Turning recession into an opportunity: green your job
Amidst the doom and gloom of the current economic climate it has become clear that green jobs show us a way out. But the way forward is not to wait for someone else to create a green job for you, but rather do it yourself.
Whether you are unemployed, self employed or fully employed you can take control with a couple of small steps to secure your future, and make a difference while you work. Following are a couple of ideas of what you can do now to green your job.
- Get a green job
Jobs may be a scarce at the moment, but don’t be afraid to target green jobs and join the green workforce. This is a growing sector, an likely to continue in future. Recently the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development commented that we will see a big growth in green jobs, up to a million in Ireland. The Irish Farmers Association also reiterated this sentiment. It stands to reason that this is a good place to start your search. So keep your eyes peeled, use the normal channels to find jobs but expand your search, or check out the Irish green jobs portal: Greenjobs.
- Consider retraining
If you feel that green jobs are not within your grasp, consider retraining by attending a full time or part time course in an environmental area. If you can choose something of relevance to your current employment this will make the transition even easier. Watch out for upcoming green training, especially in energy management and the renewables sector. A new report from the National Environmental Education Foundation(US) highlights the growing importance of environment and sustainability education for job candidates. So whether you are retraining for your job or for yourself, it will make your an even more desirable candidate for the future.
- Start your own green business
Consider starting your own business in the green sector. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told that the best time to start a business is during a recession. There must be something in it given the amount of people. Do you have an idea for a product or service that is green, or could be made green? The banks have funding and the government need us to continue to innovate to keep the economy up. Now is the best time to start that dream. If you are looking for inspiration here’s a few places to start:
Entrepreneur.com
Green Businesses You Can Start
Starting up Green
- Green your own workplace
Whether you work in an office environment, from home or even from your car there are lots of things you can do to green your work. The benefits of a green workplace are not just for the environment. It can help save energy, money and improve staff motivation. Initiative such as converting to a paperless office or using renewable fuel can all help. Going one step further and implementing an Environmental Management System (such as ISO 14001) also help to green the work place. For some industries, changing the structure of your activities can also help make your business greener. For example, architects should be looking into retrofitting, renovation and preservation. Contact Arc Sustainability for further information on this topic.
Related posts:
- And now for the good news – green job creation
- Sustainability: the new business paradigm
- Green jobs light the way
- Employee innovation is the key to a sustainable business.
- Is this a Green Economy Recession?
- Who says the recession is all bad news?
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