WEBVTT - The Sustainability Skills Shortage

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and

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<v Speaker 1>Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio. We're going to turn our

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<v Speaker 1>attention to COP twenty eight as ENVO envoys representing more

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<v Speaker 1>than one hundred and ninety nations are gathering in Dubai

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<v Speaker 1>this week for the UN's annual Climate Change Conference. The

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<v Speaker 1>summit did get underway today and just among those issues

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<v Speaker 1>green hiring. I didn't know, but yeah, I guess it

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<v Speaker 1>makes sense.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a thing, Carol.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, businesses are hiring, are using green hiring to recruit

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<v Speaker 1>hire environmentally friendly employees, Companies looking to seek initiatives to

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<v Speaker 1>transform sustainability and climate change. And I guess they want

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<v Speaker 1>a certain type of worker.

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<v Speaker 2>That's true. And there's another issue emerging in this and

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<v Speaker 2>it's called green ceiling, Carols. So where nine to ten

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<v Speaker 2>women lack a single green skill or green work experience

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<v Speaker 2>according to some data from LinkedIn. So even the women

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<v Speaker 2>are joining the green talent ranks at a faster rate

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<v Speaker 2>than men, progress isn't as close enough when it comes

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<v Speaker 2>to the gender in these skills.

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<v Speaker 1>For story we've heard before, all right, So joining us

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<v Speaker 1>now is some depth on the subject to Sue Duke.

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<v Speaker 1>She's vice president of Global public Policy and Economic graph

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<v Speaker 1>over at LinkedIn. She does us on Zoom from Dublin, Ireland.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm so great to have you here with us, Sue,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you and talk to us a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>about green skills and green hiring.

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<v Speaker 3>It's great to be here. Thank you so much for

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<v Speaker 3>having me. Workers going green and jobs going green has

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<v Speaker 3>been a very consistent and growing trend on our platform,

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<v Speaker 3>and over the past year, even while hiring in the

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<v Speaker 3>broader economy has slowed down, we've continued to see that

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<v Speaker 3>trend speed right up, as workers with green skills are

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<v Speaker 3>in demand and being hired at a much higher rate

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<v Speaker 3>than workers who don't.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you tell me what green skills are? Though? Go

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<v Speaker 1>take a step back for me, because I'm like, what

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<v Speaker 1>is Why are those different than your skills in general?

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<v Speaker 3>Great question. A green skill is a skill that's either

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<v Speaker 3>taking pollution out of the environment or conserving natural resources.

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<v Speaker 3>So think of a skill like sustainable design. That's a

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<v Speaker 3>great example. Sustainable design is a skill that's being used

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<v Speaker 3>across a whole host of green jobs, but it's also

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<v Speaker 3>a skill that we see showing off in a host

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<v Speaker 3>of traditional jobs. It's being used by construction workers, interior designers,

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<v Speaker 3>park managers. So we see these green skills that are

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<v Speaker 3>focused on making economic activities more sustainable being used not

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<v Speaker 3>just in green jobs per se, but in a whole

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<v Speaker 3>host of traditional jobs as well.

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<v Speaker 2>So how do you actually acquire green skills?

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<v Speaker 3>What we are seeing, as you said, is that workers

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<v Speaker 3>moving into this space typically have some kind of green

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<v Speaker 3>experience or green skill. Often they're coming from a stem

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<v Speaker 3>background of science, technology, engineering, or maths background. And that's,

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<v Speaker 3>of course because a lot of the green economy is

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<v Speaker 3>focused on the fundamentals of maths and science. What we

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<v Speaker 3>need is to help workers acquire these skills. And what

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<v Speaker 3>that means is that we need governments, companies, and workers

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<v Speaker 3>all coming together to invest in and expand green upskilling

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<v Speaker 3>and reskilling programs so that workers are getting these skills,

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<v Speaker 3>acquiring these skills, and applying these skills across all industries

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<v Speaker 3>across the country.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Sue, give you an idea. You know, I love

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<v Speaker 1>you know LinkedIn. There is so much data and information

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<v Speaker 1>that I'm sure you guys see on a regular basis,

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<v Speaker 1>on a daily basis, So when it comes to green

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<v Speaker 1>jobs in general, I'm curious. Can you give me an

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<v Speaker 1>idea of how many jobs that are posted or that

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<v Speaker 1>you see, or that you see talked about or people

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<v Speaker 1>with profiles, how much is actually somehow connected to the

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<v Speaker 1>green economy.

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<v Speaker 3>What we see is that the green economy, so the

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<v Speaker 3>green renewable energy economy, that is growing very, very significantly.

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<v Speaker 3>So we have seen that renewable energy sector grow its

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<v Speaker 3>share of workers over twenty six percent in over the

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<v Speaker 3>twenty six countries that we've studied for this particular report

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<v Speaker 3>over the past number of years. So growth there is

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<v Speaker 3>very very strong, very sustained, and we fully expect that

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<v Speaker 3>to continue. There is then the rest of the economy,

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<v Speaker 3>and that is also a space that needs to transition

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<v Speaker 3>to net zero. And what we see there, in fact,

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<v Speaker 3>is that the vast, vast majority of green skills showing

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<v Speaker 3>up out there are concentrated in those sectors everything from

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<v Speaker 3>construction to utilities, to manufacturing to retail. That's where we

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<v Speaker 3>see these green skills popping up. But that's also where

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<v Speaker 3>we see the skills shortage. Right. We continue to see

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<v Speaker 3>companies in every sector and in every country in the

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<v Speaker 3>world at a disadvantage when it comes to being able

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<v Speaker 3>to recruit the skills that they need to power this transition.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you talk about a disadvantage, and we mentioned earlier

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<v Speaker 2>the green ceiling, why is it that women also have

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<v Speaker 2>an issue also in this particular corner of the market

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to this kind of gender skills gap.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you're absolutely right. We see a very significant gender

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<v Speaker 3>gap opening up when it comes to this transition, and

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<v Speaker 3>just as worrying, we're actually seeing that gap grow over

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<v Speaker 3>the past number of years. We look at when it

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<v Speaker 3>is that workers are transitioning into these kind of roles,

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<v Speaker 3>and one of the drivers for this gap is that often,

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<v Speaker 3>as I said, workers are coming from a stem from science, technology,

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<v Speaker 3>engineering and maths background, and women has been well done

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<v Speaker 3>documented are often on the back foot and are there

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<v Speaker 3>a low representation when in those careers. Then we're seeing

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<v Speaker 3>that flow through to these green jobs. And the second

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<v Speaker 3>piece goes back to the green economy, those green renewable

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<v Speaker 3>energy economy that you spoke to, and they're once again

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<v Speaker 3>women are on the back foot and have historically been

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<v Speaker 3>very strongly underrepresented in those kind of industries. So there's

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<v Speaker 3>a big gap to be made up there as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Wait, so help me out. So is it just a

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<v Speaker 1>case of women are not getting the education in the skills,

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<v Speaker 1>or is it they're not learning on the job. What

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<v Speaker 1>is it that is creating that gap? Does it start

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<v Speaker 1>with education? And not enough women still in STEM, which

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<v Speaker 1>we talk a lot about here at Bloomberg.

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<v Speaker 3>That's certainly part of the driver that workers with the

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<v Speaker 3>background and STEM are finding it much easier to transition

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<v Speaker 3>into these roles, and therefore women who have a low

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<v Speaker 3>representation in those kind of backgrounds, in turn, are finding

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<v Speaker 3>it more difficult to transition into the green economy. But

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<v Speaker 3>it's also exactly as you say, it comes back to

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<v Speaker 3>this green skills issues, both for men and for women.

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<v Speaker 3>We have got to start investing in these reskilling and

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<v Speaker 3>up skilling programs so that we're equipping both men and

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<v Speaker 3>women with these in demand green skills so that we

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<v Speaker 3>can plug this gap and get to grip with this

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<v Speaker 3>mismatch in green skills that's out there and growing all

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<v Speaker 3>the time.

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<v Speaker 1>One thing I want to ask you, Sue, I do

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<v Speaker 1>wonder STEM, stems and demand. Right, we talk about every

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<v Speaker 1>company is a technology company, right, They've got data, they've

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<v Speaker 1>got to parsit, they've got you know, a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>technological systems that they've got to maintain. But having said that,

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<v Speaker 1>does the green industry not pay as well as maybe

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<v Speaker 1>a worker that goes to Silicon Valley or a big

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<v Speaker 1>tech company or a big financial firm.

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<v Speaker 3>What we see very clearly is that workers with green

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<v Speaker 3>skills are getting hired at a higher rate than workers

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<v Speaker 3>who don't. So all the indications are that acquiring these

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<v Speaker 3>green skills are going to be very good for your

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<v Speaker 3>future career, for your future employability, and of course it's

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<v Speaker 3>for the planet.

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<v Speaker 1>But my point is that they're getting what they need

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<v Speaker 1>is a STEM background, right. A STEM background is also

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<v Speaker 1>what is desired by almost every company, right because they're

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<v Speaker 1>technology companies. They need data people, they need people who

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<v Speaker 1>understand math technology. So I'm just wondering, are the workers

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<v Speaker 1>that are needed for the green economy getting rude to

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<v Speaker 1>go elsewhere where they are getting they're making more money.

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<v Speaker 3>Basically, there is certainly challenges in attracting talent into this space,

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<v Speaker 3>but I think what we're increasingly seeing are these growing

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<v Speaker 3>opportunities in this space. Right, This huge demand is out

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<v Speaker 3>there growing all the time, and we will increasingly see

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<v Speaker 3>workers taking up these opportunities as companies go out to

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<v Speaker 3>find this talent and develop and nurture it in these industries.

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<v Speaker 1>It just sounds like demand is certainly out there, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's in certainly the green world and the greene como

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<v Speaker 1>me Hey, Sue Duke, thank you so much, Vice president

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<v Speaker 1>of Global Public Policy and Economic graph at LinkedIn, joining

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<v Speaker 1>us on Zoom from Dublin, Ireland. This, of course is

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<v Speaker 1>COP twenty eight is underway. We're gonna have a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more conversations. I think you know STEM in general, right,

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<v Speaker 1>just so in demand.

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<v Speaker 2>It is, especially when you're thinking about technology, the growth

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<v Speaker 2>and then the type of jobs that feed into it.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's interesting when she talked about how not enough

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<v Speaker 2>women in STELL and how that translates when you are

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<v Speaker 2>looking at this green ceiling she's talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>I heard it before