Green Jobs Are Surging. But Where Are The Recruiters?

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Various research studies show that the green jobs market is huge. Employees are simply craving green job offers, according to the survey that Monster published at the launch of GreenCareers. Job seekers just out of school are massively interested in green issues, so it appears; a total of 92% of the participants said that they want to work in an environmentally-friendly company and 80% want jobs that have a positive impact on the environment.

MonsterTRAK is starting from scratch and has hired two non HR consultancies specialising in ecological issues and businesses, EcoAmerica and Environmental Defense, to help it start out.

There are a few other job boards that cater to the green sector, ´re all way smaller than Monster; JustMeans.com, Treehugger.com, GreenBiz.com, Net Impact, SustainableBusiness.com, Grist.org or the recruiters listed on my blog. ”Research cited by GreenBiz.com shows that employees working at companies with clear corporate responsibility (CSR) programs, including environmental and social programs, are most satisfied. The study, conducted by Kenexa Research Institute, concludes that employees at these companies also stay at their jobs longer and are more content with senior management then their peers at companies with lackluster CSR programs.

A similar survey, conducted by Harris Interactive survey last year, showed that 33 percent of adults polled would prefer to work for a green company and 60 percent believed their companies should do more to be environmentally responsible. So what makes a ´green employee´? In a few words, it is simply a professional who has both strong business/technical skills and an understanding of sustainability.

That is how Marie Kerpan, who runs a consultancy practice called Green Careers, describes the green candidate. That duality of mindset is not without its implications. "If an employee has the skills, can the values be learned? Or, if a candidate has the sustainability perspective, can the skills be taught? You really need to hire for both," Kerpan was quoted as saying by GreenBiz.com.

MonsterTRAK is a great idea, but since there aren´t many other dedicated Green hiring platforms around, where do businesses canvas for candidates? It´s difficult to believe that your average trained economist will be able to just ´be´ green. Universities don´t churn them out, as I’ve revealed two blog posts back.

The most obvious networking events for eco minded souls, and good alternative to the yearly milk round, are festivals and job fairs. Some of these focus on Green issues. GreenBiz mentions events such as the Green Festival and the Bioneers conference or the Net Impact conference as thriving on job hunting activity. Bright Green Talent is the specialist recruiter in the field.

Angelique van Engelen writes AmplifiedGreen, a blog about micro green issues, macro perspectives