I recently attended a networking event where a lovely man introduced himself & asked, ”So Elizabeth, what do you do for work?” Whenever someone asks me this question & I respond with environmental, energy or carbon emissions management, they tilt their head to the side with interest. Fifteen years ago if I told someone what I did a look of “oh-good-god-don’t-let-me-get-stuck-with-her-all-night” would wash across their face & they’d start scanning the room for an escape route.

My how times have changed.

I’ve watched a wave of interest develop towards sustainability & the environment. Today people want to know how Corporates are managing their footprint upon the earth. I’m humbled by anyone’s interest in what I do, but moreover I believe that interest reflects what I see within the business community.

I read a recent survey that indicated 72% of Corporations believed environmental management was critical to their business. Makes sense to me. Corporations are run by people. People care about the planet. Too often the business community is labelled as the environmental antichrist & sure there are always a few bad apples in every basket. But having worked with small, medium & large business for 20 years, I see the majority of businesses view on sustainability as being core to their strategy & practice. They see it as creating opportunities as well as risks & they recognise the need to manage both.

Now more than ever there is a growing demand for suitably trained & skilled professionals to lead the transformation of business. Our industry needs people with competency in designing, implementing & facilitating sustainability solutions for business. People who can manage the complex mix of social, ecological & economic sustainability imperatives. My business GrowEQ is always seeking talent & if you’re a professional or a wanna be, I encourage you to contact me at info@groweq.com.au.

The Australian Government lists the following professions as being much needed & are seeking migrants to fill roles due to internal skill shortages: Environmental Manager, Quality Assurance Manager, Environmental Engineer, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Research Scientist … the list goes on. http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/sol-schedule1-2.pdf

So if you’ve been thinking about a sea-change or are passionate about the actively managing the environment as a career path, there are fantastic educational opportunities to be found within Australia that’ll make your dream a reality. And there are many companies (mine included) that’ll employ you.

And we need people like you. Now, more than ever.

Educational Links
http://www.carbontraininginternational.com/
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ncs/Education/education.html
http://www.unsw.edu.au/
http://www.australian-universities.com/list/

All the best – Elizabeth