“I’m an ECO” is a valuable word on your CV
Want to be more than just an employee? Discover how your environmental spirit can turn you into an influential leader in your field.
Syrian reality:
Work is an important part of our lives and through it we earn our living, especially in the conditions we face after the war on Syria.
Despite the challenges facing the Syrian labor market, many efforts are being made to rebuild and create new job opportunities for youth.
Today, Syria is one of the countries most affected by the climate crisis, but what does the environment have to do with work? And how can my environmental interest help me increase my chances of employment? In this blog post, let’s follow a new direction in the field of career labor.
Who is an eco-person?
A person who is aware of the importance of preserving the environment and seeks to implement environmentally friendly habits in his/her daily life.
This person is characterized by individuality and a high sense of responsibility towards the environment, and can be an influential and prestigious figure in society with wide powers and possibilities to take action to protect the environment.
Or he or she can be an ordinary person like any of us who, with the right practices and simple daily habits, can contribute to protecting the environment and making his or her community a better place to live.
“Green Transformation” and the world’s current direction towards sustainability
The world is facing a range of environmental challenges so, Green Transformation is an initiative that uses both the environment and digital technology to “transform” organizations and societies in a way that enables both solutions to these challenges as well as economic growth.
One of the key themes of green transformation is climate change mitigation. Therefore, initiatives aimed at challenging climate change are accelerating.
Today, green transformation is not only a global trend, but it has extended to regional and local directions as well, and has taken several measures, one of it is “green jobs”, a wide range of occupations across various sectors that prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility, and increasing efforts are being made to create new green jobs and transform existing jobs into more sustainable ones.
Integrating sustainable practices into the labor market is no longer an option but a necessity, as Dr. Najah Ashry, the Vice President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, said in a report on LinkedIn:
“As the world increasingly turns towards sustainability, the global labor market is experiencing a parallel transformation driven by environmental concerns and the need to mitigate climate change, underscoring the growing importance of sustainability in redefining industries and employment systems around the world.”
The report also confirms that sustainability skills are in high demand across all sectors of the labor market, and that sustainability is no longer a niche field, but a basic science required by the local and global labor market.
An added value to your CV:
Being an eco-person means that you have awareness and responsibility towards environmental issues and have daily behaviors and habits that contribute to the protection of your environment.
Thus, your interest and participation in interactive activities, initiatives, seminars and conferences that discuss various environmental issues, this participation gives you many skills such as effective communication, problem solving, leadership, research, and teamwork.
All these skills are indispensable in the labor market and enrich your CV whatever your specialization and whatever organization you work for, whether in the public or private sector or even in the field of freelance work.
Iso14001 Environmental Management Systems
Environmental management is an essential skill that employers in various fields are looking for, as they are becoming more keen to hire people with environmental management skills.
This is because these skills enable employees to conserve natural resources and can help reduce operating costs by minimizing the consumption of energy, water and raw materials.
These skills also enable effective recycling and utilization of waste, increase productivity, improve a company’s reputation, and make it more attractive to customers and investors.
As many countries require companies to comply with environmental laws and regulations, environmental management skills enable employees to understand and apply these laws and regulations correctly.
The ISO14001 series of environmental management standards is considered the basic rule for environmental management systems, but due to the difficulty of obtaining a certificate from an ISO center and its very high cost in Syria, many organizations have provided training courses that qualify employees to understand the full standard and apply it in their field of work, for example, the Rehabilitation and Training Center at the Chamber of Industry in Hama and the Arab Quality Makers Academy (AQM).
How do I mention these skills in my resume?
You can dedicate a section of your CV to talk about your experiences and achievements in this field, here are some examples:
- I led a team of engineers in the design and installation of a new solar energy system.
- I organized a community-based waste recycling initiative in an area that led to a 30% reduction of waste in that area.
Or you can mention the skills you acquired through environmental activities such as communication, teamwork, etc. in the skills section of your CV.
Another way, you can use environmental keywords in your profile, for example:
- I participate in voluntary environmental projects.
- I have completed ISO14001 Environmental Systems Management training with a certified certificate.
- I have been working in sustainable project management for 5 years.
- I have my own business, and I am always keen to protect the environment by sorting waste daily and using environmentally friendly materials and products.
In conclusion:
Syria was and remains one of the countries that keep up with environmental issues despite the long war it has experienced, but it commits to many conventions in climate change, such as chemical safety conventions, biodiversity conventions and others.
The Foundation recently organized the “Green Partnerships” conference under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in Damascus with the aim of motivating all sectors and companies to go green and find applied green solutions, in addition to many activities and events to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change.