Green skills become prominent within business ESG strategies

HCMC – Firms should cultivate a workforce equipped with the appropriate green skills in order to achieve environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and progress towards sustainable development, said experts at the “Green Talent: Driving Sustainability” seminar held on August 24.

The hybrid event was organized by ManpowerGroup Vietnam and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam), and attended by leading ESG experts, human resources officers, and business representatives in Vietnam.

Green skills are generally “the knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society,” according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

A ManpowerGroup study titled, “The Search for ESG Talent 2022,” stated that by 2050, the global market is forecast to have over 300 million office jobs that require green skills. The proportion of green talent jumped from 9.6% to 13.3% between 2015 to 2022.

Nguyen Thanh Huong, country HR manager at ManpowerGroup Vietnam,
said that ESG is no longer an aspiration but an expectation of the world of work.

She said employees have higher expectations of their employers, citing a report that found 55% of respondents consider a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) aspects as a crucial factor when assessing potential employers.

Speaking in a pre-recorded video, Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup, said, “To be truly sustainable, our ESG strategy must be embedded in our business strategy. That is how we can focus most on delivering environment action, modeling our social impact, and leading with good governance.”

Data by Manpower Vietnam showed that the highest demand for green jobs in the first half of 2023 include several key sectors, such as manufacturing (30%), health (20%), and technology (17%), among others.

Globally, the top five ESG roles in demand consist of environment, health and safety (59%), health and wellbeing (39%), corporate sustainability (39%), recycling and waste management (37%), and ecosystem and biodiversity management (33%).

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