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Green Jobs in NZ now and into the future

Sarah Firth

The inside scoop on: Green Jobs in New Zealand

This is a pivotal moment for our planet. We need to take steps to address climate change now, to ensure we have a sustainable future. To tackle this huge challenge, the world is going to need more people in green jobs than ever before.

What are Green Jobs?

Green jobs are aimed at protecting and promoting the environment, or jobs which consider the impact on the health of the planet and endeavors to minimise that impact.According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), any jobs that do the following 5 things are classed as “green jobs”.

  • Increases efficient consumption of energy and raw materials

  • Limits greenhouse gas emissions

  • Minimises waste and contamination

  • Protects and restores ecosystems

  • Contributes to adaptation to climate change

Decarbonisation, a move towards a circular economy (reusing, repairing or recycling) alongside increasing sustainable manufacturing and consumption is going to create numerous green job opportunities across a huge number of sectors – and we have started to see this happen in the last few years in Aotearoa.Green jobs can be either: 

  • Jobs IN an organisation that produces goods or provides services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources

  • Jobs where the worker’s role works WITHIN an organisation to move them towards more environmentally friendly ways of working or supporting them to use fewer natural resources

Green jobs statistics 

The International Labour Organisation suggests green jobs and skills are essential to the transition towards a green economy. In the next decade, they estimate 24 million jobs will be created worldwide for “Green Collar workers”due to new climate policies and commitments.  According to Linkedin’s 2022 Global Green Skills Report Green job posting data, in the U.S, green job postings have grown 8% a year over the last five years, but the share of green talent has only grown around 6% a year over the same period. So there are potentially a lot of gaps waiting to be filled by values-aligned people who want to work in green jobs.

Hiring for green jobs in New Zealand was up 41% since 2016 (APAC data). The government has been rolling out stronger climate change commitments, legislation and mandates alongside economic activity to create more jobs in this space, such as the $1.29 billlion four-year Jobs for Nature programme to benefit the environment, people and the regions.Numerous green jobs are being created across a huge number of sectors – and it’s expected to keep on growing.

What kind of green jobs are available?

Green jobs cover a wide range of industries, from the obvious ones like conservation, ecology, sustainability and renewable energy, to more surprising ones like fashion, technology, transport, food production and more. As the decarbonisation of the economy increases and we see the circular economy become bigger, new green job professions will be created, and many existing jobs will have to adapt to the new green reality. 

Green jobs potential

A variety of sectors across the workforce have the ability to grow the number of green job vacancies in Aotearoa:

  • Energy. Investment in renewable generation is growing, as vehicles and heating systems electrify and the Government strives for a 100% green grid.  In New Zealand we are fortunate to have renewable energy sources providing most of our electricity (around 82%) but we still have a  way to go to make it 100% renewable. Meanwhile, other countries around the world have a larger gap to get to 100% renewable energy. There will be plenty of jobs across a range of sectors that will be needed to make this shift reality. Think of roles like engineers, solar and wave energy experts, energy efficiency, and more. 

  • Agriculture. Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Agriculture contributes directly to sustainable stewardship of the land, air and water. Think of roles like urban farmers, roles that support regenerative farming practices, reducing harmful fertilizers, looking after the water, and more.

  • Design. Policy changes require increasingly innovative leaps in the way that we design. This fact, added to increasing consumers' environmental awareness, has made eco-design — from fashion, packaging, building materials and more— a booming source of jobs.

  • Tourism. In a society increasingly concerned with the health of the planet, ecological tourism — or ecotourism — is a rising trend worldwide as we see more people moving around the world again.

  • Transport. Aotearoa is taking measures to reduce our transport emissions. Creating job opportunities in the electric vehicles sector, public transport and commercial freight/logistics areas.

Across all these five sectors there will be a need for environmental and sustainability advisors, co-ordinators, consultants, alongside managers, support workers, administrative roles and more.

What kinds of job titles do workers in green jobs have? 

If you are searching for a green job in NZ, you may be looking at common titles such as:  Environmental or sustainability managers, advisors, coordinators, engineers and assessors. You could be an analyst or a consultant looking for a green job with a for-purpose focus on any of the above five sectors. The World Economic Forum suggests most green skills are being used in jobs you may not expect, for example, fleet managers, data scientists, health workers, construction managers and technical sales representatives.

It’s wise to look beyond the common titles!

As the need to decrease our impact on the environment accelerates, expect to find more roles in unexpected places to tackle this issue. We predict that all large organisations will require a sustainability focus and staffing capacity in the future.Rather than just looking at the role, a key consideration when choosing to work in a green job is to know the organisation’s own mandate and process when it comes to sustainability. Do they walk the talk? What are their commitments for the future?

What salary can I expect?:

This is a tough one to answer because of the large breadth of the types of green jobs you can do. Below we have a few interesting examples of green jobs in NZ and their salaries. We’d also recommend checking out resources like Glassdoor.co.nz for specific green jobs you might be interested in.

  • An Energy/Carbon Auditor with up to five years' experience usually earns between $60,000 and $80,000 a year.

  • According to the PSA Agreement for Department of Conservation the minimum salaries from November 2021 range between $47,000 and $128,000 per year. With allowances for working in isolated areas such as the Chatham Islands.

  • If you would like to pursue a career in Horticultural Science you can expect to be earning $65,000 - $75,000 per year as a graduate and $80,000 - $150,000 per year as a senior agricultural scientist to study farm animals, soils, pastures and crops to improve growth, health and quality, and to prevent pests and disease.

  • Someone working as an Environment Advisor in New Zealand typically earns around $128,000 per year. Salaries range from $59,000 to $204,000. In this green job you would analyse and advise on policies guiding the design, implementation and modification of government or commercial environmental operations and programs.

Have I got the skills for a Green job?:

There is no single training profile for ‘Green Collar workers’. We have a wide range of green jobs, conservation jobs and sustainability related roles available on Do Good Jobs.

Other than degrees, courses and postgraduate courses specialising in ecology or sustainability, green training for a specific job often means environmental specialisation within a sector.

As well as having the necessary skills, employers will be looking for strong values alignment and a sense of duty to the environment in general.  The need for people who understand sustainability issues, and who have the skills and attitudes to contribute to solutions is paramount for a greener future.  The people in these green jobs are changing the world for future generations!

What kind of green jobs does Do Good Jobs advertise?

Do Good Jobs is the go-to place to look for green jobs in New Zealand. One of our key do-good criteria includes a focus on environmental-related jobs.If you are interested in finding a green job, then check out the green jobs filter on our website and have a scroll through our listings. Or, subscribe for alerts for the particular location and job type you might want, now or in the (green, more sustainable) future. The green jobs listed on Do Good Jobs come from all sorts of areas and organisations. Here’s a snippet of some of our recent roles:

For our current roles see dogoodjobs.co.nz/green-jobs