A green economy is only possible with training---shortages are already common and will only get worse without skill training

68. The development of a dynamic, greener economy will hinge on the availability of skilled and trained people to fill the emerging green jobs. As the UNEP notes, ―shortages of skilled labour could put the brakes on green expansion... it is important both to prepare the workforce at large for the skills requirements inherent in green jobs and to ensure that green industries and workplaces do not face a shortage of adequately skilled workers (UNEP, 2008). Cities are well placed to facilitate this transition of the labour force.

69. There is evidence that skill shortages already exist in certain green sectors around the world. In Germany, employers report a lack of skilled solar photovoltaic (PV) technicians, while smart grid design engineers are in short supply in the United Kingdom. Solar technology installers and renewable energy technology project managers are needed in Spain and Denmark, respectively (CEDEFOP and ILO, 2010). It is difficult, however, to assess the severity of these green skills shortages. According to UNEP (2008), almost all energy subsectors lack skilled workers with the most pronounced shortages found in the hydro, biogas and biomass sectors. Skill gaps are also pressing for manufacturing in the renewable energy industry, particularly for engineers, operation and maintenance staff and site management.

70. As businesses evolve during the green transition, demands are placed on education institutions and training systems to adapt. The rising demand for low-carbon products will require the simultaneous development of a very diverse skill set. For example, demand for low-emission residential estates will require developers with knowledge of building materials with low-embedded energy use, engineers and designers able to embed energy efficient products in the building, manual workers with the technical capability to install and maintain these products and salespeople capable of promoting these products in the market.

71. In some cases, filling this skills gap may require the greening of existing skills and processes in the marketplace to minimise displacement as workers are diverted from existing businesses. Briggs et al. (2007) characterise this as the ―greening of old jobs, while the ILO suggests that ―rather than replace existing jobs with totally different green jobs, it is the content of jobs, the way the work is performed and the skills of workers that will change (ILO, 2008). In other cases, however, it has been 39 posited that new green skills, currently absent from the existing labour market, will need to be developed, possibly involving a convergence of traditional and new skills (Martinez-Fernandez et al., 2010).