Today’s Workforce Is Woefully Underprepared for Tomorrow’s Challenges

Two recent studies point out that workers largely lack both the hard and soft skills necessary to help future-proof their organizations in a climate-challenged world.

Published 2 weeks ago | About a 5 minute read

Image: Yan Krukau

Demand for climate-related talent far exceeding supply

Image credit: Resume Genius

Climate change is increasingly dominating policy-making decisions at the highest levels of government and business — resulting in a growing wave of sustainability targets, commitments and mandates. But as LinkedIn’s Global Climate Talent Stocktake 2024 shows, the global workforce is not on track to realize these ambitions.

The data revealed that while demand for “green” skills is expected to double by 2050, the current supply is not keeping pace — leading to a significant skills gap. This echoes concerns voiced in 2023 by sustainability leaders at some of the world’s largest companies, who worried that the scarcity of talent trained around the challenges of climate change at both operations and board level will be one of the largest barriers to achieving their net-zero targets.

The Climate Talent Stocktake highlights that global demand for green talent increased by 11.6 percent from 2023 to 2024, but supply grew by only 5.6 percent. This disparity is projected to widen to 101.5 percent by 2050 if trends continue.

“Every climate goal around the world, every commitment made, is at risk if we don’t have a workforce that can deliver the change we urgently need," asserted Sue Duke, LinkedIn’s VP of global public policy and economic graph. “The economic opportunity is there, and a promising skills-based pathway exists. This year is an inflection point for our planet — and for workers — as countries and companies write new climate commitments; they must include explicit investments in the green workforce.”

Demand for sustainability-savvy workers

According to the report, demand for sustainability talent is highest in the UK — where 13 percent of job roles require at least one related skill — followed by Ireland (12.4 percent), Saudi Arabia (11.7 percent), Norway (11.6 percent) and Switzerland (11.5 percent).

The research also highlights that hiring rates for talent ready to tackle sustainability and climate challenges are notably higher than average: Globally, the hiring rate for sustainability talent is 54.6 percent greater than for the overall workforce.

In the US — where demand for such talent grew by 9.8 percent and supply increased by 3.1 percent — the hiring rate for climate-related skills is 80.3 percent higher than the overall hiring rate.

In the UK, where demand grew a staggering 46 percent between 2023 and 2024 (while supply increased by 5.3 percent), the hiring rate for sustainability talent is 72 percent greater than for talent overall. Even in countries where demand for green talent has seen recent declines, hiring rates continue to exceed the average: In Finland and the Netherlands, where between 2023 and 2024 the share of job postings requiring at least one green skill dropped 43.8 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively, sustainability talent is more than twice as likely as other talent to be hired. Even when job postings do not explicitly list climate-related skills, employers say they find these skills appealing.

LinkedIn’s report stresses the critical need for immediate action to expand the global pool of talent equipped to handle climate challenges and bridge the skills gap. The platform recommends that governments incorporate skills-development plans and programs — such as the American Climate Corps in the US — into their climate strategies. It also calls for a formal COP29 declaration to accelerate the development of the global climate workforce and ensure that climate ambitions are matched with effective workforce-expansion plans — such as EY and Microsoft’s Green Skills Passport program.

Sustainability practitioners overwhelmed by emotional toll of climate crisis

Image credit: Mizuno K

Another recent study, conducted by Oxford Brookes Business School in partnership with workforce training company Climate Change Coaches, highlights another issue affecting sustainability professionals: high levels of emotional overwhelm and burnout.

Holding Back Climate Progress: Sustainability’s Critical Skills Gap reveals that sustainability practitioners often experience significant emotional strain in roles that can be isolating and uniquely challenging, and that support training is often limited. The research highlights the crucial importance for organizations to prioritize the development of soft skills such as staff engagement and greater collaboration to help support individuals and better enable organizations to achieve their climate and sustainability goals.

The study interviewed 159 sustainability professionals from diverse organizational levels and regions, with nearly half representing companies with established climate targets.

Key findings include:

62 percent of respondents reported experiencing burnout related to their sustainability-related responsibilities in the past year.
69 percent reported difficulty staying motivated due to the scale of the challenge.
Only 53 percent of respondents felt they received enough wellbeing support as a sustainability practitioner.
60 percent indicated a low priority is given to soft skills training for a sustainable future.

"These findings are a wake-up call,” said Dr Karen Cripps, Senior Lecturer in Responsible Management and Leadership at Oxford Brookes Business School, who conducted the research. “Sustainability practitioners are not only tackling complex technical challenges but are also managing profound emotional burdens. There's a clear disconnect between the need for emotional resilience and the support provided by organizations.”

The study recognizes the climate crisis as a ‘people-change challenge’ and recommends training in specialized coaching skills as a solution that can enable sustainability practitioners to collaborate effectively, inspire teams, navigate complexity, balance competing interests, and maintain personal resilience.

“Recognizing and responding to climate anxiety, alongside inspiring climate action, is the new leadership challenge,” added Zoe Greenwood, Development Director and co-founder of Climate Change Coaches. “This important research shows that organizations need to prioritize supporting these skills to empower effective climate action and address the emotional challenges faced by people working in this field. As sustainability roles evolve, it’s clear we urgently need to develop and support a talent pipeline with 21st-century climate-leadership skills.”