The Government of Ireland has launched a pilot scheme to educate contractors working in environmentally sensitive areas.
- The scope of the one-day pilot course is to develop a certified qualification to be rolled out nationally.
- The market shifts created by the low-carbon transition are driving change in the job market, but there is a huge shortage of green skills.
- Investing in biodiversity training is bound to pay off when it comes to averted damages, improved efficiencies and advanced climate goals.
The Government of Ireland has launched a new biodiversity pilot training programme for contractors working in environmentally sensitive areas. It is a collaboration between the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Office of Public Works (OPW), Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) and SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority.
What does it entail?
The scope of the one-day pilot course is to develop a certified qualification to be rolled out nationally. The Government intends to provide an opportunity for staff and contractors for the OPW, Local Authorities and other public sector bodies to learn how to protect and conserve nature in their day-to-day work.
It will include practical ecological training on a range of different habitats, such as rivers, woodlands, lakes, hedgerows, peatlands and grasslands, as well as buildings and bridges, and offer guidance on key elements of environmental and wildlife law, risk mitigation and best practice. It is designed for staff who are tasked with the development of public tenders and procurement processes for works in sensitive environments, including building sites.
Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for the OPW, said: “If we want everyone to roll up their sleeves and help tackle the biodiversity crisis, we have to give them the knowledge and training to do so. This innovative programme is doing just that by supporting operatives working in some of the most sensitive, important places for nature and giving them the skills they need to protect it.”
An evolving job market
The shifts created by the low-carbon transition are driving change in the job market. According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) The Future of Jobs Report 2023, nearly a quarter of all jobs (23%) are expected to be disrupted over the next four years.
Businesses expect that the strongest net job-creation effect to be driven by investments that facilitate the corporate green transition, the broader application of ESG standards and supply chains becoming more localised, albeit with job growth offset by partial job displacement in each case. Climate change adaptation and the demographic dividend in developing and emerging economies also rate high as net job creators.
This disruption comes with significant opportunities. According to the International Energy Agency, a green-recovery scenario could add close to 3.5% GDP growth globally, as well as a net employment impact of nine million new jobs created each year.
Globally, the green transition could create 30 million jobs in clean energy, efficiency and low-emissions technologies by 2030. By 2030, the transition to a nature-positive economy in China alone is expected to add $1.9 trillion to the country’s economic worth and generate 88 million new jobs.
Plugging the green skills shortage
Amid this shift, the global demand for green skills has jumped by 40% since 2015, but only 13% of the world’s workforce has these skills, the WEF calculated based on LinkedIn data. While it is an improvement from the 9% recorded in 2015, we are far from satisfying this demand.
Upskilling and reskilling are considered crucial to plug this gap, in both advanced and emerging economies. According to the WEF, three in five workers will require training before 2027 and, while it will need initial investment, two in three companies believe they will see a return within a year. This is particularly important, as organisations identify skills gaps and an inability to attract talent as the key barriers preventing industry transformation.
This education, however, is expected to be conducted in-house as opposed to external initiatives. The WEF found that 27% of training is expected to be furnished by on-the-job training and coaching, ahead of 23% by internal training departments and 16% by employer-sponsored apprenticeships.
Considering that $44 trillion of economic value generation is reliant on high-functioning ecosystems, investing in biodiversity training is bound to pay off when it comes to averted damages, improved efficiencies and advanced climate goals. Arguably, one day of training alone is unlikely to be sufficient to provide a full education on the topic, but Ireland has grasped the importance of filling the green skills gap.
