More than three-quarters (77%) of young people in Asia Pacific aspire to work in the green economy within the next 10 years, according to Accenture’s Youthquake Meets Green Economy report. This means that youths are gravitating towards careers and organisations with an environmentally sustainable agenda.
The good news is that Accenture predicts the number of green jobs in Australia, China, India, Indonesia and Japan to grow by 62%, reaching 32.6 million, by 2030.
“Many companies have started by making public commitments to sustainability. Now they have to execute by prioritising green economy activities: the kind that has a primary purpose of protecting or restoring the environment while creating new employment opportunities,” says Gianfranco Casati, CEO for Growth Markets at Accenture.
More than 12 million green jobs are expected to be in transportation, and almost 10 million more jobs will come from increasing the supply of low-carbon electricity, especially in the form of renewable energy.
Here are the three imperatives companies need to be aware of to effectively create green jobs that appeal to youths while securing their place in the green economy.
- Flip the script for your future’s sake
Discerning and critical, young people are highly sensitive to superficial attempts at “greenwashing”. Conversely, companies that demonstrate a genuine commitment to a green-economy transition can have a strong appeal for young people.
As such, Accenture suggests companies to first create new green businesses that are decoupled from legacy businesses. Thereafter, they should build internal capabilities for sustainability across all business divisions, which could include introducing and tracking new sustainability KPIs. - Deliberately design “green collar” jobs to spark innovation
Since sustainability challenges demand fresh, hybrid solutions, companies need to bring in a mosaic of talent profiles into new types of teams to build these solutions faster.
Expertise will be required in unusual combinations such as chemical engineering-plus-innovation and climate science-plus-AI.
But simply building this talent pool won’t suffice—the most innovative companies will go one step further by offering them the creative freedom to bring their ideas to life with the latest instruments such as advanced data platforms, analytical tools and new technologies. - Make everyone part of the green transition
Not all green jobs require advanced degrees – a large portion of green skills will be needed in entry-level roles and require vocational qualifications.
Based on Accenture’s research, youths in the region are eager to receive the specialised training these jobs require. For companies, this creates unique opportunities to invest in upskilling or reskilling these aspiring young workers.
