Ashden said that while the announcement of the ending of the green homes grant comes as a body blow to all involved in the retrofit industry, the government can still take action to create thousands of local green jobs around the UK.

It said politicians must commit to long-term tailored investment in green skills. If they do not, the UK will not achieve zero carbon by 2050, and many workers will face a precarious future, ill-equipped to meet the demands of tomorrow’s job market.

In Autumn 2020 Ashden consulted 20 experts across the low carbon heat and retrofit sector about this issue and launched a green skills award to uncover best practice across the UK.

Harriet Lamb, Ashden CEO, said: “The government has legal commitments to meet zero carbon – this is not a choice.

“But the stop-start history of its commitment to providing grants for making homes more energy efficient is undermining confidence within the industry.

“Companies that have taken on the retrofit challenge are scared of entering the market when the government has pulled the rug out from under their feet too many times.

“The government has created a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. It is crucial they turn this around through a long-term, stable policy including investing in training.”