Bridging the green skills gap key to sustainability

Addressing the green skills gap across the Arabian Gulf’s construction industry will be critical for the region to achieve a sustainable future, writes AMANDA WILLIAMS, Head of Environmental Sustainability at the UK-based Chartered Institute of Building CIOB).

THE CONSTRUCTION industry in the Arabian Gulf faces a significant challenge on its path to sustainability: a green skills gap. Addressing this pressing issue is essential for achieving the region's ambitious environmental goals.

At this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, I had the privilege of advocating for the construction sector to take center stage in conversations about sustainable development. In tandem with this, the #GreenSkillsAtCop campaign, launched by the UK-based Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), brought global attention to the shortage of green skills in construction.

Ahead of the conference, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) had pledged support to the campaign, an initiative which highlights the critical lack of green skills across the industry and encourages governments around the world to put more focus on this key issue.

As the world's leading professional body for construction management and leadership, CIOB's members worldwide are advocating for a more sustainable built environment, but there are significant challenges.

Across many parts of the world, for example, there is a pressing need to close a green skills gap in construction, and the Arabian Gulf is far from immune to this need to rapidly develop green labour skills.

To put the shortage into context, a World Energy Employment report from the International Energy Agency claims the Middle East lags significantly behind almost all other regions in clean energy employment, and this despite a recent boom in green jobs.