How do i get a green job?

You get into a green job by combining the right education path with active exploration of roles in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture.

Here’s a structured way to move forward:

1. Clarify what “green” means for you
   The green sector is broad. Typical areas include:

   • Food (e.g. agronomist with food chemistry, food technologist, fish and shellfish farming)
   • Animals (e.g. veterinarian, animal caretaker, farrier, hippologist, veterinary nurse)
   • Forest (e.g. forest machine operator, forest manager, forest scientist, forest planner)
   • Cultivation/farming (e.g. farm manager, agrotechnician, operations manager, agronomist plants & soil)
   • Garden/horticulture (e.g. gardener, horticultural engineer, arborist, landscape architect)
   • Technology & environment (e.g. environmental engineering, energy systems engineering, agricultural machinery mechanic)
   • Economy with sustainability focus (e.g. economist with environmental focus, agronomist economics)

   Decide whether you’re more drawn to: animals, plants, food, forests, technology, or planning/design.

2. Explore roles and labour demand
   Use a dedicated job guide for the green sector to:

   • See what jobs exist in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture.
   • Identify which occupations currently have the greatest labour demand.
   • Understand which jobs you can start after upper secondary school and which require further study.

   The “Jobbguiden” (Job Guide) is made exactly for this and is available online and as a PDF. It gives:

   • Overviews of occupations in farming, forestry, and gardening.
   • The education paths that lead to each role.

3. Choose your education route
   There are several main pathways into green jobs, both for young people and career changers:

   • Upper secondary school (gymnasium) with green specialisations
     Good if you’re early in your education and want a practical start in agriculture, forestry, or horticulture.

   • Vocational adult education (Yrkesvux) and YH (higher vocational education)

     • Yrkesvux: adult vocational training for practical, job-focused skills.
     • YH: higher vocational programmes for specific roles such as arborist, greenhouse grower, production manager, gardener, forest machine operator, etc.

   • University / university college
     For more theoretical or regulated professions, e.g.:

     • Veterinarian, licensed veterinary nurse
     • Agronomist (food, animals, economics, plants & soil)
     • Farm manager (Lantmästare)
     • Forest scientist/forester (Jägmästare), forest manager (Skogsmästare)
     • Landscape architect, landscape engineer, horticultural engineer
     • Environmental or energy systems engineer
     • Economist with environmental/sustainable development focus

     SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) is a key university for these areas and offers many programmes and freestanding courses in agriculture, forestry, environment, animals, and landscape.

4. Decide: work directly or study more
   When you’ve finished upper secondary school, you can either:

   • Start working directly in more practical roles (especially if you have a naturbruk/green upper secondary background), or
   • Continue to YH, Yrkesvux, or university for more specialised professions.

5. Use focused information pages and inspiration
   To understand daily work and entry routes, you can read more via pages focused on:

   • Working in agriculture (lantbruk)
   • Working in forestry (skog)
   • Working in horticulture (trädgård)

   These often include:

   • Person profiles in text and film
   • YouTube series and inspirational films showing real people and roles

6. Check if your personal qualities fit (especially for agriculture)
   For many agricultural jobs, it helps if you:

   • Like animals and technology