Green collar skills gap emerges

London – Growing demand for ‘green collar’ working will place pressure on the UK skills market and leave businesses short of engineering and environmental expertise, warns engineering and environment consultancy Royal Haskoning, which has surveyed over 500 UK business leaders on their abilty to recruit people for environmental-related roles or industries.

The survey, conducted by ICM research, found that pressure to be ‘green’ from government and consumers has led to a huge increase in the need for environmental skills and services, with 37% of respondents concerned about their company’s future ability to satisfy its ‘green collar’ needs. The situation will worsen significantly over the next 12 months, the report also suggests.

Some 53% of UK businesses predict their company’s need for ‘green collar’ skills and services will increase in the future, and 31% believe their workforce would need to increase by as much as 6-10%. The findings echo the views of the government, which recently outlined its framework for the future of UK manufacturing, with business secretary, John Hutton, claiming that one million ‘green collar’ jobs could be created in low-carbon technology.

The shift in skill requirements will continue at a rapid rate, with one in five of those surveyed already employing someone with ‘green collar’ responsibilities. Of those not currently employing ‘green collar’ workers, 24% believed their company soon planned to make use of ‘green collar’ skills services and products, with 28% hoping to do so in the next six to 12 months.

Growing eco awareness and increased regulatory scrutiny means UK businesses are feeling pressure from all directions to be ‘green’. According to respondents, the top reason for an increased need in ‘green collar’ skills and services was the need to meet government and legislative sustainability targets and criteria (30%), followed by internal environmental policy targets (27%), and customer pressure to be ‘green’ (21%).

“As a country we are steadily recognising the need for ‘green’ products, services and skills, but companies are failing to take action. Our research found that one in four (25%) companies didn’t have an environmental policy in place, and of those companies, a further quarter admit there are no plans to implement one”, commented Henry Rowe, member of the Royal Haskoning board of management.

“As pressure mounts for British businesses to implement ‘green’ strategies and services, the worry remains whether our current and future domestic skills market can service these demands. We need to encourage the take up of science and engineering degrees and create an environment that fosters home-grown talent in order to ensure Britain benefits, and not suffers from, the forthcoming ‘green collar’ boom," concluded Rowe.