The background

For the construction to take the leading role towards climate neutrality in Europe by 2050, it is essential to transform the sector from the current traditional setting towards twin (green and digital) transition by decoupling economic growth from resource use with digital technologies. However, the sector currently faces a shortage of skilled workers and requires a paradigm shift in skills and competencies vital for future job roles. The most significant re-skilling and up-skilling efforts in a life-long continuum need to be directed to energy and resource efficiency, decentralized renewable energy solutions, circularity, digitalization, and renovation of existing constructions.

This can be achieved through the Vocational Education and Training (VET), thus it is important to foster VET in Europe for equipping the workforce with the necessary skills and competences to drive the twin transition and for doing so, the VET landscape needs to change.

The BuildSkills Academy project was designed to help VET centers all across Europe to adapt their offerings more quickly to labour market needs, to prepare the workforce for the digital and green transition in occupations of high demand. In other words, the project will provide VET centres with modern and digitalized training provisions that are internationally recognized and certified.

The project

Main goal of BuildSkills Academy – create a pan-European framework and scheme for certification and upgrading of knowledge and skills for the so-called “twin” transition (green and digital) with a focus on the construction sector.

The project involves a number of vocational education and training (VET) organizations – who are responsible for updating and adaptation of the VET services offered to the emerging new needs in the field of green and digital skills. Within the framework of the project, a BuildEnrichedSkills methodology will be prepared to promote the offering of trainings related to the real needs of the labor market when applying the “lifelong learning” approach, re-skilling and up-skilling. VET centers will be supported to boost the rapid adaptation of the workforce to the twin green and digital transition.

Another leading objective is the creation of a certification framework for the recognition of skills and competences corresponding to the needs of the twin transition, which will serve as a reference at global level for the improvement and certification of VET services.

The results achieved by the project will be transferred to 12 pilot projects in 6 countries, involving 300 trainees and reaching 100 vocational training providers, 1 000 companies and 20 organizations at European level in the field of construction skills thus achieving at least 100 collaborations between VET and industry.

The project “Academy for Transitional Skills in the Built Environment” (BuildSkills Academy) is financed under the Erasmus+ Programme, co-financed by the European Union. The consortium brings together 17 partners from 10 European countries.

The consortium

BuildSkills Academy unites the expertise of knowledge triangle representatives – educational providers, industry representatives, entrepreneurs and innovators and key players in the domain of construction skills and competences.

Partners from 5 EU countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, and 1 third country not associated to the Programme: Bosnia and Herzegovina, form a network of CoVEs which deliver transitional skills and competences.

Partners from 3 follower countries:  Germany, Serbia, Norway – the key players in supporting the twin transition, promote the BuildSkills Academy, engage stakeholders to exploit the Academy’s results and outcomes.

The global network partner: United Nations Sustainable Development Network (UNSDSN), has a key role for rolling out the results on a global scale trough the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Academy, ensuring knowledge and educational excellence on a global scale.