Green jobs for the disadvantaged: an analysis of government policies in British Columbia

Abstract

This study explores the potential for societies to create more green jobs for the disadvantaged. The research questions are related to how policy instruments can support green jobs and how green jobs can support the disadvantaged. These questions are asked in the context of the province of British Columbia in Canada, with implications for the global economy. Findings indicate that green jobs policies have direct and indirect effects on the growth of sustainable industries at a municipal level. Furthermore, in BC policy, green jobs are unmistakably connected to the government perception of green growth. Finally, the preferred pathway for policy implementation appears to involve local municipalities that apply for funding for projects that can potentially connect local actors and include the disadvantaged. Several policies accomplish the inclusion of the disadvantaged. The first section of this paper provides the BC provincial context on green jobs. The second section describes and analyzes a sample of thirteen BC policy instruments, as well as concurrent labor market policy activities for their inclusion of the disadvantaged. The third section posits a provisional policy framework for training and hiring more inclusively for green jobs. The fourth section offers six recommendations to bolster green jobs for all at a national and international level.

Keywords:

• green jobs
• BC
• policy
• environment
• equity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. This definition has greater rigor than it may first appear. To appreciate this, it is necessary to foreground here both the paper's overall purpose and the conspicuous absence of a “deep green” strain. The paper addresses the socio-economic implications of the green economy on green jobs. Beyond producing green jobs, the concern here, as seen in the focus on the disadvantaged, is to “walk the talk” of sustainability in creating socially meaningful employment (i.e. living wage, worker control, diversity and equity in the workplace, etc.). Having said this, it is important to acknowledge that a deep green definition of the green economy would imply green jobs and thus make an explicit discussion of the latter unnecessary. Relatedly, the term "green economy” is used here as a shorthand for processes and products that have limited or no negative ecological effects and address social goals. It must also be acknowledged that some would problematize the green economy/green jobs question by calling for a fundamental rebuttal of the social institution of the economy and therefore jobs. These theorists and practitioners may interrogate the current systems of production, the prevailing understandings of work, and the largely unexamined negative impacts of society's valorizing the ‘job.’ Dryzek (2012) provides a good overview of the range of perspectives on what constitutes a green economy or jobs.

2. It should be mentioned that a sister paper, currently under revision, and also written by the author, analyzes the responses to the government policy instruments described here. The pertinent findings in that paper for this one are the cadre of non-governmental organizations and social entrepreneurs who engage in innovative combinations of social training and hiring that include green jobs. “Social hiring” refers to the practice of providing job opportunities for people who face barriers to traditional employment, while “social training” refers to the development of skills for these disadvantaged individuals. These efforts speak to the potential for green jobs with comprehensive and integrated policy support.

3. Blue Green Canada is an alliance between Canadian labour unions and environmental organizations that supports a shift to a green economy. See the full report here http://bluegreencanada.ca/node/175.

4. Surprisingly, having a population of at least 1,000 is one of the criteria for being categorized as an “urban area” by Statistics Canada. The other criterion is a population density of at least 400 persons per square kilometer.

5. There are several labour market policy documents from BC that are also relevant here. A policy document entitled, “BC's Green Economy: Growing Green Jobs” (BC Ministry of Environment, 2014) outlines renewable energy, green building, and resource management, for example, as key elements of a green economy. The key is said to be a vision of “innovation” for BC that establishes green industries in the more established and foundational industries of tourism, natural gas, forestry, agriculture, transportation, and mining. Two others, the BC Jobs Plan (2011) and the Skills and Training Plan (2012) focus on the natural resource extraction industries, and in particular, BC's emerging Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) sector. Analysis of these documents reveals that they emphasize skills training in the form of apprenticeships with a focus on the trades and technical programs. Speaking of apprenticeships, the BC Energy Plan (BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources 2007) included a mentoring program for women who have not been employed for five years; but this emphasis was dropped in its later progress report (BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources 2009).

6. (www.bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/acquiring_power/closed_offerings/feed_in_tariff.html).

7. In the BC context, the shift to a green economy will impact sectors such as oil and mining, making these employees vulnerable to increased job loss.

8. The title of the figure, “BC Government policy-to-training-to-work pipeline for green jobs for the disadvantaged,” is an adaptation of Pinderhughes' (2007) ground-breaking framework based on the work of the Oakland Green Jobs Corps in California.

9. These are jobs related to finding solutions or mitigation strategies to address either the direct or indirect impacts of climate change. For example, due to increased temperatures, an agricultural region may have to confront different pests or invasive plant species creating jobs in pest and weed control.