Green Jobs in Minnesota Part 3 - June 2011

by Alessia Leibert
June 2011

In December 2009 the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) embarked on an ambitious research project to study green job vacancies in the state and produce forward-looking career information including occupational trends, emerging skills, and qualifications requirements. The third round of data collection for this study was concluded in January 2011, and the information gathered for all three rounds is presented here.

The survey defines a green vacancy as one in which at least 50 percent of the time is allocated to any of the following activity categories:

• Renewable Energy or Alternative Fuels
• Energy Efficiency
• Environmental Cleanup (including recycling and pollution prevention/mitigation activities)
• Sustainable Agriculture or Natural Resource Conservation
• Environmental Education, Regulation, Compliance,or Research

The time threshold was chosen to select only jobs whose primary purpose is to perform green tasks.

Given this conservative definition of a green job, it was not surprising to find that green vacancies represent only 2 percent of overall hiring demand in Minnesota. This estimate is in line with survey results from other states which attempted to estimate the size of the green economy.

If research findings do not hold big promise in terms of the quantity of jobs that the greening economy has brought to Minnesota, they definitely speak to their quality. Job opportunities in the green economy, in fact, have the following attractive characteristics:

• Predominantly full-time (88 percent were full-time positions);
• Predominantly long-term (82 percent were permanent, non-seasonal positions);
• Well-paid on average (in the last survey round, median wages for full-time green vacancies were $10 higher than median wages for full-time vacancies economy-wide).

When hiring activity is broken down by green economy sector (see chart) the highest concentrations are found in energy efficiency (32 percent of estimated vacancies) and recycling/pollution prevention (26 percent).

Educational characteristics of green jobs
(or: Not quite for first-time job seekers)

Findings on education characteristics revealed that green vacancies require a higher education level than their non-green counterparts. As illustrated in Table 1, about 70 percent of all green vacancies needed some level of school or training beyond a high school diploma. This contrasts with economy-wide findings in which only 41 percent of vacancies required a comparable level of education or training.
 

Since employers sometimes accept experience as a substitute for formal education, research findings on educational requirements must be interpreted jointly with findings on experience requirement to see if the same patterns hold. Once more, green jobs are at the high end of the spectrum: 80 percent of all green vacancies required some prior work experience, while 57 percent required specific field-related experience, either in a similar role or industry. In contrast, only 35 percent of total vacancies required field experience.

Bachelors degrees and vocational degrees were more likely to get people into green jobs. Degrees in engineering (chemical, mechanical, or environmental), environmental science, chemistry, business, and vocational training in HVAC repair and maintenance were among the most frequently cited education preferences by responding employers.

Hiring trends

How are employers able to fill these high-skilled, experienced positions? Is there a mismatch between what employers are looking for and what they are finding in terms of skills and other workforce qualifications?

Survey questions designed to measure hiring difficulties did not identify any meaningful labor force or training gaps. Because of the cooling effect of the latest recession on the job market, most firms could tap into a large pool of qualified candidates to fill open positions. The only noteworthy exception to this overall finding was a reported lack of applicants with specific experience in new green industries/markets such as energy management and renewable energy.

The largest number of respondents, 52 percent, stated that theirs was a new or modified position, not an existing position. While new employees in existing positions are typically carrying out the same job duties previously performed by workers who retired or otherwise left, newly created positions are likely to be tasked with new activities. In the case of the green economy, green tasks are being added to newly created positions, confirming the emerging nature of the sector.

Expansion hiring typically originates from increases in green business activities creating the need for adding either positions performing green tasks on top of traditional tasks or positions that are entirely new to the firm. In the first and most common scenario, a manufacturing plant hires more environmental engineers/engineering technicians to oversee an increasingly complex environmental permitting and compliance process. Or an architectural design company hires additional LEED-certified construction managers to deal with increased business opportunities in that area.

In the second scenario an organization hires a Sustainability Coordinator to develop and implement an organization-wide corporate sustainability plan. One-fourth of all newly created positions were in green New & Emerging Occupations, which – like Sustainability Coordinators – represent entirely new job types.

Skills and knowledge requirements for green jobs

As educational findings clearly demonstrate, green jobs tend to be areas one specializes in rather than first-time career opportunities. To identify specialized green knowledge, the survey asked about the importance of the following areas:  Legal (including standards and regulations), Science, Mechanical, Sales or Marketing, and Construction. About 45 percent of all estimated green vacancies required mechanical knowledge and skills, as might be expected given the high concentration of jobs in energy efficiency activities such as designing radiant floor heating systems and installing energy-efficient windows. The next most common knowledge area was science knowledge which was especially necessary in environmental conservation jobs.

Respondents were also asked which of the following skills were necessary for the position: Supervisory, Project Management, Mathematics, Technology Design, Information Technology, and Technical Skills. The greatest number of positions required technical skills for tasks like retrofitting a building, redesigning a manufacturing process to reduce waste, and calibrating/operating measuring devices. Employers are actively recruiting for these skills also because they are linked to the use of new technologies that are driving the greening of the economy. Technical and mathematical skills combined were required in 55 percent of all green estimated vacancies, indicating higher employability of candidates who can blend the two skill sets.

Overall, the data strongly suggest that skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas are crucial for green jobs, and a post-secondary degree in a STEM discipline is an important asset in the future green economy. To further confirm this, an estimated 40 percent of green vacancies were in designated STEM occupations. 

Occupation and Industry Information

Although green vacancies were found across a wide variety of occupations (107 standard occupational codes), not all are experiencing the same “greening effect”. Some occupations are not changing at all except for being more in demand. For example, survey respondents told us public transit bus drivers, wildlife biologists, and forest and conservation workers won’t see any changes in job duties or need enhanced knowledge beyond traditional preparation. However, as more people ride buses because of increasing gas prices or value wildlife and environmental conservation, demand for these workers increases.

A second category of occupations, in contrast, is undergoing a gradual transformation in skills and knowledge as an effect of the greening of the economy. Some of the most prominent examples emerging from our research are Civil Engineers, Industrial Engineers, Construction Managers and Supervisors, HVAC Installers, and Hazardous Materials Workers. A third category of occupations is being created as a direct effect of the greening of the economy and are not yet captured by the standard SOC taxonomy. These Green New and Emerging Occupations are much more likely than others to need add-on knowledge for performing green tasks, sometimes reflected in the job title itself. For example, an environmental engineer with a job title such as “Air Quality Engineer” would need more knowledge of chemistry than the typical environmental engineer plus specialized knowledge around the issue of air quality.

Further information on skills, knowledge, education, and certification requirements for green jobs will become available in the fall of 2011.

More research-related information can be found at:
www.positivelyminnesota.com/Data_Publications/Data/Green_Jobs/index.aspx

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