TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenbuild -- Green jobs are now firmly established in the design and construction workforce, according to a new study released by McGraw-Hill Construction at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo this week in Toronto. According to the study, 35% of architects, engineers and contractors (AEC) report having green jobs today, representing 661,000 jobs and one-third of the industry workforce. That share is expected to increase over the next three years, with 45% of all design and construction jobs being green by 2014.
"Green jobs are already an important part of the construction labor workforce, and signs are that they will become industry standard," said Harvey Bernstein, vice president, Industry Insights and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. "These numbers reported by the industry match our Dodge green building market sizing; so as green takes over construction activity, so too will green take over the construction workforce."
The research also shows:
- AEC workers report green jobs on the rise at levels that match the McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge green building market sizing:
- 35% of AEC firms focus on green jobs today, in line with the green building market share of 35% in 2010.
- 45% of AEC firms expect to have green jobs by 2014, in line with the green building market share of 48%-50% by 2015.
- Trades jobs (carpenters, HVAC/boilermakers, electricians, concrete/cement masons, and plumbers) are expected to see the greatest growth in green jobs; 15% of trades today are green jobs, and this is expected to increase to 25% in three years.
- Green jobs yield advantages such as more opportunity (42%) and better career advancement (41%), according to respondents.
- Training is essential for getting and maintaining green jobs; 30% of green job workers say they needed major training when they started, and most report that formal education and training programs will continue to be needed. Hiring firms agree; 71% of hiring decision makers maintain that being green-certified increases competiveness.
This study is the first to focus exclusively on design and construction professionals and trades workers. "Green jobs" are defined as those involving more than 50% of work on green projects or designing and installing uniquely green systems, while excluding support or administrative professionals and manufacturing, production or transportation-related services. The premier partners include the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects. Other partners include the Society for Marketing Professional Services, National Association of the Remodelers Industry, and the Building & Construction Trades Department of the AFL/CIO.
Further results and insights will be shared by Harvey Bernstein at Greenbuild's "The Green Workforce: Is the Construction Industry Ready for What's Next?" panel on Thursday, October 6, at 4 p.m. in room G5325. Michele Russo and Donna Laquidara-Carr will discuss two other new green studies from McGraw-Hill Construction about the benefits of green office buildings and greening existing buildings at panels on Wednesday and Friday.
McGraw-Hill Construction is committed to advancing the construction sustainability agenda through its magazines, research and analytics, and digital products such as SweetsGreen. GreenSource Magazine, the Magazine of Sustainable Design, published in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, and its sister publications, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record and SNAP, are covering GreenSource with multimedia coverage, and up-to-the-minute updates on social media.
"Join us in McGraw-Hill Construction's booth 1021-N all day October 5th and 6th for a high profile line-up of green experts interviewed by GreenSource and Architectural Record editors," said Jane Kolleeny, managing editor of GreenSource, as Greenbuild opened its doors this morning. "Also, check out our special coverage of Greenbuild on the GreenSource website including recommendations of where to go to eat, sightsee, learn and relax from local experts, blogs, photo slide shows, and videos."
For more information, visit http://greensource.construction.com/features/greenbuild/2011/ or booth 1021-N at Greenbuild. Follow us on Twitter at @GreenSourceMag, @ArchRecord, and @MHConstruction or search #Greenbuild and #GBNEXT. View photos and friend us at Facebook.com/ArchitecturalRecord and Facebook.com/GreenSourceMag.
About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the construction industry. For more than a century, it has remained North America's leading provider of project and product information, plans and specifications, and industry news, trends and forecasts. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers in the global construction industry through Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource, and SNAP. To learn more, visit www.construction.com or follow @mhconstruction on Twitter.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the knowledge economy. With leading brands including Standard and Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2010 were $6.2 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
SOURCE McGraw-Hill Construction
