SSE’S announcement of a £100 million investment in the proposed at Coire Glas hydro-electric project in the Highlands once again quickens the pace of Scotland’s green jobs revolution.
As we look towards a low-carbon, net-zero future, I’m proud of the efforts being made to ensure our workforce has the skills and opportunities needed to transform Scotland’s economy and meet our environmental responsibilities.
But while we know green jobs are being created in Scotland, it’s important to have a widely accepted official definition so we can estimate how many.
This matters. Being able to measure and collect data on green jobs in Scotland will enable us to address gaps in skills provision, and recognise developing trends and opportunities.
We can also measure our progress against international competitors.
Various green job definitions are currently in use around the world. For example, applications to the Scottish Government’s Green Jobs Fund are judged against two criteria, both based on definitions used by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bureau defines them as: “Jobs in businesses that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources” and “jobs in which workers’ duties involve making their establishment’s production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.”
In November, the universities of Warwick and Strathclyde, on behalf of Skills Development Scotland, proposed a different approach taking account of the significant impact the transition to net zero will have on a much broader range of jobs.
It features three categories of green jobs – new and emerging, enhanced skills and knowledge, and increased demand.
Applying this definition to Scotland, I was pleased to see researchers conclude that we are leading the UK with the highest proportion of new and emerging green jobs. They estimate these now account for more than 100,000 of the total 2.5m jobs in Scotland, are better paid than non-green jobs – and that demand is growing.
In December last year, the PWC Green Jobs Barometer showed Scotland is the top-ranked nation in the UK for green jobs creation for the second year in a row.
But the figures are not the final word and researchers acknowledge more work is required to refine their approach.
So now the Office of National Statistics has entered the debate.
Following extensive consultation, including with the Scottish Government, it has announced that it will define a green job as: “Employment in an activity that contributes to protecting or restoring the environment, including those that mitigate or adapt to climate change.”
Over the coming months, the ONS will produce more detail on what this covers and look to estimate a total number of jobs.
But by any definition, Scotland is amongst the pace setters in the creation of green jobs, whether in renewable energy, hydrogen or the greening of the emerging space sector, and our National Strategy for Economic Transformation – and ongoing investment will help ensure that remains the case.
But we require a single definition – and a league table – to show just how well we are doing.
Knowledge is power, and knowing when a job is a green job is not only important, it is our key to opening up a whole new world of employment opportunities which net zero can bring.
