicks-Lim of the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, published in June 2008 identifies six key areas for job opportunities in the “green” economy as building retrofitting, mass transit, energy-efficient automobiles, wind power, solar power and cellulosic biomass fuels. The report focuses on 12 US states, namely Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
An article on recession proof jobs in 2008 by Yahoo quotes John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, as saying that careers in the alternative energy sector could grow significantly. The article also quotes Rona Fried, president of sustainablebusiness.com, as stating that professionals in the environmental sector could be “in demand through the end of the decade” and that there is likely to be “shortages of professionals with 'green' skills.”
As the trend towards a green economy is gaining momentum, offering an increasing number of job opportunities, more and more educational institutes are tailoring courses to meet this demand. An increasing number of business schools are responding by revising their MBA curricula to provide more comprehensive energy and environment specific programs. For instance, the Dominican University of California, the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, the University of Michigan and the University of Carolina offer an MBA in environmental science.