This is a Guest Post by Mr. Alok Kumar – Senior Director, Manpower and ManpowerGroup India
The buzz around green jobs is getting louder for all the right reasons. From UN to the local government, every responsible citizen is trying to save themselves and the future generation from the catastrophic impact of global warming. So what then is green jobs? Green jobs are employment opportunities with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) defined in a way that have direct positive impact on the environment. As per a joint report published by International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Labour Organization, as many as 863,000 green jobs were created in India in 2020-21 of the 12.7 million jobs created worldwide during the period.
Green growth features among the top 7 priorities of the current government. Consequentially, several PLI schemes have been extended to sectors such as Solar PV, ACC (Advanced Chemistry Cell) and Automobiles sectors and therefore, green Jobs are expected to increase manifold in the coming years. India has already announced its plans to become net zero by 2070.
As per reports released by some creditable institutions, India has the potential to add 35 million green jobs in the next 20 years with the major contribution coming from Solar energy followed by wind energy. By 2028 itself, 7-8 million green-sector jobs will be created, which includes blue collar and entry level jobs. Among job roles, Sustainability Managers are highest in demand as companies across Construction and Manufacturing consciously try to account for the environmental impact of their activities. Other roles in demand include Environmental Consultants, Social Impact Managers, ESG analysts, Safety Specialists, and Design Engineers.
At a micro level, nearly 8 in 10 organizations have already developed their ESG strategy. 3Ps are important, which is Planet, People and Profits. In 2022, we here in ManpowerGroup. We’re proud to publish the second annual edition of our Working to Change the World Plan and 2021-2022 ESG Report. We are proud to be the first in our industry to have set emissions reduction goals that are validated by the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi). As part of our transition to net zero by 2045 or sooner, our 2030 targets include: reducing direct emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 60% and reducing value chain emissions (scope 3) by 30%.
From a workforce perspective, there is shortage of talent as the sector and profile are evolving. However, with this growth and new roles coming up, there is a pressing need to create and equip the talent workforce to upskill and adept to newer technologies to drive innovative solutions. Talented teams are needed to shift the needle on ESG priorities and companies are taking action to develop through building, buying, borrowing, or bridging the right blend of talent.
