Demand for job candidates with green skills is 54% higher than others

LinkedIn warns that if talent pool doesn’t double, sustainability goals will be at risk

The demand for ‘green talent’ is beginning to significantly outstrip supply across the globe, according to research by LinkedIn. 

The professional networking website said ads for jobs “that have sustainability at their core”, or need green skills, represented 7.7% of all postings in 2024, up from 7.3% last year. 

“Green talent is in the greatest demand in the UK (where 13% of roles require at least one green skill), Ireland (12.4%), Saudi Arabia (11.7%), Norway (11.6%), and Switzerland (11.5%),” LinkedIn said in a paper on the topic, published this week.

The largest spikes in demand since 2023 have been in Portugal, where the share of jobs requiring at least one green skill surged 71.3%, the UK (46%), Costa Rica (40%), Singapore (27.1%), and Luxembourg (27%). 

“The global supply of green talent, however, is lagging farther and farther behind,” the report noted. “While green talent demand grew 11.6% from 2023–2024, supply only increased by 5.6%.” 

LinkedIn defines ‘green talent’ as people who have included at least one environmental skill on their LinkedIn profile, or are listed as working in a green job already. 

“By 2050, the gap will have ballooned to 101.5%. Unless we at least double the size of the green talent pool to meet demand, we will put sustainability goals at risk.”

In the US, where demand for green talent grew nearly 10% over the period, supply increased by just 3.1%, and the hiring rate for green talent is 80.3% greater than the hiring rate for talent overall.

In Ireland, demand grew 22.1%, supply increased 6.3%, and the hiring rate is 79.8% greater than for talent overall.

“Even in countries where demand for green talent has seen recent declines, green talent hiring rates continue to exceed the average,” said the paper, pointing to Finland and the Netherlands. 

Globally, the green hiring rate is 54.6% greater than the overall hiring rate.

Among the most in-demand roles with “sustainability” in the title were managers, specialists, analysts, directors and coordinators. 

Energy specialists – especially those with expertise in solar power – were also high on the list, along with health and safety-related environmental jobs.