BUILD UP Skills – Upskilling and reskilling interventions for building decarbonisation

Deadline: Sep 19, 2024  
- 134 days

Launched in 2011, the BUILD UP Skills initiative^[1] is supporting the upskilling of building professionals across Europe, to deliver building renovations offering high energy performance as well as new nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs). This effort needs to be sustained through the rollout of ambitious training and qualification interventions aligned with the EU Green Deal, the EU’s 2030 climate objectives as well as the EU’s long-term strategy of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The first objective of the topic (Scope A) is to increase the number of skilled building professionals at all levels of the building design, operation and maintenance value chain. The focus is on the skills needed to enable the Clean Energy Transition, in particular the EU Renovation Wave, the EU Solar Energy Strategy^[2], the Communication on Digitalising the Energy System – EU action plan^[3], as well as the implementation of the provisions on skills as part of revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), and Renewable Energy Directive (RED).^[4]

The second objective of the topic (Scope B) is to create a thriving community of practitioners actively involved in upskilling activities for building professionals, which will support the large-scale roll-out of successful approaches across Europe.

The topic supports and goes beyond the Large-Scale Partnership for the construction ecosystem under the Pact for Skills, which plans to upskill and reskill overall at least 25% of the workforce of the construction industry in the next 5 years, to reach the target of 3 million workers^[5], as well as the Renewable Energy skills Large-Scale partnership.^[6] In addition, the topic aims to leverage synergies with the initiatives on digital skills for the energy transition addressed in the framework of the Communication on Digitalising the Energy System.

Proposals should address only one of the two scopes below. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal's introduction.

Scope A - Upskilling and reskilling interventions enabling a decarbonised building stock and energy system integration

Proposals under Scope A should develop, test, validate and prepare the deployment of new and/or the upgrade of existing training and qualification schemes for all types of professionals involved in the building value chain ('blue collars' and/or 'white collars' professionals), as well as for professionals active in other sectors than construction and buildings renovation. To ensure a successful deployment phase, the proposed training and qualification schemes should be tailored to the specificities of the national markets targeted; proposals should demonstrate a clear plan for deployment after project completion.

The main focus of proposals should be on Continuing Vocational Education and Training (or professional training) of professionals, i.e. after they have entered working life. This may include the retraining of professionals from other sectors with skills transferable to construction and building renovation. In addition to the above, proposals may also address other parts of education and training (e.g. initial education and training, higher education), provided this is justified based on needs detected in the countries targeted.

All professional profiles involved in the building value chain, can be validly addressed. Proposals should clearly justify the choice of the profile(s) and level(s) in the European Qualification Framework (EQF) targeted.

The proposed action should address one of the following thematic areas:

1. Skills development and deployment supporting the implementation of core provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), covering one or several of the following:

• skills for carrying out building energy audits, including assessment and advice for preparing buildings to operate at low temperature and integrate heat pumps.
• Skills for inspections, design, installation and optimisation of heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems, as well as hybridisation, digitalisation for smart home energy management and energy system integration.
• skills to deliver building renovation passports.
• skills enabling to leverage accessibility, fire safety, and/or seismic safety interventions for energy efficiency improvements.

2. Skills development and deployment supporting the decarbonisation of the building stock, covering one or several of the following:

• skills for delivering building deep renovation, including through modular and industrialised solutions; training professionals in a cross-trade manner to allow for integrated renovation works.
• skills for new and existing nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs) and bridging the gap towards Zero Emission Buildings (ZEBs).
• skills related to whole life carbon (via the assessment of Global Warming Potential), circular construction and resource efficiency, and leveraging the Level(s) framework.^[7]
• digital skills supporting greater energy performance of buildings, in particular through an enhanced use of Building Information Modelling.
• skills for upgrading the smartness of buildings for greater energy performance (based on the Smart Readiness Indicator), looking in particular at sensors, building controls and building management systems.

3. Skills development for solar energy deployment and energy system integration, covering one or several of the following:

• skills to increase the workforce of trained installers and maintenance staff, in particular for onsite solar systems; measures focusing on the identification of skills gaps in companies along the value chains combined with targeted trainings.
• upskilling for energy systems related digitalisation to allow energy management in homes, buildings and energy communities, i.e. covering several buildings or larger areas and districts to facilitate system integration via electrification of buildings and transport, linking smart appliances, smart recharging with demand response and storage etc.

4. Skills development for heat pump deployment, covering only one of the following:

• Reskilling interventions for professionals from other sectors with skills transferable to the heat pump value chain, including via partnerships between industry and trade associations, trade unions and public bodies to identify and attract suitable profiles.
• Upskilling of professionals, including to integrate heat pumps as part of building renovation projects and for integrated solutions (e.g. heat pumps and PV together, hybrid heating systems). In that context, applicants may establish or reinforce cooperation between trades and/or among national associations and other relevant stakeholders to develop, test, and disseminate widely agreed EU-wide content guidelines for specialised training programmes, and core training material replicable and adaptable to local contexts.

5. Development and delivery of innovative on-site training methods (especially for on-site workers/ craftspeople) as part of renovation projects, in cooperation with product manufacturers. Actions should focus on the skills needed to carry out deep renovation. The proposed methods should help address one of the main barriers to upskilling, i.e. the lack of time from companies and professionals to enrol in upskilling activities. The proposed training should ultimately facilitate the cooperation and understanding between different crafts and professions, and support a holistic vision of the building and of renovation works.

6. Skills development and deployment for the implementation and effective operation of integrated home renovation services (or one-stop-shops), providing coordinated and coherent responses to the needs of building owners at each step of their renovation journey: from technical and social diagnosis, technical offer, obtaining permits, finding qualified professionals, contracting of works, structuring and provision of finance (e.g. loans), facilitating access to available subsidies or other support schemes, to the monitoring of works and quality assurance.

Regardless of the thematic area addressed, proposals should:

• be tailored to the specificities of the national markets targeted and demonstrate their complementarity with and added value compared to already existing training and qualification schemes.
• provide details on the actual scope and content of the training and qualification schemes to be developed/upgraded, i.e. professional profiles and levels in the European Qualification Framework targeted; details about the thematic coverage; duration of the training courses; involvement of stakeholders in the validation of the schemes’ content; mechanisms for the validation of acquired competences, and future deployment prospects.
• include activities ensuring the recognition (e.g. certification, skills passports, skills registries etc.) of trained and qualified professionals.
• include train-the-trainer activities.
• include a testing and validation phase for the new or upgraded qualification schemes developed; this testing and validation phase should take place during the project lifetime. It should take the form of training sessions for building professionals, during which participants will trial and test the draft qualification scheme, the curriculum, the training materials as well as the recognition mechanisms developed within the project. The testing and validation phase should involve a representative number of trainees, based on the size of the targeted sector(s) in the countries involved. After the training sessions, feedback collected from the trainees should be used to validate and/or further improve the qualification and training schemes developed within the action. Infrastructure costs for developing new or upgrading existing training facilities will not be considered eligible.
• include activities to develop a strategy ensuring that the proposed schemes will be scaled up and sustained/rolled-out after the end of the project, linking to available sources of funding at national and EU level and pro-actively engaging national training providers and national qualification authorities.

Proposals are also expected to include activities to engage relevant institutions in the field of energy, climate, education, employment, social and industrial policies. Applicants should notably foresee activities to engage employers, trade unions as well as education and training providers in order to ensure that training programmes and curricula are labour market-relevant and proactively integrate emerging skills.^[7]

Proposals are expected to leverage the work developed within the European Construction Blueprint^[7] which focussed on vocational education and training primarily for ’blue-collar’ professionals up to level 5 in the European Qualification Framework. The proposed activities are also expected to align with and support the Pact for Skills in Construction as part of the European Skills Agenda^[7].

Proposals under Scope A may be submitted by a single applicant from a single eligible country.

The Commission considers that proposals submitted under Scope A requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of EUR 1 to EUR 1.5 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Scope B - BUILD UP Skills community of practice

The BUILD UP Skills initiative has funded more than 90 projects involving 32 countries since its inception. These projects have developed and tested a whole range of solutions and tools for skills intelligence, skills development and skills uptake in the building value chain.

Proposals under Scope B are expected to develop an EU community of practitioners with proven experience in the development and promotion of sustainable energy skills for building professionals in EU Member States and LIFE associated countries.

The community of practice should build bridges both within the group of BUILD UP Skills projects (past, ongoing and new ones starting during the project), as well as with other related projects and initiatives.

The community should foster pan-European collaboration and dialogue on cross-cutting issues, build and deploy collective knowledge, support and roll-out capacity building, increase market recognition, encourage convergence towards best practices and contribute to the development of partnerships between key actors.

The work of the community is expected to be structured around several working groups that will exchange on specific topics and produce relevant deliverables. Working groups are expected to meet on a regular basis (online and/or onsite as appropriate). Topics to be addressed by the working groups should include, but are not limited to:

• Sectorial skills needs: e.g. circularity, digital skills, building smartness, heat pumps and innovative Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) technologies; skilled energy auditors, new generation of electricians etc.
• Skills recognition: mechanisms and approaches ensuring that trained and qualified professionals are recognised by the relevant public authorities and industries.
• Innovative training methods: reduce the constraints inherent to the training process and foster a better understanding between crafts and professions. Mapping of existing e-learning tools and possible interoperability.
• Demand side mechanisms: notably how public procurement can boost demand for sustainable energy skills in the construction sector.
• National skills roll-out: accelerate the large-scale roll-out of skills interventions. Notably following up on the implementation of the national roadmaps developed following the LIFE CET calls for proposals 2021 and 2022 and fostering the network of the BUILD UP Skills national qualification platforms.
• Funding sources: mapping available EU and national funding sources for skills deployment in the building sector, and their effective use.
• Synergies with other relevant projects and initiatives: notably the work done by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)^[7], the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations classification (ESCO)^[7], the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)^[7], the Large Scale Partnership for the Construction Ecosystem and the Renewable Energy skills Large-Scale partnership under the Pact for Skills^[7], as well as relevant projects funded under the Erasmus+ programme such as the EU Construction Blueprint.^[7]

Proposals should include capacity building, twinning and peer-to-peer learning activities at the national and EU level, focused on the practical uptake of tried and tested approaches. This may notably target relevant players such as public authorities, energy agencies, training providers, companies active in the building value chain, social partners etc.

The community should also develop effective communication actions to showcase the most relevant best practices to policy makers and stakeholders at all governance level (EU, national, regional, local), and notably promote the national roadmaps developed by projects funded under calls LIFE-CET-2021 and LIFE-CET-2022.

The Commission intends to select one single proposal under Scope B.

Proposals submitted by a single applicant or proposals covering a single eligible country are not considered appropriate under scope B. The community of practice to be established must be transnational and actively involve a variety of stakeholders from various eligible countries. Therefore, the Commission considers relevant that consortia gather a minimum of 3 applicants from 3 different eligible countries.

The Commission considers that proposals submitted under Scope B requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 2 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Proposals should present the concrete results which will be delivered by the activities, and demonstrate how these results will contribute to the topic-specific impacts. This demonstration should include a detailed analysis of the starting point and a set of well-substantiated assumptions and establish clear causality links between the results and the expected impacts.

Proposals should quantify their results and impacts using the indicators provided for the topic, when they are relevant for the proposed activities. They should also propose indicators which are specific to the proposed activities. Proposals are not expected to address all the listed impacts and indicators. The results and impacts should be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after the end of the project.

Impacts for Scope A:

Proposals submitted under Scope A should demonstrate how they will contribute to an increased uptake of sustainable energy skills along the building value chain, through the development of training and qualification schemes tailored to the specificities of the national markets targeted and adding value to existing schemes.

The indicators for this topic include:

• Number of qualification schemes developed or upgraded and tested.
• Number of trained professionals.
• Number of trained trainers.
• Number of professionals with increased qualifications or requalified professionals and the level of the European Qualification Framework (EQF).
• Level of satisfaction of trained professionals, as documented in feedback surveys.

Proposals should also quantify their impacts related to the following common indicators for the LIFE Clean Energy Transition subprogramme:

• Primary energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Final energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
• Reduction of greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO₂-eq/year).
• Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).

Impacts for Scope B

Proposals submitted under scope B should result in:

• The establishment of a European community of practice gathering relevant stakeholders, actively involved in ongoing implementation of upskilling activities for building professionals.
• Guidance made publicly available in order to facilitate the uptake of skills in the EU and national building value chains. Evidence that the value of skills is recognised by the market.

Proposals submitted under scope B should quantify their impacts using the indicators listed below, where relevant, as well as other project-specific performance indicators:

• Number, diversity and quality of stakeholders actively involved in the community. This could include (but not be limited to) education and training providers, universities, construction companies, product manufacturers, professional associations, public authorities, social partners etc.
• Number, nature and quality of the planned collective outputs.
• Number and nature of national and EU capacity building, twinning and peer-to-peer learning activities put in place.
• Number, nature and target audience of communication materials.

Proposals should also quantify their impacts related to the following common indicators for the LIFE Clean Energy Transition subprogramme:

• Primary energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Final energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
• Reduction of greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO₂-eq/year).
• Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).

The impacts of the proposals should be demonstrated during the project and within 5 years after the project lifetime.

[1] https://build-up.ec.europa.eu/en/bup-skills

[2] COM(2022) 221 final.

[3] COM(2022) 552 final.

[4]Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 (recast); Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources; Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings.

[5] https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=25235&langid=en.

[6]https://pact-for-skills.ec.europa.eu/about/industrial-ecosystems-and-partnerships/renewables_en.

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