More than 30 million new jobs in sustainability are needed around the world
HAMILTON, BERMUDA — With countries around the world pushing to increase the number of sustainable jobs in an effort to realize the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, an international environmental organization is highlighting the potential for an enormous expansion of clean energy jobs in the Caribbean.
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to research, education and development in the sustainable field.
Just this year, it officially launched its Global Fellowship Programme (GFP), a six-month training programme.
The Global Fellowship Programme aims to support green economy training and job growth in the Caribbean. (Photo: RMI)
GFP aims to connect leaders in clean energy in the Caribbean in an effort to increase skills training, and therefore job placement and other career opportunities.
RMI noted the global push towards transitioning to clean energy and more sustainable ways of conducting business and even living.
However, it emphasized, “The most critical and essential need for the implementation of the transition is human resources.
“We need 30 million new and transitioned clean energy jobs in this decade to meet 2050 net-zero targets.
“Around 60 percent of the new jobs will require higher-level training.”
To this end, RMI sought to support new initiatives that could facilitate this goal.
The Caribbean is ripe for green jobs
GFP’s launch actually took place in Bermuda, where 20 participants from across the region gathered to network, attend training sessions and hold discussions on how sustainable development could be furthered in the region.
Thanks to its enormous wealth of natural resources, the Caribbean is more frequently being identified as ripe for growth in the green and blue economies.
The world is expected to have millions more clean energy jobs by 2030. (Photo: RMI)
While RMI mentioned an additional 30 million green jobs, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) actually suggested the total number of green jobs in the world could hit 100 million within the next seven years.
However, there is a huge skills shortage in the sustainable sector, with not enough workers trained to take up the millions of jobs available.
This is where programmes like GFP come into play, along with resource sites like EcoCareers.org, an affiliate of Caribbean Employment Services Inc.
RMI noted, “The Caribbean — with its increasingly severe hurricanes and high energy prices and where energy resilience is critical — is one of the regions prioritizing elevating regional leadership.”
As such, GFP is “designed to facilitate experiential learning and peer collaboration among regional energy leaders and industry partners to create an ecosystem that can support and drive workforce training.”
The programme’s first cohort of participants included 20 fellows from diverse professional backgrounds. Islands represented include Turks and Caicos, St. Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Saba and Bermuda.
Despite this rich diversity in backgrounds, RMI emphasized, “Program participants share one common goal — to advance the clean energy transition in the Caribbean.”
Read RMI’s recap of the Global Fellowship Program launch here.
Find the latest jobs in the Caribbean via Caribbean Employment Services Inc.
