In modern economy, digitalization is a major driver of productivity growth across industries and services. However, the construction sector is lagging behind, even behind agriculture. The construction sector is characterised by a high presence of SMEs, low capitalization, a low rate of higher educated employees, low investment in innovation, and a long supply chain. Moreover, in the EU market, different languages, taxation, and regulatory frameworks are obstacles to Union synergies. DigiPLACE will exploit EU added value. Several initiatives have been developed at national level to improve the innovation in this sector. At EU level, some projects were devoted to facilitating the exchange of information, practice and knowledge (e.g. CPR 305/2011 and Levels). DigiPLACE will create a common ecosystem of innovation, standardization and commerce with the aim to collect the achieved results and to increase the productivity of the sector and the quality of its end products (building&infrastructure). Could digitalization help the sector to solve these historical issues and future ones? What kind of digitalization, what kind of market, what kind of production and supply-chain we could imagine? What kind of consumers do we have for our products and services. How do these worlds work together? DigiPLACE aims to investigate all these themes with a strong analysis of markets, actors and barriers. It will define a Reference Architecture Framework (RAF) for digital construction platform based on an EU-wide consensus involving a large community of stakeholders and the expertise of selected key players, resulting in a strategic roadmap for successful implementation of this RAF. DigiPLACE will rely on a large set of partners, linked 3rd parties and an Advisory Board representing leading European entities, companies and/or associations of industry, builders, owners (private and public), architects, research institutes, and ICT firms (for digital production, services and knowledge).

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALEConstruction industry has been hardly hit by the crisis, and faces the challenge of being capable of emerging stronger by responding to an increasingly demand of skilled workforce, due to its technification and the replacement of retired craftsman. While apprenticeship has been recognized as an opportunity to tackle youth unemployment, it is not being as successful as expected in Italy and Spain. Within this context, apprenticeship in construction industry is a solid chance for youth to build their future. However, VET counts on a wide social negative outlook. Together with a traditionally school based, VET lacks of strong apprenticeships and a clear intermediary body between construction VET centres and SMEs; all of this, creates barriers for its development and lowers apprenticeships value in both countries. AIMSTherefore, project’s aim was to improve SMEs involvement in apprenticeship by developing actions to get two main objectives:*To build capacities of construction business representatives as an intermediary body and boost their leverage effect in apprenticeship culture, by founding their position and drawing role in a short, medium and long term. *To give support and motivation to SMEs and VET centres in assigning a qualified trainer through mechanisms that trigger the recognition of in-company tutors as key players for a proper trainee’ learning and to raise the employer’s confidence in this kind of learning on the building site.RESULTS- Good business practices in EuropeIn order to identify, define and benchmark successful strategies that some countries are putting in place to involve SMEs in learning programmes, 12 experts from EU organisations from countries with a long tradition in learning programmes cooperated in the study (interviews). Also, constraints that are hindering an effective participation of SMEs in apprenticeship programs were defined by the realization of 4 focus groups, as well as up to 14 recommendations structured in a Strategic Roadmap to overcome them.- Status quo of in-company tutorsBased on the strategic Roadmap, the project undertook the definition of the status quo of in-company tutors in Spain and Italy, by carrying out a field study (documentary analysis plus surveys and interviews).As a result, the final qualification perimeter was defined, establishing the core skills that would eventually compose the “In-company tutor qualification”- Qualification In-company tutor in the building industry Based on the qualification perimeter, the project designed the qualification named the “In-company tutor in the Building Industry”. This level 4 qualification has been developed according to EQF and ECVET methodology: 4 modules, 20 hours duration and 1 ECVET.- Mechanisms to raise the quality of apprenticeship programs in SMEs In line with the roadmap and the status quo of in-company tutors, the project activated some mechanisms to help SMEs to raise the quality of apprenticeships in view of promoting excellence and facilitate their participation in these programs. Outputs were:*Memorandum of Understanding (MoU): agreement between the partnership that expresses a convergence of will between the parties*Accreditation system and recognition procedure: to assess, accredit and recognize the in-company tutors’ skills. IMPACT AND DISSEMINATION- Endorsement by stakeholdersIn order to underpin all results and outputs, the partnership has carried out several activities aimed to get a sound endorsement from stakeholders, trying to raise employer’s confidence on this kind of work-based learning in the building site: +100 endorsement commitments 4 seminars +80 participants 2 National Advisory Groups- Dissemination, exploitation and impact Project website: www.cotutorproject.eu Social networks: #CoTutorEU Diffusion in international networks/projects Final diffusion day

"Buildings are the major source of global demand for energy and materials that produce by-product greenhouse gases (GHG). Slowing and reversing the growth rate of GHG emissions is crucial to address climate change. One key way to reduce and, ultimately, phase out the greenhouse gases produced by the construction industry is transforming the way buildings are designed, built, and operated, as stated at the Europe 2020 Strategy. To reach climate 2020 goals within the construction industry the need to improve skills of all workers in relation to energy efficient and environmentally-friendly processes, materials and technologies is widely acknowledged. Vocational teachers hold a crucial role for the transfer of knowledge to current and future workers at the construction sector, as a great part of its labour force comes from VET pathways. For that reason, BuS.Trainers’ goal is to design and provide ‘green training’ to Vocational trainers to overcome skills mismatch and boost sustainability in the construction sector. Based on existing evidences, building up VET trainers’ skills in Energy Efficiency and Renewable energies is the required breakthrough to address the weak link between education and green innovation in the sector, because of the effect of this occupational profile in the whole training supply chain.With the main objective of jointly develop and deliver a thorough training system for Vocational Trainers to better perform teaching in sustainable construction, several interconnected activities have been implemented:*Research and analysis of green skills demands (labour market and EU policies) and related skills gaps in the occupational profile ‘VET trainers of construction industry’: Report on skills gap (WP2).*Design of a new qualification based on skills needs identified: “Eco-Trainer in the construction industry"" qualification (WP3), a trans-national and sectoral qualification for VET trainers in the construction industry, directed towards sustainable and efficient construction in South Europe.*Learning outcome-oriented modularity of the qualification, with 8 modules in a total of 200 learning hours, which allows partial or total accreditation, as well as accreditation through prior learning/experience by means of ECVET (WP3).*Definition of learning outcomes, assessment method and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) following the EQF methodology and underpinned with EQAVET principles (WP4).*Deveolpment of the Eco-trainers online course (WP5).*Development of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the sustainability of the course and its accreditation system (WP6). *Addition of the Eco-trainers course into the Official Maltese Qualification system, thus becoming an official curricula (WP6).*Delivery of the training course for testing the product for a better adjustment to final users –trainers, with the enrolment of more than 170 trainers (WP7).*Involvement of stakeholders at local Info-days and endorsement seminars, paving the way for the uptake of project outcomes, generating interest, raising awareness and attracting attention of key actors, target groups and industry in general (WP8).*Dissemination actions to spread project results and share solutions, enabling a wider community to take advantage from EU funding (WP9).The project shows a positive impact on VET providers enhancing the quality and adequacy of their trainings/classes portfolio and their net of trainers, on vocational trainers that will upgrade their teaching skills according to market needs, on VET trainees and workers who will receive up-to-date knowledge in green skills, on companies who will have better skilled workforce and, finally, on the rest of industry and society who will benefit from the added value of cooperation in green curricula design and delivery to address climate change."

Background The project Blueprint for the Construction Industry gathers 3 EU umbrella sectorial organizations, along with 9 national sectorial representatives and 12 Vocational and Education Training providers (24 partners in total) from 12 EU countries with the aim of working together towards the development of a new sectorial strategic approach to cooperate on skills in the sector, and support a better matching between skill needs of companies and skills provided to workers by training centres.ObjectivesThe Skills Blueprint for the Construction Industry project aims at setting up a sustainable sectorial Alliance between key stakeholders in order to reduce skill gaps between the industry requirements and sectorial training provision, and also to contribute to support growth, innovation and competitiveness in the construction industry developing a sectoral skills strategy that will allow to better anticipate skill needs, addressing the current and future labour market shortages in the sector.ImplementationThe Construction Blueprint Project has a duration of 4 years, and is structured in different phases (denominated Work Packages -WPs-). Although these WPs are independent and have their own tasks and objectives, however, all of them are closely interconnected and co-exist at the same time. At this stage only WP2 has been finalised, since the other are initiated but whose finalisation is foreseen in the second half of the project, or are transversal WPs, ie. are implemented during the 4 years timeResultsAt this stage, the main results are: PESTLE Analysis, StatusQuo Report on Sectoral Skills, Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan, Interactive Map of good practices, SSA portal and website, LinkedIn group, all of them publicly available at https://constructionblueprint.eu/results/ (in English language)

The European construction industry is lacking a generational replacement but at the same time the rate of youth unemployment is unsustainable. This imbalance is clearly detrimental, thus, the main aim of this project is to take action for youth employability in the construction industry, focusing on skills, since the green and digital transitions present important opportunities for job creation in the sector, that will need a large number of workers with the adequate related skills. In this context, the main EU sectoral organisations have launched the Pact for Skills for Construction, to support a fair and resilient recovery and contribute to the green and digital transitions, among other factors. One of its key principles is to attract young people to the sector. The project is aligned with this Pact and supports it by developing specific actions to increase opportunities for youngsters in the sector, to tackle the shortage of qualified workforce and pave the way for the adaptation of the SMEs to the future context. Objectives: Identify the key factors of change leading to the transformation of the construction industry; Develop a global strategy for youth skilling and employability; Support the Pack for Skills for the Construction Industry via dissemination of its principles and the adherence of the maximum number of stakeholders. Activities: Endorsement strategy; High-level working groups; Masterclasses/Practical training days; social media campaign; dissemination events; Outcomes: Action Plan for youth employability; intermediary services and accompanying measures; web portal; signature of collaboration agreements; Type and no. of benefitting persons: around 800 people directly reached including young people; representatives from SMEs, VET providers, public administration, sectoral associations… Expected results: increased interest on the construction industry by young people; increased participation by SMEs in apprenticeship procedures.