The commercial heating market is changing rapidly, with the emergence of new and ever more sophisticated low energy solutions, but can skills keep up? asks Nick Stevenson
There is a sizeable gap between the targets of the UK's low carbon agenda and the level of skills required to make it possible.

This is partly because sustainability is commonly seen mainly as a technological issue when it is far more complex.

It is true that we do have the technologies to meet our most ambitious goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. We just need to make sure that we are ready to implement them on a grand enough scale.

Things are starting to move in the right direction. The coalition Government has been talking about the employment opportunities presented by renewables and energy refurbishment for some time. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) estimates that the Green Deal funding scheme for low energy retrofits could deliver 100,000 new jobs - that is a large figure and the principle is right.

Numbers of jobs are important, but more important is our ability to equip the workforce with the appropriate level of skills. They must be capable of adapting to our rapidly changing marketplace, which means being able to implement the innovative technologies developed by manufacturers and deliver them as part of an integrated package of measures that can substantively reduce the carbon footprint of our built environment.

We are part of an ageing population with an ageing workforce - our focus, therefore, has to be on a new generation of skilled workers.

That is why Business Secretary Vince Cable's announcement of extra funding for apprenticeships is so timely. He and Skills Minister John Hayes intend to deliver £1.4bn in funding to support employers willing and able to take on apprentices during 2011-12. The aim is to deliver 100,000 new apprenticeships by 2014.

The re-opening of technical colleges is another landmark government policy aimed at re-skilling our technical trades and replenishing numbers at a time when vital experience and expertise is being lost in our key industries.

'I want to reinforce the message to business and young people that apprenticeships are a first class way to start a career,' said Mr Cable. 'That is why my department has pledged to work to create some 75,000 additional adult places than those promised by the previous Government. Some of the most prestigious companies in England - large and small, public and private - employ apprentices and benefit from doing so.'

To meet the 2050 goal we must refurbish one building everyminute and reduce its carbon footprint. There are many involved in this task, but nothing like enough. It is an opportunity to solve two of our biggest social challenges at once - cut carbon and increase employment.

Quite rightly, anyone serving an apprenticeship in the building services sector deserves equal recognition with those studying purely academic subjects. Mr Hayes has recognised this and has tweaked the labels applied to training courses accordingly. From now on, Level 2 (GCSE level equivalent) apprenticeships will be known as Intermediate Level Apprenticeships; Level 3 (A level equivalent) will become Advanced Level Apprenticeships with Higher Apprenticeships (Level 4) unchanged. The plan is to develop more of these higher level schemes to reflect the need for advanced technical training.

'Our ultimate goal remains to see apprentices achieve equivalent esteem and status with university graduates, so that a place on an apprenticeship scheme is as valued as one at a university,' said Mr Hayes, who also said that the framework would encourage apprentices to go on to further study, including university, if that was their ambition.

What our industry needs to press for is a greater focus of these new apprenticeship schemes on our sector where the opportunities for future development are greatest. We want a whole raft of highly qualified people coming into the sector to tackle technical challenges.

Technology suppliers like Ideal can offer the tools, but in order for our vision of high performance systems to be realised we need to be working with large numbers of highly skilled and qualified installers right across the sector and the country.

The Government has also adopted the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) as its badge of quality for both products and installation; that is the benchmark against which we will all be judged and end users wishing to benefit from Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive will have to employ an MCS member to carry out their work.

The commercial heating sector is now in a pivotal year as end users react to a broad range of exciting market drivers. At a time when environmental aspirations have taken on an unprecedented economic significance, the potential for the heating industry to play a leading role in energy reform is considerable.

We, therefore, must have the skills to deliver on our promise and that means employers must take a long-term view and recruit apprentices.

• Nick Stevenson is the new energy director at Ideal Commercial Heating