New skills for climate change: How to bridge your green skills gap

As the annual global climate conference, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), kicks off in Belém, Brazil, where governments, global leaders, scientists and researchers come together to decide how to drive faster and bolder action to adapt to climate change, one thing is clear, now is a critical moment for climate action and adaptation.

However there is a big problem. We are missing the one thing we need most: people with the skills to make adaptation possible. Although demand for green talent has soared, with green talent hiring rates 54.6% higher than overall hiring rates (according to LinkedIn’s 2024 Global Green Skills Report), demand far outstrips supply. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2025 Report, “While the number of workers acquiring green skills will increase by 12% globally between 2022 and 2023, demand still exceeds supply, with the number of job postings requiring at least one green skill growing by almost 22% during the same period.”

From supply chain decarbonisation, sustainable construction and renovation to renewable energy and ecosystem management, recent government climate policies mean green skills are needed now more than ever to comprehensively lead the green transition and deliver on the climate targets that have been set. So if you’re considering a career change, climate workers urgently need you.

In this blog, we’ll explore what green skills are, why the green skills gap is growing, where there are opportunities for career change, why your next career move can help build a better world and how we can help you get started. Read on to learn more.

What are green skills?

Various definitions exist. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) defines green skills as “the knowledge, abilities, values ​​and attitudes needed to live, develop and support a sustainable and resource-saving society”. Likewise, UNICEF describes green skills as “the knowledge we all need to develop and live in sustainable societies and environments.” In short, any skill that brings the planet closer to net-zero emissions and combats the impacts of climate change can be said to be a “green skill”.

Why is the green skills gap growing?

Currently, 13% of jobs in the UK require green skills. The UK government recently launched a Clean Energy Jobs Plan to invest in training and skills development in partnership with industry and trade unions to support the creation of new jobs and build a “highly skilled, diverse domestic clean energy workforce with union representation”, including the expansion of its Energy Skills Passport programme. Previously, the government established the 2020 Green Jobs Task Force, which concluded in 2021.

Globally, applicants with green skills are hired faster than those without because they possess more of the skills required across industries – so why are there so few people with actual green skills (relative to demand) and why is the green skills gap growing? Here are a few reasons why.

Limited investment and training

Although 1 in 3 workers in the workforce will be Gen Z by 2030, only 1 in 10 Gen Z workers will have green skills by then. While 78% of Gen Z employees believe that with appropriate upskilling opportunities, they will have the skills needed for green jobs, only 30% say their current employer provides green skills training. Without employer- or government-supported training, including courses, degrees, apprenticeships and other certifications, the future of a skilled green workforce remains out of reach.

Public awareness is weak

Less than one in five Gen Z employees fully understand what green jobs are. Without an understanding of potential career paths, required skills and available opportunities across industries, especially for those who will or are already entering the workforce, it will be harder to close the skills gap in the coming years.

barriers to entry

Surprisingly, recent research from employment website Indeed found that for 27% of workers who want to move into green jobs, there are not enough available positions, and a further 23% said the available positions are not local to them. Coupled with the fact that there is a green gender gap (10% of women currently have at least one green skill compared to 17% of men, although green skills are developing faster), accessibility and barriers to entry remain an issue.

Opportunities for career changers

Green skills and green jobs are key to transforming the world we live in today and helping to reverse and mitigate the effects of climate change. If you’re considering a change of career or industry, improving your green skills will provide you with great opportunities to unlock new industries and roles. From retrofitting homes and installing heat pumps to ESG reporting and climate data analysis, green careers are exploding, with growing demand for professionals with the skills to drive positive change in industries such as agriculture, oil, gas and mining, construction, utilities, manufacturing, and even technology, IT and media.

Your next career move could help build a better world

Innovative solutions and new ideas cannot be fully exploited without people with the knowledge, skills and experience to put them into practice. To fully realize a green workforce, and a more sustainable future, we need people across all sectors to change everything from processes, systems, and the way we work to production and output to support a greener future. That could be you. By harnessing green skills in the industry to future-proof your career, the potential to create and drive change is endless.

Your Green Skills: Where to Start

Ready to improve your green skills? If you’re interested in closing your skills gap, explore our range of sustainability-focused online courses, micro-credentials and degrees and gain the skills that will shape your future, society and the planet. Improve your green skills wherever you are by learning from industry experts and leading academics from the world’s top universities.

• Resilience, sustainability and digitalization of critical infrastructure at the University of Birmingham
• Department of Business Sustainability, Taipei Medical University
• Business Sustainability: Building a Green Future, University of Leeds
• Renewable Energy Microgrids: Integrating Green Hydrogen, Deakin University
• Effective Sustainability Reporting, Deakin University
• Sustainability Planning: Recycling and Waste in a Circular Economy, Deakin University
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and beyond, Aberystwyth University
• Emerging Technologies: Green Computing, Deakin University
• University of New England (UNE) Bachelor of Sustainability
• LLM Energy and Environmental Law, University of Birmingham