Ecological and social transition: the importance of training for new professions

Just a few years ago, wanting to work in the environmental field might have seemed a little idealistic. Everything is over. Now that the time of transition has come, businesses – as well as local governments, associations, public authorities, etc. – are moving forward. – Many new skills need to be integrated.

When it comes to professions, a distinction needs to be made. On the one hand, there are those that we call “green”, namely professions whose goal is purely environmental (for example, environmental project manager, carbon emission estimator). On the other hand, the so-called “greening” of professions. Much more numerous, they point to the need to develop the professional by adding environmental skills to her palette that were not previously included.

This applies to many classic jobs: from thermal repair specialists, who have to implement new rules, methods and materials, to sustainable communications, green finance, etc. According to a 2019 INSEE survey, the green economy will create 4 million workers places Of these, 141,000 are green jobs; the rest—3.8 million—are considered “greening.”

Transparency time

“Over the years, the skills being sought have become clearer and, for some, very technical,” says Katherine Brennan, chief operating officer of Birdeo, a recruiting company specializing in high-impact jobs since 2010. The hiring acceleration she’s seeing isn’t (just) due to employers realizing the need to save the planet. This is also due to more complex standards and regulations. “Today we are no longer talking about a demonstration. We must measure, prove, justify down to the smallest detail policies for sustainable and social development,” says Catherine Brennan. An excellent illustration of this development is the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive).

This directive, applicable from 1 January 2024, requires large companies and SMEs listed on the stock exchange to provide non-financial reporting. Simply put, it is no longer just about publishing your accounts, but about declaring all data related to environmental, social and governance aspects. Enough to employ an army of new specialists. “In the coming years, non-financial aspects will become as important as financial ones, or even more important,” laughs Catherine Brennan. Meanwhile, the challenge for businesses is enormous, and no one is saying that CSRD won’t one day be extended to smaller entities.

This development gives pride of place to specialized profiles, especially in the data area. “It’s about collecting this information, putting it out there and getting people talking. Pure data analysis skills,” explains Birdeo’s COO. This also requires the creation of legal profiles against the backdrop of an increasing number of standards, both national and European. “Our law students will receive a lot of attention from larger CSR groups,” says Catherine Brennan. Or even financiers, non-financial approaches or even green finance, both involving a range of skills that did not exist until then.

While it is impossible to talk about the transition without mentioning the building, it affected all levels: choice of materials, energy efficiency, urban planning, etc. Or, of course, agriculture. “Although the number of farmers is in free fall, projections show that the organic sector could create between 400,000 and 1 million jobs,” says Irene Colonna d’Istria, director of the association’s Just Transition program. In her opinion, the current agricultural impasse rather highlights the shortcomings of the economic model and social dialogue, “hence it is important to think about transition processes in a broad sense, and not just through ecology,” as the acronym CSR (social and environmental responsibility) suggests. .

Regardless of their activities, companies need young people trained in these new approaches. Some are still hesitant about how to solve these complex problems. “Managers must understand that influence is not 0 or 1. It is important to start the process and then find how to improve it over time,” advises Irene Colonna from Istria.

In the middle of the ford

Not all professions will develop at the same pace. As companies face one emergency after another, some profiles are already the subject of heated debate. “What keeps leaders awake today is decarbonization. What roadmap to choose and how to get everyone on this path,” notes Birdeo’s COO. But let other profiles not fall asleep… “Anyone who thinks that sustainability does not concern them is mistaken. Sooner or later it will appear in his job description. We will ask him to continue to think through this lens,” predicts Katherine Brennan. You might as well be prepared for this. And it all starts with studying.