Green Jobs In The Public Sector

Green Public Administration Jobs: It’s Not Easy Being Green

Green jobs. It’s one of those phrases you hear over and over. It’s not as easy to be green as you might think though, especially when it comes to public administration jobs. Earning the necessary certification to be eligible for public administration jobs usually includes a degree in economics, ac-counting, sociology, or psychology. You can get even more specific and take courses in statistics and finance, but where exactly do you get the “green” training? Public administration includes helping to run bustling cities, encompassing everything from paving roads to maintaining public parks. Clearly, there is a huge potential for going green when it comes to public administration jobs. When it comes to defining a green job, things aren’t as clear.

Defining Green Jobs

According to the United Nations Environment Program, a green collar job includes work in manufacturing, agriculture, research and development, and administrative services that results in a significant effort to preserve or restore environmental quality. Public administration can involve maintaining a city’s water supply and overseeing energy-efficient efforts such as replacing incandescent street light bulbs with LED lights. It’s easy to see the green part of these tasks. If you send trucks out to repave the roads, however, you step into a grey area. Are the trucks fuel-efficient? Are the materials being used to repave the road environmentally-friendly?

Redefining Public Administration Jobs

The Green Jobs Act of 2007 set aside funds to provide training to make ex-isting jobs more environmentally-friendly and to inspire the creation of new green jobs that are focused on helping to save the planet. As far as public administration goes, this may include training other city employees about ways to be more conscience of the environment, such as encouraging car-pooling. Better sequencing of traffic lights, for example, gets commuters to work faster and cuts down on fuel costs. Even switching city employees over to energy-efficient computers can boost the “greenness” in city offices. Some green efforts may be limited depending on what industries make up a city’s business sector. It takes more of an effort to go green in a city with an economy based on manufacturing than one based on technology.

Changing Perceptions

A big part of embracing green public administration jobs involves changing the way people perceive such jobs. When you apply for a public administra-tion job, your first inclination may not be to embrace the green potential of such a job, but doing so could have its advantages. Pointing out that you make green efforts at home or that you recycle or carpool to work could set you apart from others applying for the same job. Many municipalities are looking to embrace the green trend thanks to government incentives. Some cities are willing to expand the job description for public administration jobs to include educating city employees and heading the PR effort to emphasize the importance of embracing all things green. The more value you bring to the table, the more likely you are to get the job.

A tough economic climate doesn’t always encourage the move towards green public administration jobs. Creating or redefining jobs to include the green factor involves revamping the existing system already in place. It’s going to be a while before green collar jobs are on a level with blue collar and white collar jobs. According to a report by the Brookings Institution, nearly 3 million green jobs with a focus on a clean economy already exist in the United States. The growth rate in green jobs was nearly 5% from 2003 through 2010. With the potential to create more jobs and generate much-needed revenue, it’s safe to say that the green trend is here to stay.

Hilda Lewis is a green job supporter and a freelance blogger. She fuels her love for the environment by encouraging others to get a green mpa degree and to take care of their cit-ies.