The recruitment of talent with green skills is growing strongly in Spain and globally, but the supply is still insufficient, a challenge that also affects internationalized industrial companies advancing in their sustainability strategies.
The latest data show a continued increase in the hiring of professionals with green skills.with a growth of 5.5% in Spain in the last year and a positive evolution in the proportion of professionals incorporating these competencies, reaching 17.2% between 2021 and 2025. Globally, the demand for green talent is growing twice as fast as supply (8% vs. 4%), reflecting a structural gap that is difficult to close.
Companies are increasingly prioritizing sustainable sustainable competencies compared to other traditional criteria. In Spain, professionals with these skills are hired at a rate 48% higher than the rest of the talent pool, in line with the global trend of 47%. The average level of green skills per professional is growing by 17.7% per year, driven by skills such as integrated supply chain management, product life cycle, climate impact assessment y operational efficiency.
At the international level, other categories such as Energy Management, Waste Prevention o Sustainable Procurementlinked to energy modernization and efficiency in value chains.
For the exporting and technologically advanced industry, the evolution of green talent has direct implications. Regulatory pressure, the need to integrate ESG criteria, and the international demand for sustainable suppliers make it necessary to lack of green skills limits competitive capacity in markets where sustainability is already an operational requirement. in markets where sustainability is already an operational requirement.
The most in-demand profiles -such as sustainability specialists and managers, environmental consultants or environmental health and safety experts- are becoming strategic roles to meet global standards and ensure continuity in supply chains where sustainability criteria are growing.
Likewise, the incorporation of green talent in non-traditionally sustainable positions represents more than half of global hires, which is evidence of the fact that sustainability is integrated transversally in industrial processes, from operations to logistics, product design or energy management.from operations to logistics, product design to energy management.
The move towards a more sustainable economy requires the strengthening of specialized training. Both LinkedIn and various international organizations emphasize the need to placing talent development at the heart of climate strategiesThe company’s approach is based on the use of a “skills-based approach”, fostering partnerships between companies and administrations, and promoting competency-based recruitment. According to the data, this approach can increase the number of potential candidates by a factor of six, which is particularly relevant for industries that have difficulty filling green technical positions.
For internationalized industrial companies, these recommendations translate into the need to invest in internal training, accelerate the identification of key green skills and anticipate the sustainability requirements of global markets.
LinkedIn – Global Green Stocktake 2025