NEXTGEN BUILDERS (2026-2028) Erasmus+ programme

Designation: NEXTGEN BUILDERS: Strengthening Knowledge Transfer in the Construction Sector

Project: Erasmus+ programme. Small-scale partnerships in vocational education and training (KA210-VET)

Identification of the project: 2026-1-ES01-KA210-VET-000467143

Duration: 24 months, from September 2026 to August 2028

Budget: 60,000 €.

Project coordinator: Fundación Laboral de la Construcción (Spain).

Partners:

• Italy: Formedil Vicenza - Scuola Costruzioni Andrea Palladio
• Republic of Macedonia: Knowledge and skills management centre (K&S)
• Spain: Red de Profesorado de Edificación y Obra Civil (EyOCnet)

Social Networks: Coming soon. 

The NEXTGEN BUILDERS project aims to foster meaningful, structured and sustainable intergenerational cooperation within the construction sector, addressing the transfer of skills, inclusion and active participation at multiple levels.

The overall objective is to establish practical and transferable processes that facilitate dialogue, mutual learning and the exchange of skills between experienced professionals (including retirees), young professionals and workers at the start of their careers, as well as vocational training students.

The project will also include young people with fewer opportunities, such as the unemployed or those not in education, migrants, low-skilled person and those facing linguistic, economic or geographical barriers. It also addresses the needs of older professionals and retirees who may face social exclusion.

The project aims to highlight the value of senior professionals’ experience, whilst strengthening the professional development, motivation and retention of younger generations within the construction sector.

The specific objectives are:

• To facilitate open and constructive dialogue between older and younger generations through structured intergenerational activities, such as workshops, mentoring sessions and storytelling.

• To promote inclusive, respectful and empathetic workplace cultures, fostering collaboration and reducing age-related stereotypes in the construction sector.

• To develop practical knowledge-transfer programmes that can be implemented by construction companies and vocational training centres, strengthening the links between education and the labour market.

The project generates clear European added value by comparing national approaches to the intergenerational transfer of skills, identifying common challenges such as an ageing workforce and labour shortages, and jointly developing transferable tools validated in different labour market contexts. Transnational testing will ensure that the results are adaptable beyond any single national system.

Main results

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis (SWOT analysis) report on existing initiatives and shortcomings relating to the transfer of skills from the most experienced workers in the construction sector.

• Best-practice handbook setting out effective approaches to intergenerational learning.

• Toolkit to provide guidance to businesses and VET centres on implementing mentoring and knowledge transfer programmes.

The BuildOffsiteEU project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.