Our first steps to 10 million people in green jobs in 10 years

In part 1 of this series, we explained how the green skills emergency is amplifying this year’s energy supply insecurity, cost-of-living crisis and accelerating climate breakdown.

In this post, part 2 of 2, we’ll share with you how we’re taking this on at greenworkx, our progress to date, and how you can get involved.

Millions of people are experiencing insecure employment

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Big, macro trends are making the world of employment highly precarious for millions of people.

• Mass automation threatens 12 million jobs globally by 2040 and creates a reskilling imperative

• The gig economy has tripled in size in recent years and brought sometimes poor working conditions with it

• Declining ‘brown’ industries in the green transition make 33 million jobs at risk in oil, gas and coal production

On top of this, certain underserved groups experience systematic barriers to the job market, such as refugees, military veterans and ex-offenders.

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A silver lining: good, green jobs that are well-paid and accessible

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Insecure employment is terrible for self-esteem, mental health and life expectancy.

So, what if we could find well-paid, skilled and purposeful roles for all of these people?

That’s the silver lining of the green skills emergency: the mass creation of good, green jobs.

Around 90% of green jobs created by the net-zero transition require no degree-level education - and over 1 in 3 of them don’t require any qualifications at all.

With the right training, starting salaries can be anywhere from £28k to £34k in these green jobs.

These jobs are good for people, and good for the planet.

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An app that’s the talent portal for green job discovery and opportunity-matching

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So, at greenworkx, we’re working hard on creating awareness of these amazing green jobs, that are skilled but accessible frontline trades.

Right now, it’s far too confusing for people to find out information about these green jobs or train up for them - with 72% of green employers agreeing that there is poor careers advice for green jobs.

That’s why we’re building a ‘talent portal’ app for people to discover and get matched to green jobs and training - for the 90% of green jobs that are skilled manual trades.

These are the frontline roles that are going to be critical in delivering economic growth, net-zero infrastructure and healthier communities - and it’s our job to increase awareness of how impactful, accessible and rewarding they can be.

So far, we’ve built:

• A green jobs discovery service, for those who are entirely new to green jobs and want to learn more about what roles might suit them; and

• A green jobs learning platform, for those who are looking to learn and train for specific green jobs that are in-demand right now.

Over time, we also expect to build out social content, such as “day in the life” videos to help people connect with those considering or already working in green jobs.

You can view a demo here, or try it for yourself!

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Celebrating an award from the government innovation agency

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What do pea-based plastic, pollination robots and seaweed farming all have in common?

They’re some of the green innovations to win awards from Innovate UK, the country’s national innovation agency - along with more conventional technologies in carbon capture, nuclear waste and hydrogen power.

Now, we’re delighted to share that greenworkx is part of that prestigious group, as winners in Innovate UK’s first-ever Fast Start competition for cutting-edge net-zero startups.

We’ll be using their support to further develop our technology to tackle the green skills emergency and respond to industry needs.

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An invitation to you - here’s how to support us!

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As we shared in part 1 of this series, we’re lucky to have some incredible advisors drawn from sustainability, renewables and .

But the urgency, importance and scale of the green skills emergency means that we’ll need the support of far more people to deliver our mission.

Here’s how you can support us:

• Share our green jobs discovery app with people that you know. Awareness of green jobs is low - but they’re well-paid, secure and accessible. Often, it’s a graduate-level salary, without the debt or degree requirement. Tell everybody!

• Join our supporters network. We’ll be sending monthly updates to our support network, including exclusive previews, candid reflections and event invitations. Join our supporter network here!

• Follow and amplify our updates. We need the world to wake up to the green skills emergency - so we’ll be posting regularly across media like our LinkedIn page and Twitter account. Follow us and like / retweet!

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We’re hiring, too! We’re building a mission-driven team who are committing their careers to climate: the most important issue of our generation.Does that sound appealing to anybody that you know? Point them our way!

The green skills emergency can’t be ignored any further.

Today’s energy bills crisis and climate breakdown need a new, skilled green workforce to take them on.

That’s why we’re building greenworkx - with the support of great advisors, Innovate UK, but hopefully you as well!

To support us, join our supporters network and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter - and we’ll keep you posted on our journey.