NORTHERN Ireland is demonstrating notable progress in its green job market, with the region now hosting the second-highest proportion of green job advertisements in the UK.
That’s according to PwC’s latest ‘Green Jobs Barometer, which found the share of green jobs in the north rose from 2.4% to 4% of all roles posted in 2024, surpassing the UK average of 3.3%.
PwC said the 2,800 listings for green jobs in the north represented a 25.6% year-on-year increase.
Key sectors driving the growth include mining and quarrying (up 41%), electricity (9.2%), and construction (6.9%).
Despite the gains, slight declines were noted in manufacturing, transport and storage, accommodation services.
“It is clear that there are opportunities for further growth here,” said PwC director Jason Calvert.
“While our green jobs market is small and needs to be scaled up, there is a lot we can do.”
The senior economist said Stormont’s green growth strategy, which includes developing a workforce that supports climate action, marked a further step in creating meaningful solutions for businesses to benefit from the opportunities of the transition to net zero.
“Ultimately, in order for Northern Ireland to thrive in a net zero world, we need a skilled workforce, and so we must make a concerted effort to create new low carbon jobs, and adopt a coordinated approach to upskill and reskill the existing workforce,” said Mr Calvert.
“Policymakers also need to incentivise higher education in fields that will support the green economy, creating better conditions to retain new graduates in the region, ensuring that we are harnessing young people’s passion for the environment and creating the skills NI will need to thrive in a net zero world.”
PwC’s said the UK-wide increase in the share of green job adverts in 2024 was the equivalent of 23,000 additional roles, despite an overall contraction in the UK job market.
London remains the largest hub for green jobs, with 58,500 adverts, while the 28,700 jobs listed in Scotland was triple the size of the Scottish green jobs market first recorded by the barometer in 2021.
The report also highlighted a “green employment multiplier,” showing that every 10 green jobs create an additional 27 roles across the economy.
The report categorises green jobs fall into three areas: Direct production of products and services; adapting existing products and services to being more environmentally friendly; and lastly, jobs that support a green economy indirectly.
