Fundación Laboral de la Construcción hosted the second partner meeting of the European BUSUnited project, funded by the European Union's LIFE programme, at its Madrid headquarters on 26 and 27 March. The meeting brought together representatives from the 13 partner organisations in the consortium, from Spain, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, the Netherlands and Romania, all led by Ireland's Technological University of Shannon: Midlands Midwest.

The event kicked off with presentations on project progress, focusing on coordination and the consolidation of seven Europe-wide learning communities aimed at promoting and developing sustainable construction skills among construction workers.

During the first day, Amandine De Coster-Lacourt, BUSUnited project officer at the European Commission's Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA), joined via videoconference to organise the next BUILD UP Skills project exchange meeting. This includes, alongside BUSUnited, the Fundación Laboral de la Construcción-led initiative 'Construye 2030plus'.

Visits to FESCOMAD and REBUILD

The meeting coincided with FESCOMAD, the construction sector trade fair organised by Fundación Laboral de la Construcción in Madrid. Project partners greatly enjoyed visiting the stands, conference rooms and spaces dedicated to innovation, health and safety, and training.

Part of the agenda included attending REBUILD 2026 at IFEMA Madrid, where partners gained first-hand insight into key trends, solutions and innovative approaches shaping the sector's evolution. They also delivered a presentation in the Talent Market space, highlighting the importance of a skilled workforce ready for sector innovations, particularly in industrialised construction.

Focus on Communities of Practice

The second day centred on preparing workshops and working groups for the project's various Communities of Practice, covering sector skills and needs, demand-side mechanisms, innovative teaching methods, national skills roll-out, funding sources and European synergies.

Boosting sustainable competencies

Framed within the LIFE Clean Energy Transition programme, BUSUnited seeks to build a major European community of construction professionals committed to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Running from September 2025 to September 2028, the project develops a network of 10 Communities of Practice addressing innovative training, skills recognition, sector needs, funding and European synergies.

For Fundación Laboral de la Construcción, this initiative reinforces its role as a key player in sector training, innovation and sustainability, while fostering synergies with its other European projects.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.