The field of sustainable finance, ESG, and impact investing is rapidly growing in Asia, particularly in the financial hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore as investors increasingly recognize the importance of considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in their decision-making.
According to the South China Morning Post, demand for ESG jobs in Hong Kong could command premiums of more than 30%. Indeed, the talent shortage is also affecting the implementation of sustainable finance initiatives across Asia: in an HSBC survey from 2021, 40% of institutional investors are being held back from ESG-based investing initiatives due to shortage of qualified staff. Yet, the pace of upskilling sustainable talent does not currently match market demand. A CFA survey of 1 million LinkedIn profiles for investment professionals found less than 1% listed sustainability skills.
This gap between talent demand and supply presents many opportunities to green the sustainable finance industry. Providing relevant and accessible sustainable finance education is a key focus for New Impact Society. Our platform is a digital-learning platform for upskilling in sustainable finance by practitioners, for practitioners. The Hong Kong government also provides market participants with upskilling reimbursements for approved courses in this space. New Impact Society’s “Essentials in Sustainable Finance” course is an 80%-100% reimbursable online course which provides foundational ESG and sustainable finance courses as well as an opportunity to receive career mentoring from seasoned sustainable finance professionals. Join our New Impact Society community of professionals and upskill in sustainable finance today!