The social media giant’s Green Skills Report 2024 – based on data from one billion members – also reveals that 7.7% of job postings were for a green job or required green skills this year, up from 7.3% in 2023.
The percentage of LinkedIn job postings requiring green skills is highest in the UK on 13%, followed by Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Norway, and Switzerland on 12.4%, 11.7%, 11.6%, and 11.5%, respectively.
However, the report indicates that women and young people are being shut out of the green workforce.
Just one in 10 women currently having a green skill, compared to almost one in five men, with the growth in those entering the green workforce still three times too slow to close the widening green talent gender gap.
Furthermore, despite Gen Z forecast to make up one-third of the workforce by 2030, and 61% wanting to work in a green job in the next five years, just one in 10 will possess green skills by then at the current rate.
The report stresses that the problem is not demand, with the hiring rate for green talent 54.6% greater than the hiring rate overall, meaning that those who upskill to help tackle climate change stand to benefit.
“This data is a wakeup call, and there’s no more time to hit the snooze button,” said Sue Duke, vice president of public policy and economic graph at LinkedIn.
“Every single climate goal is at risk if we don’t have a workforce prepared to deliver the change we urgently need. Our data reflects policymakers’ power to shape green talent demand and supply.”
LinkedIn defines ‘green skills’ as those that directly combat the effects of climate change, while ‘green jobs’ are those that have sustainability at their core and require green skills, and ‘green talent’ is a member who has explicitly added at least one green skill to their profile and/or are working in a green job.
Its latest report reveals that the fastest-growing green skill is sustainable procurement, which 15% more people added to their profiles in 2024 than in 2023.
The utilities industry – driven by the rapid expansion in renewable energy – leads all sectors in green talent demand, with 23.1% of job postings requiring green skills, followed by construction on 20.6%.
However, the sharpest green talent demand spike between 2023 and 2024 was in the technology, information, and media industry, where the share of jobs requiring green skills surged 60% as AI gains further traction and companies add data centre capacity.
The report suggests that the green talent pool must double by 2050 “at a bare minimum” to keep pace with projected demand, and highlights COP29 as a key opportunity for world leaders to declare workers as enablers of climate ambition.
This comes after IEMA launched its #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign urging countries to develop and update national action plans with clear targets, robust policies, and significant investment in workforce strategies.
Duke added: “As governments finalise the next decade of climate commitments, they must include explicit investments to create the green-skilled workforce to combat the climate crisis.”
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of IEMA’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for IEMA members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.