Enrolments for ESG courses surge in Hong Kong amid exponential demand for staff with requisite skills
- Companies have been looking to equip their staff with ESG skill sets amid a competitive hiring landscape to reach their sustainability goals, says recruiter
- Growing interest in ESG education shows that ecosystem is building up around ESG as a career path
Providers of environmental, social and governance-related certifications and accreditations have seen rising enrolments for their courses amid “exponential demand” for ESG-related jobs in Hong Kong and Asia, according to headhunters.
Hong Kong has recorded about 1,100 registrations, accounting for around 8.5 per cent of the 12,800 globally since last September. The city also remained the top market in Asia for registrations, ranking just behind the UK and US globally.
“ESG investing is evolving quickly, and will clearly be a key part of the investment future,” said Nick Pollard, managing director for Asia-Pacific at the CFA Institute.
With climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions becoming a pressing issue, companies across the world have been allocating more resources towards improving ESG. The scope of ESG in investments is also growing. Inflows into sustainable funds has grown from US$5 billion in 2018 to more than US$120 billion in the first two quarters of 2022, according to McKinsey.