Study: Green Jobs Firmly Established in Design, Construction

At Greenbuild last week, McGraw-Hill Construction released the results of a study showing that green jobs are now firmly established in the design and construction workforce. According to the study, 35 percent of architects, engineers and contractors report having green jobs today, representing 661,000 jobs and one-third of the industry workforce. That share is expected to increase over the next three years, with 45 percent of all design and construction jobs being green by 2014. Trades jobs (carpenters, HVAC/boilermakers, electricians, concrete/cement masons, and plumbers) are expected to see the greatest growth in green jobs; 15 percent of trades today are green jobs, and this is expected to increase to 25 percent in three years. Green jobs yield advantages such as more opportunity (42 percent) and better career advancement (41 percent), according to respondents.

Training is essential for getting and maintaining green jobs; 30 percent of green job workers say they needed major training when they started, and most report that formal education and training programs will continue to be needed. Hiring firms agree; 71 percent of hiring decision makers maintain that being green-certified increases competiveness.

This study is the first to focus exclusively on design and construction professionals and trades workers. “Green jobs” are defined as those involving more than 50 percent of work on green projects or designing and installing uniquely green systems, while excluding support or administrative professionals and manufacturing, production or transportation-related services. The study's premier partners include the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects. Other partners include the Society for Marketing Professional Services, National Association of the Remodelers Industry, and the Building & Construction Trades Department of the AFL/CIO.

“Green jobs are already an important part of the construction labor workforce, and signs are that they will become industry standard,” said Harvey Bernstein, vice president, Industry Insights and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. “These numbers reported by the industry match our Dodge green building market sizing; so as green takes over construction activity, so too will green take over the construction workforce.”