Green approach to job creation

Sunday Business Post - Recruitment Section - Feb 01 2009

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'Green collar’ jobs are top of the agenda for US president Barack Obama, who has pledged to support employment in renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen is thinking along similar lines. His €500 million Innovation Fund Ireland, launched in December, made reference to a green deal, and early plans to introduce tax breaks to help make Ireland an ‘innovation island’.

‘‘We hope that the government remains faithful to its pledge to create tax breaks for companies working in the renewable energy and environmental industries,” said Andrew Molony, commercial director of Greenjobs.ie. ‘‘If it can entice some of the big green players to set up in Ireland, this will bring some much needed economic stability through the creation of green collar jobs. The presence of multinational companies and smaller independent companies will open up more options for Irish jobseekers.”

The tough times in which we live could help to create more environmentally friendly jobs.

‘‘People are now being forced to look at emerging markets for longer-term security as traditional industries are no longer providing viable sources of employment,’’ Molony said. ‘‘We are likely to see a massive demand for qualifications in environmental biology, renewable and electrical energy systems, environmental management and specialist fields within science and engineering.”

Policy approach
Martin Shanahan, divisional manager of Forfás, said that policy-makers at the highest level in Irish society were already keen to make Ireland a greener economy.

‘‘There is a significant awareness at a policy level of the possible value to Ireland from the green or environmental sector and its ability to create future jobs,” said Shanahan. This is being reflected in the approach of the enterprise development agencies and education and training providers.

‘‘A joint report recently published by Forfás and Inter Trade Ireland showed that the environmental sector has the potential to become a valuable component of long-term economic development in Ireland. The value of this sector to the island of Ireland is growing and is currently estimated at €3.6 billion.”

Irish workforce
Molony said there was interest in environment-friendly jobs among Irish workers.

‘‘The Irish workforce is extremely keen to get involved in green industries,” he said. ‘‘Every day, we get people registering their CVs onto our site, which shows the level of enthusiasm out there. The slowdown in formerly dominant industries like financial services has forced the Irish workforce to look to alternative routes.”

However, the skills and qualifications of the Irish workforce do not compare favourably with some of our European neighbours, Molony said.

‘‘Denmark and parts of Scandinavia are arguably five to ten years ahead of Ireland,” he said. ‘‘Ireland is in the fledgling stages of providing enough green courses and training programmes. It is, however, a huge growth area.

‘‘Dundalk IT, NUI Galway, UCD and Limerick IT are all now offering environmentalthemed courses, which is a clear indicator of the growing appetite for these types of qualifications. There are also plenty of part-time courses like Building Energy Rate (BER) assessor courses and solar panel installer courses available to help people become more attractive to employers.”

Job creation
Molony said he expected green job creation in the medium term to be good quality and well paid.

‘‘We predict average annual salaries to come in close to €50,000, perhaps even higher while the skills set remains so scarce,” he said. ‘‘To attract the best applicants with the strongest qualifications and experience, it is vital to offer a salary that reflects the specialist training undertaken. However, as green industries develop, we envisage there being jobs created for all levels of skills and salaries.”

Shanahan said it was not just people with skills and qualifications in obvious green disciplines that would be attracted to green jobs.

‘‘There will be a requirement for people with some broad knowledge of the technologies, business acumen and management expertise to manage such multidisciplinary teams,” he said. ‘‘Companies involved in the production of environmental goods and services need all the other traditional supporting business functions such as finance, HR and marketing.”

Renewable energy
Conor McGennis, division manager - engineering & pharmaceutical, Sigmar Recruitment, said there was considerable demand from renewable energy companies for qualified candidates.

‘‘I would definitely say the energy and particularly the renewable energy sector will be a hugely progressive area over the next few years,” said McGennis.

‘‘Airtricity has shown the way forward and there are a number of start-ups within the renewable sector with potential in areas like wind and wave technology. The government, through Sustainable Energy Ireland, has a lot of companies in incubation, with links to academia.”

McGennis said he had come across candidates, with experience in more traditional engineering areas, looking to move into renewable energy.

‘‘Most engineers would agree that there will be fewer opportunities in manufacturing, and the number of jobs available in construction is very limited to say the least,” he said.

‘‘There is a shortage of well qualified electrical engineers in Ireland. People are doing additional courses, such as the Masters programmes in renewable energy. There is a flow towards that, as most people are aware that manufacturing is not going to be a long-term runner.”

Financial candidates
Among employers in the electricity sector, McGennis said there was growing demand for candidates with experience in financial services.

‘‘Companies like Airtricity, Wind Energy Direct and other slightly lower-profile private organisations, are looking for traders and analysts and similar jobs,” he said. ‘‘These would be for highly numerate people, not necessarily just engineers, but people more towards the trading side of things.”

Other sectors
Simon O’Brien, managing director of Honan O’Brien, said multinationals from other sectors with operations in Ireland, would more than likely switch focus to more environment friendly areas.

‘‘While there will be an increase in indigenous Irish companies, existing multinationals will also offer job opportunities,” said O’Brien. ‘‘Companies such as Siemens and ABB are likely to get involved in renewable energy and should offer great opportunities especially in research and development.”

Michael O’Leary, managing director of HRM Recruitment, said that smaller indigenous consultancy firms were actively recruiting people for ‘green’ roles.

‘‘Both our science and engineering divisions are recruiting for clients who are consultancy firms,” O’Leary said. ‘‘They are interested in people who have good experience in renewable technologies. The lead into a market tends to be in consultancies, where organisations buy the services first, and then tend to move in that direction.”

Shanahan said that a focus on energy efficiency would help stimulate demand for candidates in otherwise depressed sectors of the Irish economy, including construction and manufacturing.

‘‘There will be an increase in the demand for those who are qualified to install energy-saving technologies, such as biomass heating systems , geothermal, solar and photovoltaic panels, and who are capable of insulating properties to required levels,” he said.

‘‘There is now a much higher level of compliance required in the management of sites for all forms of development. The type of skills and knowledge associated with site assessment and waste management will be required both in the development of new sites and in the rehabilitation of old sites.”