With countries around the world racing to be leaders in the transition to clean energy and achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, there is a wealth of economic potential in the green economy that Caribbean jobseekers and workers can take advantage of. This is according to Joseph Boll, CEO of Caribbean Employment Services Inc., a market-leading recruitment firm headquartered in Barbados but operational throughout the region. The organization is calling attention to the matter after noting that Caribbean jobseekers often overlook this lucrative, developing industry.
Boll noted, “Green jobs are booming around the world right now, and there’s no reason why Caribbean natives can’t also take advantage of that opportunity. Even while waiting for the kind of investment and other development that will make the green economy as lucrative in the Caribbean as it is quickly becoming in other countries, there are jobs available that Caribbean jobseekers can still look into.”
Green jobs have multiplied by an estimated five times over the past few years alone, and experts expect there to be more than 100,000 million green jobs in the world by 2030. However, there is a labour shortage as companies are struggling to find enough workers to keep up with the rapid pace of this still-developing sector. As a result, many employers have been introducing apprenticeships or altering their hiring practices to bring on workers who can be trained on the job.
“This is a great opportunity for someone to enter the field to build skills and experience, allowing them to be prepared for when the green sector has become more developed in the Caribbean,” Boll noted. “Many jobs are also remote, so people who want to enter the green economy can still do so without having to leave home.”
Boll noted that many Caribbean countries have a deeply-ingrained culture where jobs in the green economy, such as agriculture, are not seen as a legitimate way of living. He said many people still do not realize that the green economy is more than agriculture, and that even agriculture itself has experienced many technological advancements in modern times.
“The struggle is that some people still think that the only ‘real’ jobs are doctor, lawyer, teacher or banker, and that when they hear ‘green economy’, they think of either traditional farmers or solar panels,” the CEO said. “There are a lot of misgivings about the green economy and the vast job pathways that exist, including in the corporate world. There are a lot of diverse green jobs that can be tapped into if jobseekers and young graduates would be encouraged to take a look.”
