Sustainability, 4 million workers sought in the next three years

The Confindustria and Federmanager project, promoted with 4.Manager and focused on the strategic figure of the Sustainability Manager, kicks off today in Venice, the world capital of sustainability. The initiative aims to detect the need of companies for specific managerial skills, highlighting the skills of this emerging professional and structuring a training course dedicated to it. The action also aims to make territories and institutions aware of the need to introduce incentive policies to support companies that acquire managerial skills in the field. According to data from the 4.Manager Observatory, which surveyed a panel of over 4,000 companies, our industrial system has increased the demand for managers with increasingly precise skills in the green sector by 5% every year, as well as qualified in the field of ESG criteria, a market that has grown by 19% since 2021. Overall, the companies examined declared that they had acquired over the last 3 years: managerial skills (64%); scientific skills (45%); technical skills (73%). In this regard, the Report reveals that over 50% of large and medium-sized enterprises are developing a transformation strategy based on sustainability, looking for professionals capable of understanding all business processes, while improving planning and management at the same time. Most businesses, including those that are poorly oriented towards innovation, are aware that only sustainable transformation will avoid operational limits on access to markets and credit. By 2030, unsustainable companies will represent the residual part of a market in which “sustainable” goods and services will be the norm. From the data collected on LinkedIn, in the last year we can observe in Italy the constant demand and growth of some professional qualifications in the sustainability area, including the role of Sustainability Manager (+52%), followed by the role of Sustainability Specialist (+43 %) and the role of Sustainability Consultant (+34%). The main three cities that record the highest concentration of these professionals are: Milan, Rome and Turin. Between 2023 and 2026, both companies and the PA will need around 4 million workers with high and medium profile green skills. In this context, the inclusion in the company of a professional figure with transversal skills in ESG matters becomes fundamental. For this reason, Confindustria, Federmanager and 4.Manager have identified and profiled in detail the characteristics and skills of the emerging managerial figures for sustainability: sustainability managers, environmental managers, social managers, governance managers (see attached summary). “To make the transition a great opportunity for development and innovation, the skills factor plays a fundamental role” – said Katia Da Ros, Vice President of Confindustria for the Environment, Sustainability and Culture, on the occasion of today’s first stage. “Strengthening the skills dedicated to sustainability also means facilitating the development and inclusion of dedicated figures in the company, such as that of the sustainability manager, who can play a strategic role for companies, also in relation to ESG criteria. Sustainability is the only possible dimension to continue growing. This is why we are committed to supporting our system along this path – added Da Ros – with the aim of enhancing skills and improving communication strategies, and thus capitalizing on the efforts made so far to make the industry more and more perceived more aware of the value of being sustainable. To accompany companies in this paradigm shift of doing business, where the concept of industry 4.0 – mainly oriented towards innovation – is evolving towards a 5.0 solution and where innovation merges with the components of the sustainable transition, it is absolutely necessary to start a new, ambitious industrial policy plan that enhances and encourages investments dedicated to the green and sustainable transition, including aspects of training and skills”. «The growth in the demand for managerial skills with green skills and for figures such as the Sustainability Manager demonstrates not only that innovation and sustainability are intrinsically connected but above all that sustainability has assumed a strategic role for the development of the country, also in response to the needs of the energy and investment market of the PNRR», commented Stefano Cuzzilla, President 4.Manager and Federmanager. «For this reason it is important that the institutions support, also in the form of incentives, all the companies that will hire specialists in ESG issues who, thanks to their know-how, will be able to lead our country towards a economics of not only environmental but also economic and social sustainability». The event was hosted by Confindustria Veneto Est, represented by Vincenzo Marinese, Senior Vice President of Confindustria Veneto Est delegate for Venice and Walter Bertin, Vice President of Confindustria Veneto Est delegate ESG who affirm: «The success of sustainability projects in companies always requires plus human capital with the right skills, starting with specific managerial figures. At least three quarters of the recruitments planned by companies in the Veneto region require green skills, and a significant percentage of them are highly specialized in this area. At the same time, the difficulty of finding them remains high. In Confindustria Veneto Est we have been investing for years in the relationship with schools and universities to launch specific programs on sustainability and disseminate shared knowledge which then becomes part of the skills set of young people entering the world of work. And there is a great need for dedicated managerial figures who support entrepreneurs in the complex processes of transition to sustainability in which companies are investing, to develop internal awareness, communicate with stakeholders, build a sustainable strategic plan. A phase of transformation in companies and communities, which is demanding and at the same time necessary, for which human capital is the essential resource”. Finally, Cristina Bombassei, president of Confindustria’s Corporate Social Responsibility Technical Group, promoter of the entire project, commented: «In recent years, the context in which businesses have operated has profoundly changed and, with it, also the needs and demands of companies, which have gradually become more complex and articulated. In this scenario, we have an important mission to carry out: we must make businesses aware of the changes underway and guide them towards innovative paths. This process – added Bombassei – also requires a widespread and radical renewal of managerial skills, both in companies engaged in the transformation of their production models, and in those interested in operating in businesses directly linked to the green economy. It is a question of developing not only technical skills, but also, and above all, managerial and networking skills, in order to be able to appropriately interconnect all the realities that interface with the logic of sustainability, providing added value to the production process. Promoting skills in the field of sustainability also assumes a strategic value especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, which will have to integrate these aspects more and more into their growth strategies also according to ESG criteria and increasingly requested standards and certifications also to operate in the supply chain». Guest of the day was the Deputy Minister of Ecological Transition Hon. Vannia Gava who said: «The ecological transition can and must be an opportunity for economic growth and development within the framework of sustainability. However, the achievement of the green objectives is only possible by correctly governing the transition process we are experiencing, which must certainly be tackled with the right timing but also, and above all, with adequate tools. The results we have managed to achieve are also the fruit of the stimulating dialogue between institutions and the various stakeholders, among all the industrial system represented by Confindustria. This comparison – continued Gava – has encouraged dialogue, the exchange of information and synergy between the parties, focusing on the innovations that will contribute most to the sustainable evolution of our country. The hope is to be able to maintain and continue this healthy and loyal dialogue that has been consolidated over time and to carry out shared actions to achieve common objectives. The direction taken, namely that of interlocution, is in fact the correct way to carry forward sustainability, not only environmental, but also social and economic» concluded the Deputy Minister.