Mixed progress in SG green transformation, sustainability manager role on the rise

Singapore's green transformation has been making mixed progress. According to LinkedIn's Global Green Skills Report, the role of sustainability manager has seen the fastest growth in Singapore (41%), more so than the APAC average (28.6%). It was also listed in LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise 2022 report as the top emerging job in the market. Yet, the market's second fastest-growing green job in Singapore, safety manager, falls further behind with only a 14% growth. 

At the same time, while the share of green hiring was 15% higher in 2021 compared to 2016, non-green jobs also accounted for a growing share of hiring over the same period, eventually making up close to half (49.2%) of total hires. 

Additionally, between 2016 to 2021, the hiring growth for jobs that are in the process of becoming more green, or have the potential to become more green have been flat or declining in APAC. In Singapore, even though over 40% of jobs have the potential to become more green, hiring for such jobs fell by 2% on average. Meanwhile, non-green jobs have been seeing steady growth over the years.

The education and finance sectors were among the top five sectors with a high share of green hires in Singapore, which is likely a reflection of strong government support for green R&D as well as green finance solutions, the report said. 

For instance, in May last year, an industry taskforce convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced several initiatives to accelerate green finance, including a detailed implementation guide for climate-related disclosures by financial institutions, a framework to help banks assess eligible green trade finance transactions, and a white paper on scaling green finance in the real estate, infrastructure, fund management, and transition sectors. 

Software and IT services is also a booming sector for green hires in Singapore, in contrast to global levels which show that software and IT services have a below-average level of green skills intensity. Similar to the global trend in green entrepreneurialism, Singaporean founders are increasingly likely to enlist one or more green skills. 

In addition to sustainability, environment, health and safety, renewable energy, sustainable design, and corporate social responsibility are among the most popular green skills in Singapore. 

According to the report, there is much to be done for Singapore to reach the green economy goals laid out in the country’s Green Plan 2030. The Singapore Green Plan 2030, or the Green Plan, is a whole-of-nation movement to advance Singapore’s national agenda on sustainable development. It charts targets over the next 10 years, strengthening Singapore’s commitments under the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement, and positioning the country to achieve its long-term net zero emissions aspiration as soon as viable.

According to its official website, some of the targets set out for Singapore's Green Plan 2030 include planting one million more trees, quadruple solar energy deployment by 2025, reduce waste sent to landfills by 30% by 2030, have at least 20% of schools be carbon neutral by 2030, as well as get all vehicles to run on cleaner energy by 2040.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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