“We share an ambition with Generation to ensure that there is equitable jobs growth in the green sector. We believe that people should benefit from the new skills required to power the net-zero economy, no matter their socio-economic and educational background,” said Gemma Gooch, Co-Head of Global Social Impact at BlackRock. Re-skilling the workforce for the green economy goes hand-in-hand with the firm’s existing initiatives focused on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Generation has already launched a Retrofit Advisor program in the UK, which trains professionals to help improve the energy efficiency of buildings and will be launching a Solar PV Installer program in Spain and a Bike Repair Technician program in France in the coming months. Additional country programs are being explored as demand for green skills rises.
New competencies and talents are needed to keep pace with the fast-growing green economy. In Europe, it is estimated that 18 million people need to be re-skilled for the continent to reach net zero by 2050.1 And in the US, green jobs are forecasted to comprise 14% of total jobs in the economy by 2030.2
"As the world addresses climate change, the number of job vacancies in the green economy is growing. We need to ensure that the jobs growth in the green economy is equitable, so that historically underrepresented and marginalized communities can also access these opportunities, and we are pleased to partner with BlackRock in this effort," said Mona Mourshed, CEO at Generation.
In 2021, The Foundation committed $13M in anchor funding to Generation to support an equitable jobs recovery in the wake of record losses in employment and income from the global pandemic. Since then, we have drawn on the resources and employee expertise of local BlackRock offices across the US, UK, India, Italy, France, and Spain to help Generation’s learners prepare for careers in the green and other Covid-resilient sectors, such as healthcare and technology.
