The survey highlighted significant challenges faced by employers in meeting ESG goals, including a difficulty in sourcing skilled staff.
A new Indeed report has found employers are struggling to recruit, despite a 93pc increase in ‘green jobs’ availability.
The survey published today (22 April) by Censuswide on behalf of Indeed, highlighted significant challenges faced by employers in meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.
Though the report indicated that more than 89pc of employers and employees believe “sustainability practices and policies are important to the future success of the country,” about 40pc of employees think that the salary for sustainability jobs is too low.
Additional recruitment challenges include a lack of awareness around the topic, with 63pc of people surveyed of the opinion that ‘green jobs’ only exist in certain industries.
Optimistically however, 65pc of employees expressed their interest in retraining to apply for sustainability positions. More than 40pc of people stated they are driven by advancement opportunities and 34pc by improved pay.
More than 70pc of those who contributed to the report work in organisations that have a designated department or manager to oversee ESG ambitions. A third of employers cited a difficulty in sourcing skilled staff as an issue, with an additional 37pc said lack of a sufficient budget was a problem.
As with the findings around employee information, 38pc of employers showed a lack of understanding over how ‘green jobs’ could benefit their business. 30pc expressed fears that their efforts could be viewed as ‘greenwashing’.
Despite the 93pc increase in the availability of roles within the sustainability sector, the figures released by Indeed indicate a disconnect between supply and demand.
This is evidenced by a 7pc drop in the number of people searching online for roles within this field, as well as the 30pc of people who believe there are not enough job opportunities.
Employers are eager to adopt ESG measures for a number reasons such as contributing to the green transition, the fulfilment of ESG requirements and attracting key investors and talent.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed said sustainability is now one of the key considerations at the top of everyone’s agenda. “The need for professionals in this area continues to grow across a variety of industries as ESG considerations become a standard part of doing business,” he said.
“People are not fully aware of job opportunities and tend to consider themselves unprepared in this area. The positive news is that the majority of workers are open to retraining in the area of sustainability.
“Ultimately, this will be necessary not only to meet the needs of the growing job market but also strengthen Ireland’s green transition efforts.”
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