About the Skills for a Sustainable Future employer survey
The purpose of the Skills for a Sustainable Future survey was to gather information about the skills and training needs of employers in relation to environmental and sustainability issues, and the drivers behind these skills needs.
The survey aimed to find out:
- if employers had been affected, or thought they would be affected in the future, by environmental and sustainability issues (ranging from the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET – now known as the Renewable Energy Target) to industry standards such as the Green Star program or consumer demand for greener products)
- if these issues had led to a need for additional skills and, if so, what these skills were
- how employers had met their need for additional skills (whether through training staff and/or recruitment)
- how employers sourced training, at what level, and whether this training met their requirements.
The survey was conducted as part of a broader suite of research funded under the Australian Government’s Skills for the Carbon Challenge initiative. The research aims to build an evidence base around skills requirements related to environmental and sustainability factors, and the associated education and training system responses.
- Download the full Skills for a Sustainable Future employer survey report
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1 932 employers surveyed
The survey was conducted between 4 November and 16 December 2009. In total, 1 932 employers were interviewed across eight industries.
Industries
The industries identified were those most likely to be significantly affected by climate change and the green economy.
The eight industries were:
- Construction
- Building Installation Services Pump Compressor Heating and Ventilation (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning or HVAC)
- Manufacturing
- Agriculture
- Transport
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Management (EGW&W)
- Mining.
Summary of the survey’s main findings
Effect of move towards sustainability affecting employers
- 48 per cent of businesses surveyed (approximately 48%) said they had been affected by environmental or sustainability issues in the last twelve months, either ‘slightly’, ‘quite a bit’, or ‘a lot’.
- 47 per cent said that they had not been affected at all.
- 5 per cent were unsure.
Some industries were much more strongly affected than others.
A high proportion of respondents in EGW&W, HVAC and Mining felt their business had been (‘quite a bit’ or ‘a lot’) affected.
Skills needs
When respondents were asked if they expected environmental and sustainability issues to affect their skills needs over the following twelve months after the survey, about a quarter said they thought their business would be affected.
There was a high level of uncertainty in this period, with about 20 per cent selecting ‘don’t know’. Comparatively more respondents (38 per cent) thought there would be a skills impact in the next three to five years.
Issues impacting on employers
The survey asked employers to identify which environmental and sustainability issues affected their business significantly in the twelve months before the survey, and which issues they anticipated would affect their business in the following twelve months after the survey.
- Rising costs: In the year prior to the survey (2008-2009), rising costs (of compliance, energy, or other factors related to environmental issues) were a major factor, affecting 59 per cent of employers, followed by government legislation, regulation or requirements other than the RET (57 per cent) and industry standards (51 per cent).
- Ethical considerations: ethical considerations were a significant consideration for almost half (49 per cent) of the businesses responding to this question.
- Government legislation, regulations: In the year following the survey, government legislation, regulations etc was the most frequently nominated issue (76 per cent of respondents), followed by ‘increasing costs’ (70 per cent) and industry standards at 63 per cent.