The objective of the Initiative BUILD UP SKILLS SLOVAKIA is to prepare the first steps of the National Policy of the Vocational Education Improvement in Construction Sector for the blue collar workers (on-site workers) and construction supervisors, to face the challenges of the green economy, especially the ”new“ energy, i.e. energy efficiency and renewable sources. The focal object of the proposed Initiative is the sector of Buildings. Even though all phases of the building lifecycle are important from the viewpoint of the energy consumption, the most important is the construction of buildings. Therefore, the skills level of construction craftsmen is crucial for the low energy consumption of new constructed and major renovated buildings.

The project will be led by the Association of Construction Entrepreneurs of Slovakia (Zväz stavebných podnikateľov Slovenska – ZSPS) with assistance of other 4 consortium members: the Building Testing and Research Institute (Technický a skúšobný ústav stavebný – TSUS), the Congress and Educational Centre (Ústav vzdelávania a služieb), the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (Slovenská inovačná a energetická agentúra – SIEA) and EkoFond, non investment fund established by the Slovak Gas Company. The project is planned for 18 months and is divided into 5 work packages. Each work package is lead by some of the consortium members. For WP1: Project management – ZSPS, WP 2: Analysis of the national status quo – TSUS, WP3: Development of the road map – UVS, WP 4: Endorsement activities – SIEA, WP 5: EU exchange activities – ZSPS; Dissemination and exploitation of the project and its results (which is included in all other work packages) – EkoFond.

Primary target groups of the project are the employees of construction companies and installers of building services equipment as well as other on-site employees. In terms of professions, the project will focus primarily on wallers, window installers, installers of shading devices, thermal insulation and waterproofing installers, plasterer, carpenters, plumbers, heating and cooling devices installers, air-conditioning installers, heat pump and photovoltaic installers, as well as lighting installers. The secondary target groups are construction supervisors in the meaning of their ability of an in-deep check of all above mentioned professions´ work outputs.

The EU and national EE/RES targets 2020 foresee large contribution from building sector. High energy performance retrofitting of existing buildings and nearly zero-energy buildings demand intensive upgrade of existing skills of craftsmen and other on-site construction workers and systems installers within continuing education/training; but also an upgrade and/or new qualification schemes in the initial education.

The primary objective of the project is to define the national framework for upgrading the existing skills and for development of new qualification schemes for new, appropriately skilled workers to achieve Targets 2020. This objective will be accomplished by:

• Establishment of the national qualification platform as a inclusive process for consultation of relevant stakeholders in both the building and the education/training.

• Analysis of the status quo to frame and quantify the need for qualified workers in the building sector in Slovenia by 2020, and enable identification of gaps and barriers.

• Roadmap that will explain how to overcome barriers and identified skills gaps in various professions.

• The roadmap endorsement by relevant public authorities.

The video record of final endorsement conference is available at: http://izs.mitv.si/asset/bnnucHF3F3FjgMmHA

To cover the training needs derived from the launch of the different strategies for the energy performance of buildings, Spain has a specific legislation and several instruments, such as the Training System for Employment, which regulates vocational training for the employed and unemployed, the National System of Professional Qualifications, which is developing the National Catalogue of Qualifications. This BUILD UP Skills project will help to establish a roadmap that will set out clear plan of action to ensure these systems respond to the training needs that arising in the field of energy performance of buildings. In this way it will be possible to optimally satisfy the "2020 objectives", converging with all the other European countries towards this common goal.

The large contribution expected from the building sector to the 2020 energy and climate change objectives calls for many efforts. One important effort is to increase the number of highly-qualified on-site ‘blue collar’ workers through further education/training to increase their skills in building nearly zero energy building using renewable energy and low energy renovations of buildings. The objectives are to analyse the national status quo, determine the necessary skills and associated barriers, develop a roadmap and platform, and to endorse the activities. Added value will be created at the European level through targeted exchange activities. The status quo will comprise the current situation regarding continuing education/training in the building sector, the current status of the building sector, current and planned policies and strategies for education/training and energy. The main characteristics/problems with low energy buildings and low energy renovation, skills required on-site and how to overcome associated barriers will be determined. The platform is already established by a strong consortium and strong reference group.

The project has now published the final draft of the Swedish Roadmap. Below you can find the Roadmap in Swedish and English. You can read more about the roadmap on the project’s national homepage.

The aim of the project is to ensure that employers in the UK have the skilled workforce required to meet EU 2020. To do this we will undertake a comprehensive review of existing skills, training and qualification provision, and anticipated skills needs, and use the outcome to develop a 2020 Skills Roadmap that will inform the development and provision of skills through a wide range of stakeholder bodies across the UK. The project will be delivered by a consortium which comprises a wide range of key stakeholders and other partners including professional bodies and trade associations. This platform has been used to develop the steering committee and devolved administration working groups, and will input and endorse the 2020 Skills Roadmap. The project will analyse all occupations in the construction, built environment and RES sectors and use the outcomes of that research to develop the 2020 Skills Roadmap.The project meets the priorities of individual departments in Westminster and will also reflect the specific needs and priorities of the devolved administrations; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The BUILDEST II project focuses on delivering two types of results:
1) Preparation of training schemes and materials for trainers, with pilot implementation and
2) Preparation of training schemes for qualified and non-qualified construction workers.
These activities will result in up to 14 new and modernised training schemes for workers and trainers with corresponding modern training / study materials. The training schemes will be built into the Estonian qualification requirements.

Stimulate demand for sustainable energy skills with circularity as a driver and multifunctional green use of roofs, façades and interior elements as focus.

Dedicated to stimulate demand for sustainable energy skills in the construction sector.

BUILD UP Skills to Business.

CEN standard Certified Experts, EU-wide qualification and training scheme based on EPBD mandated CEN standards.