Green Collar Jobs
Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 11:52pm Monday 16 February 2009
The market for Green Collar Jobs is growing despite the credit crunch and financial turmoil that is hitting markets around the globe. There are plenty of green job opportunities in Australia, and I recently listed to a podcast on BTalk Australia where Phil Freeman from the Australian Conservation Foundation says that 500,000 new jobs can be created in the next two decades.
The term "Green Collar Jobs" was first coined by Alan Durning in his 1999 book, Green Collar Jobs
Green Collar jobs are usually found in areas of sustainable engineering, renewable energy and social responsibility. The skyrocketing prices of oil, concerns about global warming and just general uncertainty about our resources all have contributed to a boom in green collar jobs. There are a number of environmental niche job boards such as:
Environmental Job Network http://www.environmentaljobs.com.au/
EnviroJobs Australia http://www.envirojobs.com.au/
NRM Jobs http://www.nrmjobs.com.au/
Below are some of the hottest areas for green jobs in today's marketplace.
Travel and Tourism - While tourism is the world's largest sector, ecotourism is growing at a rate of three times the regular tourism industry and there is an increasing need for workers knowledgeable in this area
Urban Planning - With society becoming increasingly more and more urbanised, the need is great for planners to assist local governments with ecofriendly planning and design solutions.
Medicine and Health - The number of people turning to alternative methods of health care has been steadily increasing. Professionals will be needed to prescribe and administer these alternative forms of health care which many times produce better results with much less side effects than traditional medicine.
Renewable Energy - As we all know, fossil fuel costs have been soaring with supplies decreasing, so the demand for wind, solar and biofuels have increased substantially so this industry is primed for tremendous growth and expansion.
Legal - As interest in things environmental increases, the need for sound legal counsel will be critical to help businesses and individuals ensure that they are within the bounds of the law when it comes to conservation, pollution, exploration and utilization of resources.
Green Education - As the demand for more "green collar jobs" increases, so does the need for people skilled in the areas of sustainability, renewable energy and energy-efficiency to educate the new wave of job seekers looking to break into the green workforce.
Green Construction and Building - More and more construction and building designs are centered on having very ergonomic spaces while having minimal impact on the environment so energy-efficient building is posed to be a very lucrative field in the near future.
Corporate Citizenship - Corporations as part of their effort to be a responsible and effective corporate citizen will look to people or firms to help them ensure that they are adding value to the environment, neighborhoods and cultures that they impact. In a global economy, it is critical to understand how their strategy will affect customers, suppliers and employees.
Farming and Agriculture - This is one of the best sectors because it involves creating not just more organically grown products but identifying better ways to bring products to market and finding additional uses for crops as well.
