News – INSTRUCT

Nov142023

News

Sign up for the Basic Principles of the Near-Zero-Energy Building (NEA): Certification Course for Construction Technicians

News14 November 2023 Leave a comment

The certification course “Basic principles of the almost zero-energy building”, developed by the Energy Efficiency Center EnEffect within the framework of the INSTRUCT project, financed by the Horizon 2020 program of the EU under Grant Agreement 894756, is aimed at professionals with the qualification “Construction technician “, but also applicable to other specialties of the professions “Builder” and “Builder-installer”.

The current training scheme is in line with the requirements of the Bulgarian qualification framework, developing the knowledge, skills and competencies of construction technicians who graduated before 2022, which marks the introduction of specialized units of learning outcomes into the state educational standard for the profession “Construction Technician” , related to energy efficiency. The course includes 10 modules that form an initial understanding of the basic principles of the passive and near-zero energy building from the point of view of building physics:

0) Overview of the main terminologies, principles and legislation

1) Location, orientation and shape

2) Thermal insulation

3) Windows and shading

4) Air density

5) Thermal bridges

6) Ventilation with heat recovery (recuperation)

7) Heating and cooling

8) Integration of renewable energy installations

9) Renovation of existing buildings

10) Economic viability

The themes are supported by units of learning outcomes (ESU), which are divided into two levels: 1) ESU, providing a shared knowledge base related to the achievement of EUSR for all professions within professional fields 582 “Construction” and 522 Electrical and Energy, and 2) ERU, providing specialized knowledge for the specific profession 582010 “Construction Technician”.

A full description of the certification scheme and learning outcomes is available here.

The current scheme is a pilot stage towards the introduction of a system for continuing vocational education in the construction sector, which is expected to be developed and completed within the current project BUILD UP Skills Bulgaria 2030 with the participation of EnEffect, NAVET, SAVER, BCC and BACI.

To register for the course in Bulgarian, you need to log in or create a new account.

Disclaimer:

This projecthas received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 894756.

This publication reflects the views only of the authors. Neither the European Commission nor CINEA is responsible for any use which might be made of the information contained therein. The responsibility for the information and opinions expressed in this publication lies entirely with the author.

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Jun222023

News

INSTRUCT project website nominated in eu. Web Awards 2023

News22 June 2023 Leave a comment

The Instruct Project website is nominated to the .eu Web Awards in the BETTER WORLD category! Don’t hesitate and vote for out website now!

Since 2014, this online competition has been recognizing the cream of the crop when it comes to websites using the .eu, .ею or .ευ extensions. Now the INSTRUCT project website has a chance to shine and win the marketing campaign for a budget of € 5 000. We kindly ask you to give your vote as we are fighting for the 1st prize!

How to vote?

Visit the website 2023 .eu Web Awards (eurid.eu), click NOMINEES in the main Menu, choose the category BETTER WORLD, and find INSTRUCTPROJECT.EU website on the 4th slide to click VOTE!

Selection of the winners and the prizes

Finalists with the highest scores from the jury will be selected as winners and will be announced during the Awards ceremony held on 16 November 2023.

The voting period runs until 18 August 2023! THANK YOU !

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Feb172023

News

EU-level forum partners

News17 February 2023 Leave a comment

The EU-level forum aims at building up an EU-level forum for competence accreditation bodies for EE skills, comprising relevant associations that are responsible for the development of qualifications and certification schemes in the INSTRUCT member countries.

Interested to join the forum or to connect with one of its members? Then contact our INSTRUCT partner R2M Solution (Mohaddeseh Maktabifard – mohaddeseh.maktabifard@r2msolution.com)

Figure 1 Structure of INSTRUCT EU-level forum

1. FISE Qualification of Professionals in Building, HVAC and Real Estate Sector in Finland (FISE)

Website: https://fise.fi/en/certification-service/
Description: National-level accreditation body – FISE’s certification services provide support for the maintenance of professional skills in the entire industry and reinforce the culture of continuous learning in the construction industry. It consists of 81 certification designations.
Types of skills/qualification or certification schemes/labeling types: Qualification schemes/Certification schemes for educational organisations and training programs. The designation groups: Designers, site managers, construction project managers, supervisors and building investigators. Services include: certification for the following groups of construction project managers, general construction project manager (rap), senior general construction project manager (raps), designer of building physics, designer of concrete structures, material technical repair and alteration work, designer of concrete structures, designer of repair works to moisture damaged structures, principal designer, designer of fire safety, designer of timber structures, building designer, designer of steel structures
Country: Finland

2. Ecolabelling Finland

Website: https://www.nordic-ecolabel.org/
Description: Ecolabelling assures that the renovation projects are carried out with strict environmental requirements, good quality assurance and with regard to a good indoor environment.
Types of skills/qualification or certification schemes/labelling types: The Nordic Swan Ecolabel creates sustainable solutions based on a life cycle assessment and an overall goal to reduce the environmental impact from production and consumption of goods. Tough requirements in all phases of a products life cycle and continuously tightening of these requirements to create a sustainable development is the foundation of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, and what distinguishes the label from other labels – as well as being an official, independent and 3rd party certification.
Country: Finland

3. The Renewable Energy Institute – Galileo Master Certificate (GMC)

Website: https://www.renewableinstitute.org
Description: The GMC exam has been administered globally since 1975, and is awarded to 5000 professionals each year, across 300 global training courses, in collaboration with 21 leading universities.
Types of skills/qualification or certification schemes/labeling types: GMC is awarded to professionals working for Siemens, Energy Saving Trust, British Gas, Nokia, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Solar Power Scotland, British Army, United Nations Development Programme, NATO, Ministry of Defence; as well as professionals, government officials and students worldwide
Country: UK

4. DB ENERGY – White Certificates

Website: https://www.dbenergy.pl/en
Description: DB Energy is a leading company in the energy efficiency improvement sector which provides complex consulting and manages investment projects for large- and medium-scale industrial plants.
Types of skills/qualification or certification schemes/labeling types: Certification on the areas of: Cooling systems modernisation, replacing the traditional lighting with LED technology, installation of systems for energy recovery, thermal efficiency improvement and technological processes automation.
Country: Poland

5. National Agency for Vocational Education and Training (NAVET)

Website: https://www.navet.government.bg/en/
Description: State institutions responsible for maintaining the State Educational Standards and accreditation of vocational training centers
Types of skills/qualification or certification schemes/labeling types: NAVET develops the State Educational Standards by professions that define and consist of professional knowledge, skills and competencies. It also licenses and conducts the follow-up control of the Vocational training centers (for persons over 16 years of age) and of the Centers for information and vocational guidance. NAVET’s other services include: Study of European experience and good practices in the field of VET and adaptation of good practices at national level – EQF/ NQF, ECVET, EQAVET, validation of professional knowledge, skills and competencies acquired through non-formal and informal learning./ NAVET assists in the international recognition of VET documents.
Country: Bulgaria

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INSTRUCT final results available with a single click

News6 February 2023 Leave a comment

The INSTRUCT project has culminated in a series of impactful dissemination materials, collectively encapsulating the project’s most significant achievements and outcomes.

The final webinar, published in 2 parts on INSTRUCT project YouTube channel, highlights the most important outcomes of the INSTRUCT project, summarized by the project representatives from 3 different countries: Poland, UK, and Finland.

Complementing the webinar, the final video offers a visual journey through the project’s milestones, effectively conveying the essence of its impact and innovations.

Additionally, the final brochures serve as concise and comprehensive documents, distilling the complex outcomes into accessible and informative formats.

Together, these dissemination materials not only illuminate the culmination of the INSTRUCT project but also serve as lasting resources that contribute to the broader understanding of its contributions to society.

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Give your opinion on the energy renovation of your home!

News23 September 2022 Leave a comment

We all jumped into the energy-saving challenge! In our research project, we invite you to give your opinion on the energy renovation of your home. Would you like to fill out the 3-minutes survey to make a contribution to the research?

In the frame of INSTRUCT project, we would like to invite you to share your opinion on the quality of the energy-efficiency renovations that have been made in your building. This questionnaire is addressed exclusively to house owners who have carried out an energy-efficiency renovation in their homes. It also raises questions about workers’ competencies in a very simple way.

The survey is conducted in 6 European countries to collect feedback from different regions and identify the added value of skilled professionals to buildings and homeowners.

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Aug122022

News

Join us at ‘Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction Sector Workshop 3.0’ on 9th September during SP2022!

News12 August 2022 Leave a comment

The European construction sector is one of the areas with the highest potential when it comes to reducing annual energy consumption. Facing many challenges to achieve ambitious energy efficiency objectives, this sector aims to go forward by applying successful training initiatives and supporting policy instruments.

For this reason, the creation of BUILD UP Skills, an EU Initiative to improve the qualification and skills of Europe’s building workers, acted as a springboard to stimulate the demand for energy efficiency skills. Furthermore, focusing on the continuing education of craftsmen and other on-site building workers, this initiative is home to most of the projects presented during the Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction sector workshops 1.0 and 2.0.

This workshop is a continuation of two previous Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction Sector Workshop at SP2020 and SP2021. The objective of this workshop is to share expertise, lessons learned, and developed methodologies on energy efficiency skills competencies, and qualifications across the building design, operation, and maintenance value chain.

All specialists from the construction sector interested in the topic of energy efficiency are welcome to join us in person or online during

Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction Sector Workshop 3.0

9th September at 9 a.m.

REGISTRATION

Participating projects: INSTRUCT, BUSLeague, TRAIN4SUSTAIN, PRO-Heritage, ARISE, SEEtheSkills, BusGoCircular, The nZEB Roadshow and nZEB Ready.

Participating European Commission representative: Luca Angelino, Project Adviser, EASME

Session Chair: Mohaddeseh Maktabifard (R2M Solution)

AGENDA

09.00 – 09.15	Welcome statement Luca ANGELINO European Commission, EASME
09.15 – 09.30	Workshop overview Mohaddeseh Maktabifard R2M
09.30 – 09.45	PRO-Heritage (GA ID: 785211) – End date: 31 Jul. 2022 Gerald Wagenhofer UBW
09.45 – 10.00	TRAIN4SUSTAIN (GA ID: 894514) – End date: 31 Oct. 2022 Uli Jakob JER
10.00 – 10.15	INSTRUCT (GA ID: 894756) – End date: 30 Nov. 2022 Lukasz Wilczynski ASM
10.15 – 10.30	BUSLeague (GA ID: 892894) – End date: 28 Feb. 2023 Jan Cromwijk ISSO
10.30 – 10.45	The nZEB Roadshow (GA ID: 892378) – End date: 31 May. 2023 Horia Petran NIRD URBAN-INCERC
10.45 – 10.55	Q&A 1 All the panelists
10.55 – 11.10	SEEtheSkills (GA ID: 101033743) – End date: 31 May. 2024 Lihnida Stojanovska-Georgievska UKIM
11.10 – 11.25	ARISE (GA ID: 101033864) – End date: 29 Feb. 2024 Paul McCormack BelfastMet
11.25 – 11.40	BUS-GoCircular (GA ID: 101033740) – End date: 29 Feb. 2024 Jan Cromwijk ISSO
11.40 – 11.55	nZEB Ready (GA ID: 101033733) – End date: 31 Aug. 2024 Horia Petran NIRD URBAN-INCERC
11.55 – 12.05	Q&A 2 All the panelists
12.05 – 12.20	Discussion, wrap-up and next steps Mohaddeseh Maktabifard R2M
12.20 – 12.30	Conclusion Luca ANGELINO European Commission, EASME
12.30	End of the session

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Jun12022

News

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKS FOR ENHANCING THE DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY SKILLS IN BUILDING SECTOR

News1 June 2022 Leave a comment

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUCT PROJECT – ONLINE WORKSHOP on 16th June 2022 – SAVE THE DATE

The European construction sector faces unprecedented challenges to achieve ambitious energy efficiency objectives, that can be met only if successful training initiatives and supporting policy instruments are put in place, acting as a springboard to stimulate the demand for energy efficiency skills.

As part of the H2020 project INSTRUCT, this workshop will propose to participants involved in legislative framework at regional, national or european level to speak up to:

share status of legislative frameworks related to sustainability competences and skills in different countries and regions,
share best practices examples and discuss ideas, methods and roadmaps,
show the policy steering landscape from the point of view of workers qualifications.

OBJECTIVES

Explore ideas to improve policy instruments and incentives based on shared cases.
Identify what are the training needs, how skills are demanded in each instrument.
Assess gaps between real and expected skills in energy efficiency in Europe.

PUBLIC

Authorities and representatives from trade unions and specific organizations.

AGENDA

INTRODUCTION

9.00 – Welcome

9.05 – Overview of Local Competence Accreditation Bodies for Energy Efficiency Skills in Europe
Mohaddeseh Maktabifard, R2M Solutions, France

PLENARY SESSION

9.15 – Embedding sustainability in our programmes – the Cardiff University perspective
Nia Owen, Cardiff University, United Kingdom

9.30 – Regulative steering, Sustainable public procurement, and the criteria framework
Simon Le Roux, Ministry of Environment, Finland

10.00 – Break-out sessions, Part 1 – Regulatory instruments

10.25 – Break

PLENARY SESSION

10.30 – Policy instruments and adaptation: Energy audits, Energy effective Contracts
Harri Heinaro, Motiva, Finland

10.45 – Volountary scheme for environmental performance : Klimabonus
Sarah Juchems, Klima-agence, Luxembourg

11.00 – Super Ecobonus 110%: a super-innovative tax allowance to stimulate the renovation market
Gabriella Azzolini, ENEA, Energy Efficiency Department, Italy

11.15 – Break-out sessions, Part 2 – Voluntary instruments

11.40 – Break

11.45 – Results from the break-out sessions, conclusion and next steps
Sébastien Thomas, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Luxembourg

PARTNERS

More details on the website.

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Mar12022

News

Fruitful meeting with Polish SMEs and associations from the construction sector in Warsaw, January 19th

News1 March 2022 Leave a comment

Future of the construction sector, legislation changes in terms of blue-collar workers’ energy-efficiency skills, partnerships between Polish construction companies and associations, were the most important topics during the meeting in Warsaw on January 19th. ASM Research Solutions Strategy as a host of the event, moderated the discussion to bring the most valuable content for INSTRUCT Project purposes.

During the meeting with Polish SMEs and associations like: Saint – Gobain, Austrotherm, Wiśniowski, Proventuss, Polish Doors and Windows Association, Fakro, Polish Chamber of Construction, Styrofoam Producers Association, and Chairman of the Construction Committee at the Polish Chamber of Commerce, representatives of INSTRUCT project – ASM Market Research and Analysis Centre – had a chance to identify threads and needs of the construction sector in Poland regarding energy-efficiency.

What are the needs?

the need for site managers qualified in the field of energy efficiency,
the need for professionally trained installers,
arousing the need for professional performance in terms of energy among investors and producers,
multi-faceted integration of the construction market,
works in the field of energy-saving should be entered in the catalogue of works in the construction log,
the need for trainings for SMEs,
the need for a certain field of education at the higher level of education,
the need for cooperation between companies,
the need for energy efficiency certificates for the whole building,
the need for window and door joinery acceptance report,
the need for legislation changes but possible to implement.

What are the threads?

The client is more educated than the installer;
Very high parameters expected by UE – it can limit innovations;
The market doesn’t need energy efficiency – sth expected from the EU;
No quality control of products;
Lack of employees on the market (also qualified employees);
Lack of awareness in terms of energy efficiency among companies, installers, clients;

These conclusions can influence legislative and educational changes in the construction sector and start the discussion in other European countries, where INSTRUCT project also conduct research on this topic.

Follow our news and social media channels to be informed about the progress of our work!

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Oct62021

News

Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction Sector 2.0 on Sustainable Places 2021

News6 October 2021 Leave a comment

On the 29th of October 10, EU Horizon 2020 sister projects took the chance to meet and talk about potential synergies to stimulate future public and private investments in energy-based habitat renovation.

The European Construction sector faces unprecedented challenges to achieve ambitious energy efficiency objectives, that can be met only if successful training initiatives and supporting policy instruments are put in place, acting as a springboard to stimulate the demand for energy efficiency skills. The objective is to increase the number of skilled building professionals and/or blue-collar workers across the building design, operation, and maintenance value chain (designers, architects, engineers, building managers, technicians, installers, blue-collar workers including apprentices, and other building professionals), with a specific focus on the engagement of SMEs. Recourse to skilled professionals/workers both for renovations and new constructions of buildings and district-scale solutions should be made more attractive and easier for companies and homeowners alike.

These challenges gathered INSTRUCT, BUSLeague, TRAIN4SUSTAIN, HP4All, The nZEB Roadshow, PRO-Heritage, CraftEdu, BIMzeED, ARISE and SEEtheSkills projects on Sustainable Places 2021 conference during 90-minutes workshop: Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction Sector 2.0, which is the second joint meeting of this group established in May 2021.

Just after the overview of the workshop presented by Mohaddeseh Maktabifard from R2M Solution, we had welcomed Amandine DE COSTER from EU Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Our special guest had a speech about the BUILD UP Skills initiative, its history since 2011, main focus areas and targets. All projects presented introduction of the learning units and/or training modules developed, target groups, progress, number of trained professional and lessons learned, and future plans as follows:

INSTRUCT: Ioan Petri, Cardiff University
BUSLeague: Marion Jammet, Irish Green building Council
TRAIN4SUSTAIN: Uli Jakob, JER
HP4All: Padriac O’Reilly, LIT
The nZEB Roadshow: Dragomir Tzanev, Eneffect
PRO-Heritage: Gerald Wagenhofer, UBW
CraftEdu: Jiri Karasek, SEVEn
BIMzeED: Jose Lucas, ITEC
ARISE: Paul McCormack, Belfast Met
SEEtheSkills: Lihnida Stojanovska-Georgievska, UKIM

In the end the discussion was wrapped up with a Q&A session. This event will be followed by the publication on MDPI portal and the next meeting with some of the projects is planned on 14th October 2021 at The Joint Conference CIB W78 – LDAC 2021. Join us there!

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Oct52021

News

Save the date for BIM Skills Workshop, 14th October 2021 at 11.00!

News5 October 2021 Leave a comment

The Joint Conference CIB W78 – LDAC 2021 will take place in Luxembourg between 11-15 October 2021 and is associated with the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), its Working Commission W78 on Information Technology for Construction and the Linked Data in Architecture and Construction research community. This event is organized by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) in collaboration with Cardiff University (UK) and the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP).

The 38th CIB W78 conference on Information and Communication Technologies for AECO and the 8th LDAC workshop aim to bring together an international community of researchers and industrials interested in the areas of Construction Informatics, BIM, Digital Twin and Knowledge Management. The scope of the conference is broad in terms of the design, construction and operation and occupancy of constructed facilities, but it primarily relates to the integration and communication of data, information and knowledge in the life cycle of a facility.*

INSTRUCT project along with 3 other sister projects: SeeTheSkills, BIM2TWIN and BIMzED organise a workshop devoted to BIM skills, digital tools in this area, the link between energy efficiency and training in the construction sector, revision of DTC concept and challenges that come with it. Join us by registering HERE!

Date: Thursday, 14 October 2021

Room: Chapelle, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg

Programme

11.00 – Introduction
Łukasz Wilczyński, ASM Market Research and Analysis Centre

11.05 – SEEtheSkills
Title: SEEtheSkills actions for increasing the VALUE of energy skills – BIM digital tools as the missing link between energy efficient construction and strive for upskilling – Lihnida Stojanovska-Georgievska, University Ss Cyril and Methodius

Description: Having developed programmes for energy skills and training courses in place that provide certification for building professionals, is usually not enough to increase the interest in trainees and related market demand. In fact actions for increasing the value of skills are necessary. SEEtheSkills as H2020 action, supports the initiative for reinforcing the link between skills and energy quality of construction, through presenting the benefits of employing skilled workers, that will promote the value of energy skills by presenting their role in energy sustainability of buildings. A promising tool to be used are digital BIM tools, which can furthermore by using BIM modelling, propose various scenarios for reduction of performance gap with implementing corresponding energy efficiency measures.

11.20 – INSTRUCT
Title: Digital Technologies to Advance Energy Efficiency Trainings & Education in the Construction Sector
Irini Barbero, Cardiff University

Description: The presentation will look into demonstrating the link between energy efficiency and training in the construction sector, in the EU. The main objective is to evidence the necessary prerequisites for developing digital instruments required to coordinate efforts for delivering energy efficiency education.

11.35 – BIM2TWIN
Title: Digital Twin Construction – A New Paradigm – Rafael Sacks, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Description: Digital Twin Construction (DTC) is a paradigm for the construction industry in which production is planned and controlled with the support of extensive data collected from the supply chains and the site which provides comprehensive situational awareness for all. In theory, better situational awareness, i.e. knowing what is happening on and off site with great detail, supports better decisions by people when it comes to making changes to the production system on site. This presentation will review the concept of DTC, explain its various components and the potential for platform businesses to emerge to manage production in projects according to DTC principles and technologies.

11.55 – BIMzED
Title: BIMzeED – Education for Nearly zero-energy buildings using Building Information Modelling
Srećko Vrček, North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency (REGEA)

Description: The BIMzeED project focuses on the training needs for the current and future construction industry with the main purpose to encourage: 1) better employability, 2) low-carbon growth, 3) green and NZEB skills, 4) increase in youth employment. The BIMzeED project developed and will pilot 12 Learning Units within the aim of increasing understandings of BIM/NZEB within existing construction training curricula. BIMzeED will train and up skill 120 educators at European HEIs and VETs by piloting the new learning resources and training materials. Also, BIMzeED will pilot 12 Learning Units with 400-500 construction students, site managers, craftworkers and other experienced operatives therefore improving their employability. The project developed an E-Learning Portal that has access through the BIMzeED project website.

12.10 – Q&A session
12.20 – Wrap up and conclusions

Main organiser and contact:

Agnieszka Mikołajczyk, International PR Manager, ASM Market Research and Analysis Centre

Registration

Included in the conference registration fee (you can use one-day registration if you wish to attend only the workshop and the other events on a single day)

*Home | CIB W78-LDAC 2021 (cibw78-ldac-2021.lu)

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Oct42021

News

Project outcomes in a nutshell

News4 October 2021 Leave a comment

In INSTRUCT project, one of the main objectives is establishing a taxonomy of current training offers in the field of energy efficiency within the European Union.

An initial review of training offers, and their associated frameworks, enables the formulation of a
method to align and map the related roles and skills. The taxonomy is then formulated, covering the whole landscape of knowledge and information that needs to be captured for further activities within the INSTRUCT project. The data collection process will be initiated by collecting training data from the 7 consortium partner countries, using an Excel sheet to capture the required data. In a second phase, the scope of the collection process will be widened to all countries of the European Union by leveraging the INSTRUCT stakeholder network.

The taxonomy provided in the project aims to define the common ground for INSTRUCT partners
to address the demonstration pilots, with a focus on training and skills requirements.

Besides, the meta-framework sets a methodology aiming at embracing a large set of training initiatives,
and associated qualification frameworks, with a focus on digital skills and BIM. Through a comprehensive integration of learning outcomes from other initiatives, including H2020
sister projects, the long-term vision is to integrate those various initiatives and reduce the complexity, while offering training providers with established sets of learning outcomes that would eventually facilitate the recognition of skills across the EU.

As part of INSTRUCT next tasks, training and qualification frameworks will be analysed to further improve the proposed method. The collection process itself will be split into two phases. The first phase will be limited in scope to the project partner countries (FR, LU, IT, UK, BG, PL, FI) and will use the Excel sheet, aiming at setting up a representative sample of available trainings. This sample will supply insight for several questions related to the setup of a new catalogue, namely, which targets are being addressed by available training offers, to which extent are they linked to already existing qualification schemes, and last but least, which are those schemes.

This data, combined with key findings of earlier tasks, will influence the design and structure of the Training Repository to be set up as a key instrument in INSTRUCT. The training repository will be a database hosted in the cloud. The data collected in phase one will be used for populating the
repository.

Requirements for new instruments for skills recognition in the construction industry

Another aim of the INSTRUCT project is also to elicit the requirements for new, and existing, tools facilitating the mutual recognition of energy skills and qualifications in the construction sector. This translates into the following objectives:

identify best practice initiatives for energy skills recognition across Europe,
inform the development of new tools adapted to a wide range of country-specific organisational
and cultural work practices across Europe.

An overarching requirement is identified in the need for a widely accessible and trusted digital platform that can allow training organisations to register their training offers and associated learning outcomes; accreditation organisations to assess these and publish their accreditation outcomes; white and blue workers to register their skills and trainings, and employers to search and recruit the skilled workers most suited to their job across Europe.

It is interesting to note that the job market has been deregulated as a result of the ongoing pandemic and the restriction of movements of staff. The recruitment of skilled workers, therefore, transcends existing geographical boundaries while promoting a competitive landscape for skilled workers adapted to a wide range of country-specific organisational and cultural work practices across Europe.

Blockchain is identified as a contender solution to deliver such a digital platform, which will be augmented with a wide range of services allowing the delivery of:

passports/registers for workers at regional/national level and support for their take up at EU level,
mobile applications facilitating the comparison of workers’ skills and qualifications between countries,
new legislative frameworks or public procurement practices,
initiatives for home and building owners, and,
new partnerships with producers and retailers, Taxonomy of current training offers for energy efficiency in the EU.
An official report with detailed information about the elaborated tools regarding the above topics will be available soon in our Library.

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Sep272021

News

Towards skills-enabled new instruments – the first year of INSTRUCT project

News27 September 2021 Leave a comment

The INSTRUCT project, implemented since June 2020 by the Consortium of 8 Partners from 7 European countries, aims to act at a market level by providing an operational framework and set of services serving to:

raise awareness of stakeholders in the construction value chain about environmental challenges, benefits of sustainable energy skills and the need for skilled workers in Energy efficiency in the construction sector at large,
increase the number of skilled building professionals and construction workers along with the whole value chain,
pave the way to legislative changes by supporting public authorities and industrial stakeholders for the development of new legislative frameworks.

The new services will serve a generation of skilled and certified workers and fitters and together with dissemination activities will foster collaboration in the construction value chain and stimulate competitiveness and market growth in Europe, in particular thanks to an increased awareness of building owners and managers, as well as investors, about the needs and added value of skilled workers in energy efficiency in the construction sector at large. This will lead to an increased demand for energy skills across lifecycle and supply chains and in consequence, contribute to improving the energy efficiency of European buildings which is a key step in achieving the 2030 and 2050 EU energy and CO2 emission targets.

Within the first year of the project implementation project Partners worked on the following technical achievements:

deliver the industry and academic evidence that corroborates and reinforces the correlation between skills and education, and energy performance and quality,

establish a taxonomy of current energy efficiency training available in the EU,

define skills, qualifications and learning outcomes matrix necessary to meet the EU energy agenda,

elicit requirements and devise recommendations for the promotion of new tools and instruments that increase energy efficiency skills recognition across Europe and

plan and implement dissemination and communication activities.

The work performed included interacting with key projects and stakeholders at a national (participating countries, including Build-Up skills initiatives) and European wide level to evidence positive links between training (education) and energy efficiency and understand the complexity of the training landscape in energy efficiency. The analysis of the results confirms the posited hypothesis on the correlation between training and energy efficiency. However, a number of policy measures have been also pointed, including the need for adapted instruments to promote mutual recognition of energy skills and qualifications in the European construction sector. The detailed outcomes are included in a report entitled: Evidencing the correlation between training and energy efficiency and available on the project website.

Development of the taxonomy of current training offers for energy efficiency in the EU which defined the common ground for INSTRUCT partners to address the demonstration pilots, with a focus on training and skills requirements. Besides, the meta-framework, a methodology aiming at embracing a large set of training initiatives, and associated qualification frameworks, with a focus on digital skills and BIM have been set. The outcomes are presented in a report entitled “Taxonomy of current training offers for energy efficiency in the EU” available soon on the project website.

Definition of qualifications (i.e., learning outcomes) for energy efficiency informed by the earlier project results with regards to the understanding of the correlation between training and energy efficiency, and the training landscape for energy efficiency across Europe. These learning outcomes were then benchmarked between the countries involved in the INSTRUCT project (France, Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, and United Kingdom), extended to other European countries using the INSTRUCT Stakeholders network. European level learning outcomes were used for the specific roles along with the related EQF levels. Learning outcomes were then defined in a specific order forming eight groups which have been described in detail in a report on the Skills and Learning outcomes matrix available soon on the project website.

Definition of the requirements towards skills-enabled new instruments. An overarching requirement was identified in the need for a widely accessible and trusted digital platform that can allow training organisations to register their training offers and associated learning outcomes, accreditation organisations to assess these and publish their accreditation outcomes, white and blue workers to register their skills and trainings, and employers to search and recruit the skilled workers most suited to their job across Europe. Further outcomes are analysed and presented in a report on the requirements for new instruments available soon on the project website.

The further results, to be delivered until the end of the project, include providing the construction industry with a set of tools and instruments facilitating the mutual recognition of energy skills and qualifications in the construction sector; showcasing the usefulness and ease of use of these in real-world demonstrations; paving the way to new legislative frameworks enabling reliance on skilled workers in public or private procurement and continuous dissemination and awareness raising actions at European level.

The 8 demonstration cases in 7 countries representing different geographical, cultural and social regions in Europe, will give measurable evidence on energy savings, RES increase, investments, certification, collaboration, market acceptance, legislative changes and reduction of gap between designed and actual energy consumption as well as reduction of GHG emissions.

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May192021

News

Webinar 27th May, 13.00 | Sustainable Energy Skills in the construction sector

News19 May 2021 Leave a comment

‘Sustainable Energy Skills in the construction sector’ is a series of webinars devoted to energy efficiency area from different perspectives, and organised frequently by 7 EU founded projects: BIMEET, BUSLeague, INSTRUCT, HP4ALL, The nZEB Roadshow, CraftEdu and TRAIN4SUSTAIN. The collaboration was established to raise awareness about a deep need for sustainable energy skills in the construction sector. It is an opportunity to share their knowledge, experiences and research outcomes with the audience from European countries. All Partners are going to share our experiences on the following topics:

Co-creation and use of the BUILD UP Skills advisor-app (BUSLeague)

The IEE BUS_N@W conceived BUILD UP Skills advisor-app was further extended in H2020 BUStoB, PROF/TRAC, NEWCOM, BIMplement and is used now in H2020 BUSLeague and TripleA-reno. This app includes an upskilling repository, a number of micro-learnings, a connector to e-learning, a unit of learning outcomes database and functionality to issue digital skill cards.

Best practice initiatives designed to increase skills in the Heat Pump sector (HP4All)

HP4All is focused on capacity and skills development within the Heat Pump sector to ensure that the energy efficiency gains afforded by heat pumps are realised. HP4All, following a holistic, systemic point of view, will work both with the supply side (manufacturers, SMEs, installers, etc) and demand-side (building owners, public sector, etc.). This way, the project will enhance, develop and promote the skills required for high quality, optimised Heat Pump (HP) installations within residential/non-residential buildings.

The activities are anticipated for 3 pilot regions, each with a focus on a different sector of the heat pump market. The activities are intended to support market and skills development and will have relevance for other regions and other technologies.

Development of mobile equipment for on-site training and demonstration: the “MUZA” project in Croatia (The nZEB Roadshow)

With the goal to promote market demand for nearly zero-energy buildings, the nZEB Roadshow H2020 project will organize multiple large-scale events in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy and Romania, featuring product exhibitions, job fairs, training courses, live demonstrations, games for children and many more. The focal points of the events will be specifically designed mobile training and demonstration units built with utmost care and attention to detail, as the first of them – the Croatian “MUZA” project – is already in operation.

CraftEdu’s e-learning platform: an operational approach to continuous upskilling and mutual recognition of competencies for construction workers in Central Europe (CraftEdu)

The CraftEdu project has developed full training documentation for acquiring nZEB-related competencies on 8 professions, already fully applied in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and successfully piloted in Austria and Bulgaria. The training activities are facilitated by a recently launched e-learning platform, which is already offering an advanced learning experiences for trainees in the 4 partner countries.

The correlation between training and energy efficiency, community learning approach – the energy BIM platform (INSTRUCT)

The aim is to deliver industry and academic evidence that corroborates and reinforces the correlation between (a) skills and education, and (b) energy performance and quality. This involves:

A review to collect, organize and synthesize available evidence from authoritative sources across Europe and beyond.
Feedback from a series of consultations with key stakeholders, including BUILD UP Skills initiative key representatives across Europe with a view of reinforcing the gathered evidence with further cases drawn from industry and practice.

Methods and best practices utilized to evaluate, report on the competence of building professionals in the TRAIN4SUSTAIN project (TRAIN4SUSTAIN)

TRAIN4SUSTAIN Competence Quality Standard (CQS) allows the evaluation, scoring and reporting the level of competence of professionals, workers with regards to specific Areas of Expertise related to sustainability at building and urban scale.

The TRAIN4SUSTAIN CQS has been structured in modules and hierarchic levels, reflecting the structure of the most relevant sustainability certification systems at building and urban scale and in relation to the recent Level(s) framework of core sustainability indicators issued by the European Commission in October 2020.

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Energy Skills in the construction sector – cooperation with sister-projects

News15 February 2021 Leave a comment

INSTRUCT project as the chair of Sustainable Places 2020 workshop: „Sustainable Energy Skills in the Construction Sector” established a group of seven EU founded projects to raise awarness about a deep need for sustainable energy skills in the consctruction sector. We are going to share our knowledge, experiences and research outcomes with the audience from European countries via online communication tools like webinars, newsletters, social media channels and scientific articles.

Follow our social media channels, subscribe to our newsletters and stay tuned to know more!

	The BIMEET project aimed to leverage the take-up of ICT and BIM through a significant upgrade of the skills and capacities of the EU construction workforce. This Coordination and Support Action project was built around a strong consortium relying on educational and research expertise, the robust experience of accrediting and labeling bodies, the training supply chain, and a wide engagement of industry-led best practices (already committed in an EU-wide expert panel). For more information, you can visit our website.
	BUSLeague is dedicated to stimulate demand for sustainable energy skills in the construction sector. BUSLeague focusses on a blend of four elements: mutual recognition of energy skills, awareness raising, capacity building and legislative changes. For more information, you can visit our website.
	HP4ALL (Heat Pumps for ALL), is a Horizon 2020 research and innovation project that will enhance, develop and promote the skills required for high quality, optimised Heat Pump (HP) installations within residential/non-residential buildings, bringing Europe to the forefront of the climatization sector. To achieve the goals, the project will develop the HP4All package, a set of different tools and resources to be used by the different related stakeholders. The package includes an HP Competency Framework to facilitate common HP Skills and, from an end-user perspective, an HP Knowledge Hub will be created to provide guidance and support. For more information, you can visit our website.
	INSTRUCT aims to act at a market level by providing an operational framework and set of services serving to increase the number of skilled building professionals and construction workers along the value chain, raising awareness of stakeholders in the construction value chain— including producers and retailers, home and building owners, and tenants about environmental challenges and the benefits of sustainable energy skills—and paving the way for legislative changes that overall will stimulate the demand for energy skills. For more information, you can visit our website.
	The PRO-Heritage project aims to offer continuous education for professionals and craftsmen working in cultural heritage. It provides traditional competencies and skills for built heritage, based on best practice examples gathered by partner organisations. Additionally, PRO-Heritage will support the exchange of competencies and expertise across Europe by establishing a structure for the mobility of these professionals in Europe. For more information, you can visit our website.
	TRAIN4SUSTAIN aims to stimulate the demand for skilled construction sector professionals (architects, contractors-SMEs and workers) through raising acceptance of regional and national qualifications and skills on the EU construction market. For more information, you can visit our website.
	The nZEB Roadshow is Horizon 2020 project stimulating the demand for skilled workers by promoting market demand for quality nearly zero-energy buildings. In support of this goal, it will organize no less than 25 events in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy and Romania, featuring product exhibitions, job fairs, training courses, live demonstrations, games for children – and lots of fun! For more information, you can visit our website.

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Nov192020

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INSTRUCT workshop conclusions

News19 November 2020 Leave a comment

On October 30th, we organized an online workshop, closely related to our research which highlighted evidence that corroborates and reinforces the correlation between education, energy performance and quality. The event gathered 19 participants from the UK, Serbia, Italy and Finland.

The workshop was led by Karla Lapit, Dr Ioan Petri, Yacine Rezgui and Irini Barbero from Cardiff University. The aim was to gather feedback on the results of a recently conducted survey on the topic mentioned above.

The discussion focused on the following topics:

Lack of access to useful information, knowledge, and best practice guides for energy efficient interventions.
Lack of demand for skilled workforce in energy efficiency.
Lack of availability or inadequate training programmes (in terms of scope, quality, content, cost etc.).
Lack of shared vision and values for energy efficiency across the supply chain.
Inadequate policy landscape, including lack of government incentives.

Based on the experiences of individual participants, we came to some interesting conclusions:

Sharing initiatives and information about projects which have already collected data about the policy overall landscape in the EU countries and about the governmental incentives within is needed to go further in our plans.
Adequate policy landscape, government initiatives and understanding of a problem is needed.
Reward system for workers is needed. Incentive-based systems would be an interesting solution.
Onsite training will help to eliminate lack of accessibility to energy-efficiency trainings issue.
There should be relevant trainings planned for particular worker position.
We should share the knowledge about energy efficiency among investors to arouse demand for skilled workers.
Adoption of new technologies such as ICT and Artificial Intelligence can be identified as a contributor or accelerator for methods and instruments to deliver skilled workforce for energy efficiency.
Less theory-based trainings and more practical trainings with a direct link to the work tasks are needed to plan.

The discussion is not closed. If you missed the workshop you can still have an input what will be much appreciated!

All methodology guides, informed by the literature, with quantitative and qualitative instruments to evidence the correlation between training and Energy efficiency are welcome to share via e-mail to Yacine Rezgui from Cardiff University: RezguiY@cardiff.ac.uk.

You can also provide pointers to existing studies, social media endpoints, initiatives and reports that relate to energy efficiency at a national and EU-wide level (input via energy-education.com).

If you have other recommendations, please feel free to contact us via e-mail given above.

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