Unveiling a raft of measures designed to back the government's flagship Green Deal plan with a skilled workforce, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged to reshape the UK's economy through climate friendly initiatives.

Mr Clegg said: "We want to be the greenest government ever. We will reshape the economy, change the way we power our transport, heat our homes, and generate our electricity.

"We must put the development of the green economy at the centre of our ambitions to rebalance the economy. The Green Deal is about the future – and it is important we ensure that future generations have the skills they need to take advantage of the opportunities of the green economy. These Apprenticeships are a perfect example of how government and business can work together towards a low carbon future."

According to the government, the measures include:

• Department for Business and Department for Education will provide sufficient funding to match employer demand to train at least 1000 Green Deal apprentices aged 16 and over

• Employers and Sector Skills Councils (SummitSkills, Asset Skills & ConstructionSkills) will design new apprenticeship frameworks and revise existing ones, for workers to be trained or re-trained with the skills that this growth sector will require

• DECC will work with the sector to set out new standards for green deal installers and will work with employers to encourage them to take on new trainees and up-skill their existing staff.

• In addition, DECC will also offer concessions on the Green Deal installer registration fees for those organisations which take on young people.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said: "The Green Deal is likely to support 100,000 jobs by 2015 and up to 250,000 when it reaches its peak and will be great news for local economies with local firms encouraged to get involved in this new exciting industry."

The announcement has been broadly welcomed by many major UK employers, including B&Q, Carillion, E.ON, British Gas and InstaGroup.

Susannah Fairbairn