Green Workforce Needs of Minnesota Businesses

Recent local and national news stories have discussed what seems to be a new trend toward businesses "going green" and a swelling number of "green-collar jobs." Green businesses are broadly considered to be those that have environment-friendly operations or that provide products and services that are beneficial to the environment by minimizing their impact on the environment. Examples include businesses as diverse as a manufacturing firm that makes a biodegradable cleaning product, an architectural firm that promotes energy efficiency through its building designs, or a utility plant that turns wind power into electricity for its customers.

Many organizations have attempted to define Minnesota's green industries and quantify the number of green jobs. Most notable is the Green Jobs Task Force, established by the Minnesota Legislature in 2008 to advise the governor and Legislature about activities to advance the state's green economy. The Green Jobs Task Force commissioned a market analysis report, conducted by GPS Consulting Corp., which estimates that Minnesota has 58,827 green jobs in industries spanning green products, renewable energy, green services, and environmental conservation.

The report identified 38 "pure green" occupations (such as soil and plant scientists, conservation scientists, and hydrologists), 110 "green impacts" occupations (such as chemical engineers, plumbers, and power plant operators) and 430 "potentially green" occupations (such as chief executives, teachers, and lawyers). While the educational pathways for many of these occupations are clear, the types of specific green skills that may be needed are not.

Some of these green skills could, of course, be learned through on-the-job training. Other skills, especially if the occupation requires some form of post-secondary degree or certification, could be learned through a formal training program. Either way, if businesses are becoming more aware of their impact or their products' impact on the environment, finding a well-prepared future workforce will be essential.

In an effort to learn more, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) partnered with the Minnesota Department of Commerce surveyed employers across the state to identify their current and future involvement in green practices, production of green products, or offering of green services.

The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), which is the nationally recognized method for classifying industries, does not allow us to identify business entities that are involved in producing or offering green products or services, or the degree to which their workers need green skills. This classification system provides a high level of specificity as to the primary product or service of each business. Businesses that produce some green products (such as a wind turbine manufacturer) or provide green services (such as environmental consulting) may be easy to identify. Others like energy-efficient window-and-door manufacturers or firms that offer green architectural services, may not be as easily identified. Additionally, workers within any industry sector span a variety of occupational fields, so not all employees of a particular firm would be classified as working a green job.

For the purpose of this study, businesses were surveyed from industry sectors that had the greatest potential to be involved in offering green products or services now or in the future. Examples of industries targeted include:

• Utilities - solar, wind and hydroelectric power, energy storage,energy transmission/distribution
• Construction - home construction; industrial building; residential remodelers; residential plumbing; heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC); glass and glazing; roofing; siding; electrical; drywall; insulation
• Manufacturing - HVAC equipment manufacturing, glass manufacturing, paper mills, electric lamp bulb and fixture manufacturing, household appliance manufacturing, power distribution and transformer manufacturing, battery manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, biofuels
• Administrative and Support Services - recycling, waste collection, and remediation
• Business and Professional Services - industrial design services, environmental consulting services, architectural services, engineering services
• Government - conservation and pollution prevention,cleanup/safety, monitoring and compliance

Since the term "green" could include firms from many sectors of the economy, and for some firms their green activity may just be a small part of what they do, it was left up to the business to define their products or services as green or if their workforce had green skills. The term "green" was defined simply as being environment-friendly or beneficial to the environment.

Businesses were asked to identify what percent of their total products or services were considered green. One percent indicated that all - or 100 percent - of their products or services were green. Fourteen percent said that between 50 and 99 percent of their products or services were green, and one-third indicated that less than 50 percent of their products or services were green. More than half (53 percent) of the businesses noted that they did not produce any green products or did not offer any green services

It is clear that a large number of firms either currently perform or plan to perform green practices. Despite an economic recession, 19.6 percent of Minnesota businesses surveyed cited a shortage of workers currently having green knowledge or skills as a barrier to implementing green practices. In addition, employers plan to increase the number of workers with green skills in the coming two years. Some of this growth will be in businesses that produce a green product or service, but respondents also valued practices that could be applied to many types of industries such as energy conservation and waste reduction. Furthermore, the demand for engineering and technology skills reaffirms that companies want to hire an innovative workforce which may move Minnesota firms into many emerging fields, including but not limited to traditional green industries.

Types of Knowledge Most Important to Future Hiring Needs of Minnesota Businesses:

• Engineering and technology 47.9%
• Customer service 38.4%
• Production and processing (knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods) 32.4%
• Administration and management 31.2%
• Lean principles (e.g., inventory flow, waste reduction, etc.) 30.5%
• Mechanical (knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance) 29.5%
• Computers and electronics 22.2%
• Clerical (including interacting with computers)19.7%
• Design (knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models)17.4%
• Chemistry, biology, or other sciences 11.7%
• Mathematics 9.9%
• Building and construction 8.2%

Source: Minnesota Employment Review, Rachel Vilsack, 6/2009