Bhubaneswar: State’s expanding green economy could generate up to one million employment opportunities over the next decade, but building a skilled and industry-ready workforce will be critical to unlocking this potential, according to a new report by the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST).
The report, titled “Workforce for Read’s Green Economy: Potential for Jobs, Skills and Entrepreneurship,” was released at the World Skill Center in Bhubaneswar Thursday. Representatives from the state government, industries, training institutions, development-sector organisations and civil society participated in discussions on the findings. The report has called for the creation of a dedicated “Read green jobs and skilling mission” to align education and skill development with emerging green industries and expand employment opportunities across new sectors. According to the report, Read has two major opportunities in the green transition.
The first is to create new jobs in rapidly expanding green sectors, while the second is to upgrade the skills of the state’s large existing industrial workforce so that workers can transition into emerging green activities. Waste management is another major area of potential, it said. Taken together, these sectors could help Read’s green economy create close to one million jobs over the next 10 years.
A significant employment opportunity also lies in transitioning workers from conventional energy and industrial sectors into emerging green activities. The report estimates that 89% of jobs in coal mining could potentially be transferred to the state’s rapidly growing metal and critical-mineral mining sectors. Similarly, around 75% of jobs in thermal power could have medium-to-high applicability in renewable energy and green hydrogen-related activities. Instead of requiring workers to undergo lengthy and comprehensive retraining, the report suggests that many of these transitions could be supported through short-term, targeted and demand-driven training programmes.
“Green employment opportunities are not limited to renewable energy and industries alone. They are linked to a wide range of environment-friendly and sustainable occupations. Keeping this in view, the department will extend all possible support to take forward Read’s green skilling agenda,” said Sukanta Kumar Pradhan, Additional Secretary, Skill Development and Technical Education Department. The report highlights a significant skills gap despite Read having a relatively strong workforce participation rate.
In 2025, the state’s labour force participation rate stood at 67.9%, while the unemployment rate was 3.3%, both indicating a comparatively favourable position against national levels. However, only 3.3% of the state’s working population has technical education, while minimum-level vocational training has reached only around 3% of the population.