BUILD UP Webinar 2017 11 21 PROF TRAC 3 Philippe Moseley

Interdisciplinary skills development of building professionals on NZEB construction

Tuesday 21 November 2017, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Brussels time (CET)

This webinar tackled the mismatch between the professional skills available and required for the successful design, construction and maintenance of Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB) and beyond. The upskilling of technical experts, architects and building managers (the so-called white-collars) is just as important as the training of construction industry blue-collars, such as craftsmen, construction workers and systems installers, as they have common responsibility and complementary roles to make the energy renovation of the European building stock happen. In this challenge, it is widely acknowledged that blue-collars mainly lack of the newest technical skills, while white-collars often miss an integrated design approach and multi-disciplinary team work abilities.

This webinar focused on the latter aspect, i.e. the interdisciplinary and collaborative skills required by the building industry middle and senior level professionals, and on how to address this issue through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses. To do so, invited speakers displayed the expertise they developed by organising or attending such courses, with special attention to the market appreciation for the skills acquired by participants.

The webinar showcased the PROF/TRAC EU level training and qualification scheme that is being developed by the ongoing Horizon 2020 project PROF/TRAC aiming to exemplify how training providers are acquainting building professionals with the much-needed integrated design approach. Moreover, the speakers critically discussed the implemented education methods and teaching contents, and analysed the challenges and barriers to overcome, in order to improve the collaboration among the various stakeholders that are involved and have to work together during the new construction or the renovation of existing building to NZEB performance level.


AGENDA

▪ Anita Derjanecz, Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA): Skill development of “white collars” towards NZEB
▪ Peter Op ‘t Veld, Huygen Installatie Adviseurs: The PROF/TRAC EU level training and qualification scheme as a solution to upskill practicing professionals
▪ Philippe Moseley, Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME): EU support for upskilling building sector professionals
▪ Questions and Answers
▪ Juan Travesi, Asociación Técnica Española de Refrigeración y Climatización (ATECYR): A successful example of interdisciplinary professional training in Spain – lessons learnt
▪ Sorcha Edwards, Housing Europe: Essential skills and innovative solutions needed for a fair energy transition – views from the social housing sector
▪ Questions and Answers

Webinar organisers: BUILD UP and REHVA (Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations)