How circular jobs are going to shape our future economy

Shifting to a circular model

In order to grasp how a shift to a circular economy will impact labour markets around the world we need to consider various elements: while some jobs will disappear or change in nature, new ‘circular positions’ will emerge. Certain combinations of skills will become more important, and workers and employers will be required to develop new mindsets and skills to adapt to changing environments. But what are circular jobs exactly? And how can we ensure the transition to the circular economy turns out to be a positive development for work and workers?

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What are circular jobs?

Circular jobs are roles that directly or indirectly support a society’s circular economic model. They include occupations like product designers, architects, engineers, human resources specialists, supply chain managers, logisticians, event planners and others.
We can differentiate between core circular jobs enabling ones and jobs that are “indirectly” circular.

Core circular jobs are those that ensure the completion of raw material cycles. Jobs in repair, renewable energy, waste and resource management fall within this category. Enabling Circular jobs are defined as those that accelerate, enable and upscale core circular activities. These include roles such as design engineers and leasing agents who support the realisation of a truly “circular economy” by facilitating things like equipment rentals, long-term asset management strategies & digital data transfer for example.
Indirectly circular jobs are held by people in roles that do not themselves deal with the transition to a circular economy, but who can still contribute to it.
These jobs include positions that provide necessary services to core circular strategies, including information management, logistics and public service.

Changing the way we think about jobs

Moving beyond recycling alone to create a closed loop system that uses discarded materials to make new products cuts down on waste generation at every level of production while allowing us to reap more value from our resources. The best way to measure the current state of the circular economy is through jobs—the materials used in products are often produced by people with specific skills; jobs like these can be transformed from transitional roles into sustainable employment opportunities if we reshape our labour markets to suit new business models.

It may seem like it’s a far-off dream for the average worker to have a job that provides ample opportunities for continuous learning and upskilling, but that’s what we need to make the circular economy a reality. To make material cycles truly circular, we need to think not only about how we manage materials but also how we train people for completely new positions in the production chain.

Conclusion

Circular work will be the norm soon enough, but right now there aren’t many open positions —and that means we need to start thinking about how to make sure people are trained to take them on. That means helping companies find ways to expand their business practices to focus not just on profit and growth, but also on circularity and sustainability.

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