The Economic Development Board (EDB) said the jobs will come from foreign companies that have invested locally and are now hiring.

Also, the burgeoning number of research and development (R&D) centres and start-up firms in the sector are aggressively hiring, said EDB's director of cleantech Goh Chee Kiong.

Clean technology - 'cleantech' for short - refers broadly to eco-friendly technologies and solutions such as clean energy, environmental or water technology.

The cleantech industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, with investments rising from US$148.4billion (S$228billion) in 2007 to US$155.4 billion last year in spite of the global financial crisis, according to research firm New Energy Finance.

The EDB recognises the sector as an opportunity for Singapore to diversify its economy, and recently put its cash behind cleantech. Singapore has invested $680million in the sector, building its R&D, test-bedding and manpower capabilities, and giving a leg-up to start-ups.

January's Budget also pledged a further $1billion to fund sustainable development.

The EDB expects the industry to contribute $1.7 billion to gross domestic product come 2015, providing 18,000 jobs - 11,000 from environment and water space, and 7,000 from the clean energy industry - according to Mr Goh.

He cited examples of such 'green-collar jobs': membrane specialists in the water industry, engineers in the solar sector, systems integrators who wire solar panels to buildings, suppliers of sustainable building material and those in energy management.

Even the finance sector is benefiting with the growth of cleantech funds and business trusts in environmental technology.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.