This blog on key trends has been provided by Hays UK.
Sustainability has moved from a specialist agenda to a core business driver, and the job market is pivoting accordingly. Green roles are scaling across energy, the built environment, finance, technology and public services, with demand outstripping the supply of talent in key areas.
Using data and insights from our Hays UK 2026 Salary & Recruitment Trends Guide, we’ve identified some of the top hiring trends set to define 2026, and how organisations can respond.
Demand is outpacing supply
The demand for green skills is showing no sign of slowing down. The Office for National Statistics estimates there were 690,900 fulltime equivalent UK green jobs in 2023, up 34.6% since 2015, with waste, energy efficient products, and renewables accounting for just over half of employment in green industries. And, according to LinkedIn’s Green Skills Report 2025, the global share of workers with at least one green skill on LinkedIn rose from 15.2% to 17.6% between 2021 and 2025.
However, employers are hiring green talent faster than workers are acquiring green skills. LinkedIn’s latest analysis indicates green hiring grew about twice as fast as green skills between 2021 and 2025, with the UK among countries where demand is running ahead of supply.
Sector trends are driving new skills needs
The race to secure a green transition is reshaping the need for green skills across key sectors. LinkedIn’s latest data revealed that more than half of green hires now sit in non-green job titles, reflecting how functions such as operations, procurement, tech, and finance embed a climate lens into everyday decisions.
The technology, information, and media sectors experienced the most rapid increase in the proportion of green hires from 2021 to 2025, growing at an annual rate of 11.3%. This trend reflects the industries’ efforts to mitigate the way in which AI creates huge, unsustainable power demands, while simultaneously leveraging AI tools for augmented reporting and enhanced sustainability capabilities.
Meanwhile, financial services had the highest year-on-year growth in the share of green hires, rising 16.3% between 2024 and 2025 – with the UK’s sector recording 15.3% year-on-year growth. This sector growth reflects the need to deploy financial capital in support of climate solutions, while also developing insurance products that account for climate change associated risk patterns.
Green salaries grow – especially for leaders
The latest Hays Salary & Recruitment Trends Guide shows sustained salary growth across the board, with 84% of employers increasing salaries in the past year, and 80% planning to increase pay again in the year ahead.
Sustainability is no exception, and managers have benefited from higher than average pay rises. Environment managers (senior leadership) and energy/carbon managers (entry level) have seen some of highest pay uplifts for their services, with demand growing for both new and experienced leaders who can help organisations navigate evolving ESG and net-zero commitments.
AI and sustainability are a combined growth area
AI usage continues to expand across all industries; 34% of employees report using AI regularly in their workplace, while 47% of employers say the same, according to Hays’ latest salary data. AI’s capability to accelerate sustainable outcomes is vast, but realising this potential will require combining AI competency with green skills – and overcoming noticeable gaps.
Almost half (47%) of employers across all industries say they have experienced extreme or moderate AI skills shortages, and more targeted upskilling initiatives will be required to unlock AI’s sustainability potential.
Key actions for employers
- Build skills supply chains: Work closely with universities and industry bodies to create accredited pathways into high demand roles.
- Integrate sustainability into mainstream functions: Expand job descriptions in procurement, finance, operations, and product design to include emissions, circularity and nature related risks.
- Hire for capability, train for specifics: Given the speed of regulatory and technology change, prioritise adjacent skills and fund rapid certifications, such as in reporting, energy management and ecology.
- Partner with a talent expert: Consider working with a trusted talent partner to unlock access to hard to reach skills and tailored workforce solutions.
The bottom line for 2026
The sustainability workforce is expanding and diversifying, while the skills gap is pushing employers to rethink how they attract, develop and retain talent. For organisations that act now on nurturing pipelines and embedding upskilling, and for professionals who invest in the right mix of technical and cross-functional skills, 2026 offers significant opportunity to enact meaningful change.
Author: Rebecca Booth, Hays UK
Images credit: Shutterstock
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