3 | Illinois Labor Market Review
certificate, LEED certification,
engineering license and EPA
Certification.
The study shows that many of the
skills required for green jobs are also
required for non-green jobs, just as
similar skills deficiencies exist in
both types of jobs. Such deficiencies
include work ethic and work
experience as well as communications,
basic math, team project, reading and
writing skills and common sense.
Employers also identified deficiencies
in the following skills that are more
pertinent to green jobs: mathematics
and statistics, LEED certification,
computers, engineering, energy
efficiency and environmental skills.
In addition, employers reported a
deficiency in overall education.
The future of green jobs
During the next two years, green jobs
are expected to grow at an annual rate
of 13.4 percent in Illinois, according
to the green survey responses.
Future green jobs are expected to
require more specialized skills. The
number one green job skill expected
to increase in demand within the
next two years is energy efficiency,
followed by computer and engineering
skills, LEED certification and
environmental skills.
Educators or training providers
interested in preparing people for
jobs in the green economy could start
by reinforcing basic work skills in
their training programs. In addition,
improving people’s math, statistical
and computer skills and helping
them obtain in-demand green skills,
such as energy efficiency and LEED
certification, are other steps that can
prepare people for employment in
more specialized green jobs.
More information on skills required or
lacking for green jobs and the overall
structure of the green economy in
Illinois is available in the full Illinois
Green Jobs Summary Report, which
is posted on the Illinois Department
of Employment Security website at
http://lmi.ides.state.il.us/greenjobs.htm.
Dave Bieneman is Manager of
Economic Analysis for the Illinois
Department of Employment Security
and author of the Illinois Green Jobs
Summary Report. Yolanda Harris is
Editor of the Illinois Labor Market
Review.
Green Job Defined:
A job in which the work is essential to
products or services that improve energy
efficiency, expand the use of renewable
energy or support environmental
sustainability.
During the next
two years, green
jobs are expected
to grow at an
annual rate of
13.4 percent in
Illinois, according
to the green survey
responses.
