Engineering: Growing demand for green skills

Businesses are becoming more environmentally aware and this is leading to a global upsurge in demand for professionals with green skills.
Scientists and engineers with environmental credentials will be highly sought after, says recruitment firm Kelly Scientific Resources.
“The volume of environment focused roles being advertised on generalist job boards as well as specialist scientific job boards is rising steadily and has been for some time,” says Paul O’Brien, director of Kelly Scientific Resources.
“We don’t have the volume of expertise in Australia to meet the demand.
“Employers want to hire people with environmental qualifications and experience in the field.
“However, this industry is so new, it is very hard to find people with both.”
The national pool of talent will grow if companies allow employees to gain experience in the carbon containment sector. Simultaneously, more students should be encouraged to gain qualifications in environmental science, he says.

“Our experience talking to younger candidates indicates that school leavers and university students have recognised the opportunities in the sector and have started to shift their study patterns,” O’Brien says.
Despite these developments, “the bottom line is it is tough to find suitable talent”.

Article from The Australian, May 2011.