Green jobs profile Report 2012 – 2013

Executive Summary This report summarizes the results of a green jobs analysis for Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott and Russell. The primary goals of the report were to identify the type of green jobs that exist within the area’s economy and to forecast changes in green jobs based labour market information projections. The research conducted earlier this year has helped to identify the industrial sectors and occupations that are considered part of the green economy, while also clarifying the training needs of the workforce for those sectors.

The views in this document do not necessarily reflect those of the Ontario Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities

What is a Green Job? Research suggests that the definition of green jobs is jobs that employ workers in producing or offering products or services that:  Promote the reduction of harmful emissions  Prevent pollution  Promote energy efficiency  Clean up the environment  Contribute to the sustainable use of resources or renewable energy  Provide green education/training, awareness, or compliance Green jobs tend to be concentrated within relatively few occupations. The top occupations of green jobs are: project managers; production workers; heating, air conditioning & refrigeration mechanics & installers; carpenters; electricians; wind turbine technicians; engineers and retail salespersons.

Growth in Green Jobs Overall, growth is forecasted across most green occupations. This growth forecast may be due to an increase in new green jobs, a shift in the work of existing employees into jobs considered green, or both. These forecasts probably reflect a conservative estimate, since the research does not take into account opportunities due to attrition and retirements. Also, no attempt was made to estimate additional jobs associated with current or future employment in green jobs. Ontario's Green Energy Act will create 50,000 clean energy jobs by the end of 2013. Over 13,000 jobs have already been created as a result of Ontario's plan.

Profiles of Green Core Areas Energy efficiency Heating, air conditioning; refrigeration mechanics & installers; engineers are the occupations with the largest number of jobs in this core area. Resource sustainability/renewable energy Manufacturing was by far the largest employer in this core area Production worker was the most common occupation Pollution prevention Green jobs are most numerous in the manufacturing, construction, and professional, scientific, & technical services industry sectors. Production workers and refuse & recyclable material collectors constitute the largest green occupations. Green education/training or compliance constitutes These jobs are in public administration, and in professional, scientific & technical services. The most common occupation in this core area is elementary school teachers instructing kids on environmental issues.

Environmental cleanup The environmental cleanup jobs are in the professional, scientific & technical services industry sector. Refuse & recyclable material collectors are also a common occupation in this area. Harmful emissions reduction Transportation & warehousing, and retail trade as well as automotive service technicians & mechanics are all jobs in this core area. Green Skills: The skills cited by employers varied widely by industry sector. Employers in construction and professional, scientific & technical services reported the greatest number and variety of green skills. Green skills are sometimes interpreted to include general knowledge requirements for their green workforce (such as existing laws and regulations), as well as specific work skills. Basic Skills: The basic skills are very similar to the skills needed by all employees in the industry sector, whether green or not. In general, these skills ranged from personal attributes and general aptitudes to academic skills, college degrees and licenses as well as essential skills as identified by Conference Board of Canada.

Introduction As mentioned in the executive summary, the primary goal of this report is to identify the type of green jobs that exist within the economy of our five counties (Prescott, Russell, Dundas, Stormont and Glengarry), and to establish some type of approach that can be used to track industry and job growth over time. This report builds upon related research conducted earlier by the Eastern Ontario Training Board and many other sources that helped to define and identify the kinds of industries and occupations that characterize the green economy, while also clarifying the needs and challenges of the area’s green workforce. A core goal of this report is to reduce the gap between traditional labor market data and the information needs of employers, educators, employment services delivery network and workers. This type of labour market information is meant to support better decisions by education, business and service delivery partners about economic development activities and investments in education, training and careers that can help prepare our green workforce for the future. Over the past fifteen years, Ontario has established an active network of more than 20 workforce planning boards that bring together employers, labour and others to identify common skills requirements in key industries and to communicate those needs to stakeholders to guide policy and program decisions to support development of the province’s green economy. It is anticipated that the new labor market information contained in this report, in combination with other research by Statistics Canada, Employment Ontario and others, will provide the beginning of a valuable benchmark for understanding the current composition of the area’s green economy as well as helping to guide future efforts to support future growth in green jobs across our five counties.

Defining Green-Economy Jobs Review of numerous reports found on the Internet suggests that the following is the most appropriate definition. The retained definition of green jobs came from the Pennsylvania Green Jobs Report. “Green jobs” are jobs that employ workers in producing or offering products or services that:  Promote energy efficiency  Contribute to the sustainable use of resources or renewable energy  Prevent pollution  Clean up the environment  Promote the reduction of harmful emissions  Provide green education/training, awareness, or compliance”

The Context for Green-Economy Jobs Our report is an effort to gain a better understanding of the green economy and to generate industry-level information on green jobs that already exist in our five counties and document occupational demand and skill requirements necessary to target training to green industries’ needs. The next phase of our research will include more consultations with more employers and educators to gain first hand, personal accounts of how the emergence and growth of the green economy has affected those individuals and their organizations. A Jobs Tasks Analysis should also be conducted of emerging and evolving green occupations to determine green career pathways. Additionally, an Inventory of Green Education and Training Capacity needs to be conducted to determine if Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott and Russell counties have the ability to meet the workforce requirements of the green economy.

Green Employment Industry Sector Green jobs exist in all industry sectors however, the bulk of this employment occurs in relatively few sectors. Discussions with employers suggest that in fact, construction, manufacturing, and professional, scientific & technical services seem to account for more than half of all green jobs. The following attempts to explain this finding. Construction: Firms in this industry sector offer services such as residential remodeling, new single family housing construction, commercial & institutional building construction, and water & sewer line construction. Manufacturing: This sector includes firms that fabricate and assemble a wide variety of products. Manufacturers produce a wide range of products, including heating equipment, iron & steel mills and semiconductors.

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: This sector includes a diverse set of firms, including those offering architectural, landscaping, legal and engineering services.

Green Core Area Occupations Research suggested the job titles of employees working in positions related to the six green core areas and these titles, all green occupations were classified within the list of standard occupational classification (SOC) codes. These top occupations are described in further detail as follows:  Production workers. This occupation represents production work in many different sectors of the economy.  Heating, air conditioning, & refrigeration mechanics & installers. Occupation titles included in this category are “renewal Energy Business Developer”, “HVAC service technician”, “HVAC specialist” and “HVAC installer”  Power Systems and Power Station Operator. This core area includes the following careers: “area dispatch diesel/wind/solar station operator”, “distribution control operator”, “generating station operator” and “power system operator”.  Carpenters. Occupation titles include “construction carpenters” and “home remodeler”.  Electricians. As might be expected, the vast majority of green jobs for electricians are in the core area of energy efficiency. Occupation titles include “electrician”, “maintenance electrician” and “journeyman electrician” “wind turbine technician” to describe workers in this occupation.  Retail salespersons. These green jobs are tied to the provision of green products, such as insulation, energy control systems and energy-efficient (‘energy star’) appliances. Occupation titles include “technical sales specialist”, “retail salesperson”, “sales application engineer”, “solar sales agent” and “sales representative” in department stores, electronics stores, automotive parts stores, new car dealers, residential remodelers and solar/wind energy companies.

Employment Forecasts for Green Occupations “The Green Energy Act (GEA) is meant to help the government ensure Ontario's green economic future by building a stronger, greener economy with new investment, creating wellpaying green jobs and more economic growth for Ontario including a projected 50,000 jobs in the first three years.” Ontario Ministry of Energy, 2009 It is important to note that forecast growth could have two different interpretations. An increase in the number of green jobs could mean that new jobs will be created. Alternately, the increase could include employees for whom green products and services will become a larger proportion of their duties. One interpretation denotes growth in employment, and the other indicates a shift in the primary responsibilities of existing positions. These forecasts probably reflect a conservative estimate of the actual number of positions that could be available in the future, since the research does not take into account openings due to attrition and retirements.

Conclusions The primary goal of this study is to identify the type of green jobs that already exist in SD&G and P-R and attempt to forecast the probabilities of such jobs in the near future and the skills required for such jobs. The intent is to attempt to identify and estimate the current composition of industries and employment in green jobs across the area and to forecast changes in green jobs based on identifiable projections. The report will most likely be expanded to incorporate new variables that are subsequently determined to be important to providing high-quality labor market information and guidance that can be used to support future development of green jobs and industries in our five eastern Ontario counties. Growth has been happening in solar and wind energy and is expected to be widespread, occurring across a variety of other sectors and occupations. In fact, most common green occupations are projected to either add new jobs or shift existing positions to job responsibilities that embody an increasingly green focus. The number of green jobs should be viewed as a conservative estimate for many reasons. First, this report excludes consultants, outside contractors, vendors and others not considered regular employees. Additionally, not all government employment was included. It is also possible that if the area enters a prolonged economic downturn, especially in large industries like construction and manufacturing, it may moderate the estimates for green jobs. Finally, this report focuses primarily on direct employment in green jobs, and no attempt was made to estimate additional jobs through indirect or induced employment that may be associated with current or future employment in green jobs. New research from GLOBE Advisors and the Centre for Climate Strategies indicates a strong future for green employment. The study, West Coast Clean Economy: Opportunities for Investment and Accelerated Job Creation, examined the West Coast mega-region, including British Columbia, and arrived at a promising projection of future clean economy-related careers. The report found that with progressive policy initiatives, clean jobs in this region could essentially double by 2020. This remarkable expansion is already in progress, and several major sectors are leading the way. Based on the findings from the West Coast study, substantial job creation can be expected for green industries Overall research suggests that the basic skills needed by employees in green jobs are very similar to the skills needed by all employees across the sectors, whether green or not. These are personal attributes and general aptitudes to academic skills, college degrees and licenses. “Basic skills” are interpreted as encompassing the essential prerequisites of the job and not simply as rudimentary academic skills but include essential skills as identified by the Conference Board of Canada.

Future Research This report benefitted from reviews of other green jobs research, related research conducted by Labor & Industry (USA), the Pennsylvania Green Jobs Report, Ontario's Bold New Plan for a Green Economy, local labour market information, feedback from local employers and employer groups, Statistics Canada, Service Canada Occupational Outlook 2011-2013, Employment Ontario Future Jobs report and structured input received from experts and many stakeholders. As with any research project, there are opportunities for improvement. The following enhancements are suggested:  Repeat the green jobs survey every two to three years in order to assess growth in green jobs and the industries that support them.  Conduct further research linking specific occupation to certifications, basic skills and green skills needed by employers and the workforce.  Continue to conduct targeted studies by core area industry sector and occupation to determine key growth factors and the education and training needs of employers and employees in the green economy.  Compare and contrast the findings of this and future green jobs research to the broader economy to assess the total economic effects of industry-sector growth in each County. For more information on this and other Labour Market Information issues, please contact:

Denis Thibault Eastern Ontario Training Board

Diane Soucie Eastern Ontario Training Board

[email protected]

[email protected]