Which Jobs Could Easily Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy?

September 9, 2025 – Canada’s labour market faces major shifts – from technological change to new trade models and the energy transition – making better planning essential to help workers adapt. A new C.D. Howe Institute report finds that while many of the skills needed to shift into emerging jobs in a lower-carbon economy are already present among Canadian workers, persistent mismatches and gaps in technical knowledge, problem-solving, and critical thinking remain.

In “Future-Ready Workforce Strategies and Matching Skills Model: The Energy Transition Case,” author Lin Al-Akkad introduces the Matching Skills model, which is a framework that identifies transferable skills across occupations to help workers move into emerging roles. The paper applies the model to the shift to a lower-carbon economy, tackling the challenges of upskilling and reskilling Canada’s workforce in sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and logistics. It also offers a template that can be applied to other major policy-driven transitions, such as the digital shift.

“Skills mismatches are a longstanding challenge in Canada’s labour market, and the low-carbon transition makes addressing them even more critical,” said Al-Akkad. “The analysis shows that many skills are transferable, but to ensure the best use of skills and workers are not left behind, we need better labour market intelligence, stronger training systems, and clear transition pathways.”

Al-Akkad’s analysis examines the skills landscape across occupations, sectors, and educational levels, revealing which occupations face significant reskilling needs and others that are well-positioned to adapt. For instance, chemical engineers demonstrate strong adaptability: research shows they outperform nuclear engineers when measuring skill compatibility in production and processing by 34 percent, which gives them a competitive edge as demand grows for nuclear monitoring technicians and reactor operators. Other roles, such as petroleum pump system operators, can transition relatively smoothly to biomass plant technicians or even shift into metal refining, thanks to manageable skill gaps.

“While some transitions are manageable, essential workers such as supply chain professionals will need greater retraining and upskilling in areas like digital and analytical skills, as well as sustainability and environmental awareness, if they are to continue playing a central role in advancing Canada’s decarbonization goals,” said Al-Akkad.

The author recommends several policy measures to boost workforce mobility and support a smooth low-carbon transition. These include better skills mapping, sector-specific training aligned with decarbonization goals, lifelong learning opportunities, innovative training methods, improvements to the Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS) database to create a dynamic skills intelligence system, and stronger connections across training pathways to unify the system.

“By investing in this integrated approach, we can strengthen local economies, facilitate industrial transformation, and build a future-ready workforce equipped for the challenges and opportunities ahead,” concluded Al-Akkad.

Read the Full Report

For more information, contact: Lin Al-Akkad, Public Policy Analyst; Raquel Schneider, Communications Officer, C.D. Howe Institute, 647-805-3918, rschneider@cdhowe.org.

The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada’s most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.

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