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New careers envisioned as jobs go green
"People don't realize there are going to be careers we can't talk about yet, because the technology hasn't been invented," said Carol McClelland, an author and founder of Green Career Central.
Those green jobs, experts say, are among the fastest growing sector of the workforce, and will help pull the nation out of its economic slump.
"It's a game-changer," said Carol McClelland, an author and founder of Green Career Central, an online jobs board for green jobs. "People don't realize there are going to be careers we can't talk about yet, because the technology hasn't been invented. This is a huge shift. It's a transformation on how we live and do business."
The Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board has named green jobs to its list of the 30 fastest growing careers in the Delaware Valley. More than 5,000 new green jobs are expected over the next five years in this area alone, said board CEO Sallie Glickman.
"Those are new jobs, new categories that have emerged, like chief sustainability officers and biofuels processing technician, energy auditors, which is something that's been around for a while, industrial ecologists, recycling coordinators," Glickman said. "It's across the map."
In Hatfield Township, for example, Jaco Environmental has added 40 new green jobs at an appliance recycling center. Those employees will deconstruct used refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners collected through a joint program with utility providers Peco and PP&L. Components that can be recycled will be; other parts will go for scrap.
While government considers a green job as one that's involved in the production of green technologies, products or practices, some other people take a broader view.
"Some jobs + are specifically focused on green industries, like wind power, solar, renewable energy," said Jeana Wirtenberg, president and CEO of Transitioning to Green, a consulting organization. "That's only a narrow piece of it. As we go through the next decade, every industry will be going green. The companies that are not are going to go out of business. They won't be sustainable."
Sustainability is driving GE Water Process & Technologies, a General Electric division headquartered in Bensalem.
"A significant part of what we do is working with our clients to help them meet environmental and regulatory challenges of the future," said chief sustainability officer Jeff Fulgham. "A lot of what we do is all about green."
GE Water works with about 50,000 customers around the world to help them improve sustainability when it comes to water consumption, Fulgham said. But the division is also helping the entire company by monitoring water use at all 7,000 GE sites around the world.
"Probably 80 percent to 90 percent of the products that we are developing today are all 100 percent in that green space," Fulgham said. "They're ideas to help our customers reduce water, energy and waste."
Being a green company also helps recruit new employees, he said.
"As we look at candidates, that's a huge driver for them," he said. "They are absolutely focused on green roles. One of the reasons they want to come to work for us is they see this as a way to make an impact on the world. It's not just about making a buck. They want to have a positive impact on the environment. Those green roles, they pretty much have a direct impact on the environment."
Find a green job online
environmentalcareer.com
greencareercentral.com
greencareersguide.com
greenjobs.com
greenjobs.net
veteransgreenjobs.org
June 21, 2010 02:10 AM