Green jobs demand belies wider slowdown

The latest research shows that there has been a big rise in demand for workers with green skills, at a time when the employment market as a whole is in a slowdown.

This revelation comes from the newest Green Jobs Barometer published by PwC. That report shows that the number of adverts for green jobs that have been posted by UK companies during the past year has soared, while the jobs market overall has contracted. Throughout 2024, green job ads accounted for 3.3% of the total number – whereas it was 2.3% the year before. This increase totalled almost 23,000.

What makes the trend even more notable is that it is happening at a time when the jobs market is struggling. According to the PwC report, this contracted by 22.5% during the same time period. The overall national rise in green job adverts for 2024 was 9.2%.

It suggests that UK companies are increasingly positive about the adjustment to net zero. That will be a big transition for many, but there are HR change management services from outside that they can turn to for help. The fact that so many of them are now looking to recruit people with the right skills shows that they grasp what is needed.

There are also encouraging signs in terms of the attitudes of their existing employees. The PwC report shows that 6.9 out 10 feel positive about the move towards green friendly policies in their workplaces. That figure was 6.5 for the previous year, indicating that the necessary cultural changes may be relatively smooth.