On 23 September, Fundación Laboral held an information session at the organisation's Training Centre in Vicálvaro (Madrid), to present the results of the Si!BIM. Approaching BIM: Digitising Education and Vocational Training (VET) initiative. Different training contents on BIM were adressed during the meeting, which offered a general, easy and simplified vision to understand this collaborative work.

The project, part of the European Commission's Erasmus+ programme, of which Fundación is a partner, began in October 2019 with the aim of improving the digital skills of professionals and apprentices in the construction sector, while raising their awareness of the need to increase the use of BIM on construction sites.

As a result, training content has been developed and is now openly available free of charge on the project's website. Thus, the aim has been to facilitate access and bring this new methodology closer to workers in the sector, offering them the opportunity to improve their learning, which results in greater job mobility and a higher level of professional development.

Training contents

Si!BIM consists of three units, which provide an overview of BIM for the construction sector. It includes interactive didactic material that helps to understand basic aspects, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and a multiple-choice questionnaire. The contents are structured into:

Unit 1. Introduction to the general framework of the BIM process, the standards used and specific terminology, to help the user understand how BIM is integrated into the construction industry, identifying uses, applications, benefits and possibilities.

Unit 2. Practical aspects of BIM use in the different phases of a construction project, giving an overview of the different collaboration tools and modelling platforms, and identifying the advantages of using digital technology in construction processes.

Unit 3. Value of BIM strategic management in construction compared to traditional processes. The user will understand the general operation of BIM in terms of information workflows, protocols and data exchange.

The initiative was led by Coventry University in the UK and involved the participation of a multidisciplinary consortium of education and training experts from Europe, including Fundación Laboral, Centre IFAPME Liège-Huy-Verviers in Belgium, Bildungszentren des Baugewerbes e.V. (BZB) in Germany and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (CCIS).

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.