With mandatory climate reporting now in effect for all Singapore-listed firms, gaps in disclosing climate-related risks and opportunities remain a pressing challenge. Many companies are still navigating how to comply with frameworks put forth by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and rising regulatory expectations across supply chains, highlighting an urgent demand for green talent.
Green skills are going mainstream
A major challenge businesses are facing today is that the supply of green talent just isn't keeping pace with a surge in demand. Between 2023 and 2024, demand for green talent grew two times as fast as supply globally. At this rate, by 2030, one in five jobs will lack the green talent to fill it, and the gap will widen to one in two jobs by 2050.
Without at least doubling the global projected green talent supply by 2050, we risk not only missing climate targets but also undermining future economic growth and resilience.
See also: From 2023: Are Singaporean workers ready for the green economy?
Our data also shows that demand for green skills is accelerating across roles and industries; it is no longer limited to traditionally green industries. In fact, we are seeing this demand pan out across sectors such as utilities, manufacturing, construction and technology industries - all of which are indispensable to reaching climate targets.
The share of job postings in the technology, information and media sector requiring green skills soared 60% over the past year, more sharply than in any other industry.
In Singapore, the supply-demand gap for green talent is even more acute. Demand for green talent grew more than three times as fast as supply, surpassing the global average of two times. This widening gap highlights an urgent need to accelerate green skills development to meet the country's ambitious sustainability goals.
Seizing opportunities to drive career growth
The good news is that this represents an opportunity for professionals. As demand accelerates, professionals who build green skills now will be better positioned not just to land their next role, but to thrive as industries adapt to new climate, regulatory and business realities.
LinkedIn data shows that jobseekers with green skills are hired at a rate 54.6% higher than the workforce average. These capabilities aren't limited to traditional ESG roles; they're increasingly essential in operations, logistics, procurement and risk.
In other words, green skills aren't just helping people get jobs in sustainability; they're helping people stay relevant as industries evolve.
So, what's stopping more professionals from jumping into the green talent pool? The major barriers appear to be awareness and accessibility. Many workers, especially younger professionals, simply don't know where to start and fewer have access to green training.
Globally, more than half of Gen Z professionals say they want to work in a green job in the next five years, yet just one in 20 currently has green skills, and fewer than one in five understand what career pathways into these roles actually look like.
This is a missed opportunity - not only for young professionals, but for employers looking to build future-ready teams.
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Closing the gap through upskilling
Addressing the green skills gap will take intent, investment and collective action. Business leaders have a key role to play here by creating clearer upskilling pathways and investing in employer-led training. Otherwise, we risk the talent pipeline continuing to fall short, limiting access to opportunities and potentially hindering collective progress.
LinkedIn's data shows that the fastest-growing green skills to hone include those related to sustainability management - "sustainability consultant" is one of the fastest-growing jobs in Singapore, for example. Other green skills include those related to health, safety and environment management; and improving energy efficiency across organisations.
Identifying these skills is only one piece of the puzzle - how we hire for them is equally important. LinkedIn data shows that a skills-based approach to hiring can expand the pool of eligible candidates when supply is struggling to keep up.
I can't overstate policymakers' power to shape green talent demand and supply, in partnership with educational institutions and private sector players. As governments finalise the next decade of climate commitments, they must include explicit investments to create a workforce skilled to combat the climate crisis.
This is an inflection point for our planet and the global workforce. Businesses and professionals need to make green skilling a priority today, because every climate goal is at risk if we don't have a workforce prepared to deliver the change we urgently need.
Feon Ang is managing director, Asia Pacific at LinkedIn
