About the Project

The terms “Green Economy and “Green Jobs” are highly dynamic concepts used to describe a wide range of activities and occupations with varying involvement in more traditional areas of environmental employment.  International organizations (such as the United Nations Environment Programme) have produced broad-based theoretical information from a global perspective, while more locally-focused organizations have determined specific frameworks or opportunities related to the Green Economy or Green Jobs within their jurisdictions.

In addition, the language used to describe the Green Economy varies among government departments, industry associations, environmental employers, and educational institutions.  As a consequence, the majority of available information lacks consistency or has limited applicability beyond its target audience.  To summarize, at present there is no universal or shared framework exists to consistently define or classify green jobs or green economic activity on a national scale, in the Canadian context.

To address this issue, ECO Canada will assemble relevant data sources and execute a comprehensive research methodology to develop a consensus-driven framework for defining the Green Economy and classifying Green Jobs in Canada.

Project Details

Start Date: September 1, 2009
End Date: August 31, 2010

Objectives:

1. Develop a definitional framework for the emerging Green Economy in the Canadian context.
2. Derive a system of classifying Green Jobs within the Green Economy definitional framework.
3. Identify 4 key areas of occupational opportunity or high demand skills within the Canadian Green Economy over the coming decade.

Outcome:

All findings will be synthesized into an extensive labour market report to clearly articulate the definitional framework for a Green Economy, a classification system for Green Jobs, and will address the dynamics between the supply and demand of high demand skills and assess how this relationship will affect the occupational outlook within the Green Economy over the coming decade.  Recommendations will be included to inform government policy development, human resource decisions, as well as ECO Canada’s own organizational direction.

This project was made possible by the Government of Canada’s Foreign Credential Recognition Program through Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC). 

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