With two weeks to go before the Copenhagen climate conference and only a week after the release of the governents new skills strategy (see earlier story), a report called Mind The Gap from the Aldersgate Group says that in spite of the UK's pledge to meet a European Union 2020 target for carbon emissions, the government's skills strategy is too inadequate to deliver.

John Edmonds, the project chair for the report said: "The skills gap in the UK economy is well documented, with one in three firms already hampered by a shortage of skilled staff, from those needed to install new technology to scientists and engineers.

"Investment in low-carbon skills is vital if the UK is to build a more resilient and sustainable economy. In the next two years a commitment to green training will accelerate the growth of new jobs and help us out of recession."

The report say that worldwide demand for engineers for major infrastructure projects is increasing due to projects like the expansion of offshore and onshore windfarms, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, flood defences, high-speed rail and upgrading the water infrastructure.

Many of the required skills identified in the report are not unique to a low-carbon economy and a shortage of general technical skills has held back more mainstream sectors of the UK economy for decades. Vocational and technical skills have been seen as the poor cousin of academic qualifications for far too long.

Germany has shown how an active industrial skills policy can help stimulate widespread economic growth and job creation. In the decade since it launched its "feed-in tariff" policy for boosting the take-up of renewable energy technology it has created at least 250,000 jobs in the sector – more than 10 times as many as exist in Britain.

The report suggests that responsibility for addressing the skills gap must be shared between government, businesses, trade unions, professional bodies and the workforce.

Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group, said: "This report shows that our training institutions must be able to look beyond our current industrial and business structures and plan for the skill requirements of the future. Most of our recommendations are aimed at government because business members said they needed certainty from government if they are to invest."

Click below to download a copy of the report.

Click here to download Mind The Gap