When times are tough, governments like nothing better than to announce the creation of new jobs. A statement this summer by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – that its target of generating 15 per cent of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020 would, if met, create 160,000 “green-collar” jobs – was a brief starburst in an otherwise dark sky. “We are opening a new chapter in Britain’s history as a nation of enterprise and innovation, moving from the old, carbon-intensive economy of the industrial revolution to the new low-carbon technologies of the 21st century,” said John Hutton, the then business secretary.

The subsequent credit crisis slowed down some of the finance heading for the renewable energy industry. But the government’s stated commitment to the sector’s growth suggests that demand for suitably skilled staff may hold up during a recession. Whether that demand can be met is another question. The danger is that Hutton’s marvellous vision of a new era will remain just that unless the familiar stumbling block of skills shortages can be overcome.