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Will Green Jobs Help The UK Economy?

4th January, 2009

With a full blown recession landing on Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced he plans to create 100,000 jobs, many of which will be 'green' jobs. Barack Obama soon to be President of the USA also placed a big emphasis on 'green jobs' during the election over in America.

So will green jobs help countries including our own pull out of an economic downturn? Well, firstly what exactly is a 'green job'? An attempt to describe a 'green' job is employment which helps reduce mans impact on the environment or even improves the natural environment. Lets face it, we have some cleaning up to do, and that alone could create a lot of jobs. Air quality, landfill, recycling, land decontamination, water quality are all sectors that could increase employment opportunities. The next sector that could create jobs is 'renewable energy'. From wind turbine design, to manufacturing of more efficient solar panels. Then there is sustainable building materials and also home insulation. Organic farming, horticulture, urban planning, forestry etc.

But this is the problem, a lot of 'green' jobs already exist and they can be notoriously difficult to get. For example a real green job such as a National Park ranger will get scores of excellent applications, with people with Msc's and Phds willing to work for less than 20K a year, as it is a lifestyle career. It might not make you rich, but imagine having the Lake District hills or the New Forest as your 'office'.

The term 'green job' is a bit wishy washy. It could easily be argued that a double glazing salesman is a green career. If you're not convinced how does 'home insulation, energy saving sales executive' sound? The next question is what is so special about a 'green job' that means it can be created where other jobs have floundered. For example take manufacturing, if a factory in the UK making washing machines has closed and moved to China because labour costs and materials are cheaper, what chances will the factory making portable wind turbines have? It still involves the same cost issues as a washing machine factory. The Chinese can make wind turbines just as well as they can a washing machine and still be cheaper than having the factory in the UK.

However, on the optimistic side there is a lot of things that could be done to make the country more energy efficient, cleaner and greener. Just walk down any street. How many lamp posts are solar powered? How many small wind turbines or solar water heating panels can you spot on peoples roofs. This alone if it became as common a sight as SKY dishes did a few years ago could create a lot of 'green jobs' and a lot of these jobs might be 'green' in some ways, but the receptionist sitting answering the phones at the local 'vegetable garden tool share & rent' store might not be to bothered if it is 'green' what is important is that it is a 'job'.

Also 'green' jobs are suffering just like any other jobs. From urban planners to garden designers, many are experiencing a downturn in orders and contracts. However, there is a lot of potential for new 'green jobs' but don't get to excited that it will solve an economic downturn overnight nor will these 'green' jobs involve snorkelling off Mauritius surveying coral reefs!

So going back to Prime Minister Brown's pledge. It seems he wasn't asked what he really meant by 'green' jobs and where they would come from. It all sounded a bit vague and spinfull. In the current economic climate businesses are struggling to get bank loans and investment, so how will they fund the new 'green' ventures that will create employment? He did mention emulating Americas 'New Deal' policy during the Great Depression era that involved big labour intensive public works. I was lucky to have worked in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia for a few months during my degree in Environmental Management, the park was about 100 mile long and high up in the hills, a go slow road winded through, with stop off points offering great panoromic views and cafeterias. It is very popular with American tourists, and this very road was built by work gangs during the Depression as part of the 'New Deal'. I remember seeing old photos of men in dungarees with spades during the construction period, that were on display in a visitor centre. Perhaps he has a go slow road in the Lake District up his sleeves?

If your looking for a 'green' job in forestry, horticulture, or the environment sector, would like to post your availablilty for work, looking for a course to retrain or looking for employees, why not post a FREE classified in our jobs section here.