Green Jobs and Careers in the Northwest

As part of #GreenCareers Week, we’ve been looking at what green jobs actually are, why they are so important and what skills and qualifications might be required to fulfil the green jobs of the future.

But what’s the local picture? How important is the green agenda and investment in green skills regionally and what is the impact of this in real terms for jobseekers, students and residents in the years’ ahead? Here’s what we know so far…

 

The Green Economy in GM

Whilst it’s an ‘emerging’ sector nationally and globally, did you know that nearly 60,000 people are already employed in the green sector across Greater Manchester (that’s approx. 4.6% of the workforce)?

Plus, here in Stockport, there was a growth in employment numbers in the 5 years up to 2019 of almost 6,000 jobs in the low carbon sector! What’s more, our ‘Location Quotient’ for the Low Carbon sector is 2.5 (meaning it’s 2.5 times more important locally than it is as an employment sector nationally)!

To help understand the local market, GMCA have produced a helpful infographic to demonstrate the latest Labour Market Information (LMI). You can also find more information on the green sector on the GMACs website here – https://gmacs.co.uk/sectors/green-industries/

Plans for Green Jobs and Careers in Stockport & Greater Manchester

Stockport Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 which led to the development of the Climate Action Now (CAN) Strategy in 2020. This means that every service and department in the council will need to review and change its activity to cut carbon use wherever possible, as well as focusing on climate literacy (to make sure all council understand why changes are being made and what they can do to help).

The council also hosts regular Climate Action Now Summits to connect residents and businesses with the efforts being made to reduce the borough’s impact on the environment.

Find out more from Nick Leslie at Stockport Council as part of Planet Mark’s Zero Carbon Tour last year.

In Greater Manchester, there are also set targets for becoming a net zero economy by 2038 – this is significantly ahead of national targets for zero emissions.

The GM Green City website is a great place to find out about Greater Manchester’s climate strategy, with info on all of the individual, community, educational and industrial work that’s taking place.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority website also has an environment page that contains all the details about the environmental strategy for GM. There’s lots of info here, and some of it is quite technical, but it’s a good place to start for researching the GM green strategy.

What you can do to get on board with the future of Green Jobs

If you’re a student or young person, it’s good idea to learn as much as you can about climate change, how we’re taking action here in the UK and how this might affect the world of work in the future. This might include:

• Researching green issues like ‘climate justice’, ‘green technology’ or ‘decarbonization’
• Following news reports and events like the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27)
• Thinking about how sustainability, energy reduction targets or green technology could affect everyday jobs – from hairdressers to delivery drivers!
• Watch the latest Meet your Future ‘Green Industry Skills Fair, including an interview with Andy Burnham the Mayor of Greater Manchester

If you’re a jobseeker or local resident, you might find it helpful to keep an eye on upcoming training courses to help you develop green skills, signing up for alerts on green jobs hiring now or learning about local employers pitching for ‘green economy’ funding or awards in the coming months or years. This might include:

• Signing up for skills bootcamps in industries like construction, retrofitting, sustainability or rail engineering
• Following green employers and social enterprises on social media (like Emerge 3RS, the Carbon Literacy Project & Manchester Carbon Cooperative)
• Take a look at greenjobs.co.uk to explore the types of jobs currently available in the green sector