Young people do not simply choose a career like their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents have done for the past 70 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many will find the concept of \u2018career\u2019 outdated and prefer having a \u2018life\u2019 or \u2018family\u2019 instead, according to Dr Jill Bogie, Director of Sustainability Initiatives for Africa at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Additionally, they\u2019re faced with the difficult job of stopping the changes to our planetary system which the current and past generations have created.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018What\u2019s more, the people who will make the decisions that can shift us away from this cliff edge of the climate crisis are not even born yet. Their future jobs don\u2019t yet exist,\u2019 she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018That\u2019s the context to consider when talking about eco-inclusive careers.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With its high reliance on coal, rampant youth unemployment and other crises, South Africa could benefit from Dr Bogie\u2019s systems thinking right now \u2013 or at least acknowledge how interconnected the destiny of our people, planet, and profits are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anybody who wants a career that won\u2019t disappear because it\u2019s phased out in the transition to cleaner energy and a circular economy must see the bigger picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018To describe a career as \u201ceco-inclusive\u201d simply gives recognition to an interdependency that linear models cannot explain,\u2019 says Anne Cabot-Alletzhauser, Practice Director of GIBS\u2019 Responsible Finance Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Our environment, society and business are all part of an extremely complex system, where pulling a thread in one part can have massive, unpredictable consequences for other parts of the system.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means that it\u2019s not enough for careers to be \u2018eco\u2019 or \u2018green\u2019 but they simultaneously need to be inclusive \u2013 by addressing what is referred to as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a catch-all for issues of gender, race, age, disability and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Bogie and Cabot-Alletzhauser prefer \u2018sustainability\u2019 over \u2018eco\u2019 or \u2018green\u2019, as it better reflects the complexity of issues that young people must consider in their career choices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) developed a digital guide for 15- to 24-year-olds on sustainable career choices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
GEO-6 for Youth simplifies scientific jargon to explain the devastating state of the environment and gives young people ideas for future career fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, its section on the circular economy says, \u2018The shift from a take-make-waste model to recycling, reuse, remanufacture, rental and longer durability of goods could create almost 6 million jobs [globally] by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This would mean shifting jobs from the mining and manufacturing sectors to durable product design, waste management (recycling) and services (repair, rent).\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Clearly, this all suggests a very different type of skillset will be required in the corporate, entrepreneurial and governmental domains of work,\u2019 says Cabot-Alletzhauser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her suggestions as \u2018obvious starting points\u2019 for sustainable careers in South Africa include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fits into the new economic sectors that President Ramaphosa highlighted in his 2023 State of the Nation Address<\/strong><\/a>, where he promised to create quality jobs in renewable energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and related manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of these areas are already experiencing an upswing in demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a 2022 LinkedIn report<\/strong><\/a> (which uses \u2018green\u2019 and \u2018sustainable\u2019 interchangeably), the top five fastest-growing green jobs between 2016 and 2021 are sustainability manager (30% increase), wind turbine technician (24%), solar consultant (23%), ecologist (22%), and environmental health and safety specialist (20%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ranked 6, 7 and 8 are \u2018greening\u2019 jobs (those that are less specialised but still require a certain level of \u2018green\u2019 skills): compliance manager (19%), facilities manager (11%) and technical sales representative (8%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent article in The Conversation<\/a> <\/strong>found a tenfold jump in the number of global job ads with \u2018sustainability\u2019 in the title over the last decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The corporate world needs more than a few chief sustainability officers \u2013 it needs an army of employees, in all areas of business, thinking about sustainability in their decisions every day,\u2019 say the authors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018That means product designers, supply managers, economists, scientists, architects, and many others with the knowledge to recognise unsustainable practices and find ways to improve sustainability for the overall health of their companies and the planet.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Bogie\u2019s experience confirms this exploding demand, as her own LinkedIn profile increasingly attracts unsolicited sustainability-related job offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018I believe every corporate job needs to be about sustainability,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018It\u2019s not a choice of being in finance, marketing, IT, or sustainability \u2013 all jobs need to be about sustainability.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, GIBS is incorporating sustainability and climate leadership<\/strong><\/a> as key considerations in its new executive and academic programmes<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, young people can influence how the future unfolds through their job choices \u2013 but they will need the support of today\u2019s decision-makers, whose \u2018business as usual\u2019 mindset is possibly the biggest risk to a sustainable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSustainability mindset<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n