Fundación Laboral de la Construcción will hold the Construction’s Innovative Training Week during the last week of October. In three free virtual meetings, the entity will present the progress and results of European projects that coordinates and in which participates, and will encourage several discussions between experts on subjects, such as: "New emerging risks in construction", "Integration of women in the sector" and "Sustainable construction, digitisation and circular economy".

These three sessions will take place on October 27th, 28th and 29th, at 11:00 am, through GoToWebinar platform, with a 'welcome, project presentation and round table' structure. With a duration of two hours approximately, the webinars target sectoral professionals and companies, as well as anyone interested: trainers, vocational training students, prevention services, prevention managers and technicians, roadworks companies, official bodies, institutions, professional associations and colleges, trade unions, training centres, etc.

Health and Safety of new professional profiles

Under the title "New emerging risks in construction", in the online session on Tuesday October 27th the results of two European projects led by Fundación Laboral will be shown: Health and Safety Blueprint, a tender carried out by the entity for the European Commission, which have developed eight training modules that address the health and safety needs of professional profiles of ''green'' jobs in construction in Europe. And VRoad, an Erasmus+ project, through which, Fundación Laboral, along with four partners, has developed a Virtual Reality application for training in Health and Safety in road works. The lectures will be given by International Project Officers at Fundación Laboral, David Pesado, in charge of H&S Blueprint, and Luis Manuel Barrios, in charge of VRoad.

After the presentation, there will be a round table, chaired by Miguel de Gracia, Head of International Projects at Fundación Laboral, with the participation of experts in training, technologies and gamification and prevention of occupational risks: Ainara Ruiz, Project Manager at GA Group; Antonio Santander, Head of Health and Safety Projects at Fundación Laboral; Alejandro San Vicente, expert in PRL and Energy Management and Associate Professor at the University of La Rioja; and Santiago Martín Luengo, Trainer at Fundación Laboral de la Construcción.

For an equal industry

On Wednesday October 28th, the webinar will focus on the "Incorporation of women in the construction sector". After the presentation of the Women Can Build project results, which will be carried out by Beatriz Oliete, Senior Officer of International Projects at Fundación Laboral and in charge of this Erasmus+ initiative. In addition, a debate will be opened, chaired by Oliete, in which will take part: Belén García, Manager of the Employment Agency of the Madrid City Council; Ángela Baldellou, Directress of the 2030 Observatory of the Higher Council of the Associations of Architects of Spain (CSCAE); Margaret Santiago de Irazábal, expert in gender and Technical Coordinator of Business Alliances in the project of women labour integration "Bridges to employment" of the Spanish Red Cross; Laura Baquero, Entrepreneur and Founder of 'She builds'; as well as Ana Zulay Da Costa, one of the students who carried out the pilot course "We also build", given within the project.

Towards a climate-neutral Europe

Finally, on Thursday, October 29th, the webinar on "Sustainable construction, digitalization and circular economy" will take place. In this meeting, José Antonio Viejo, Training and Employment Director at Fundación Laboral, will present the strategic framework and European trends in construction skills, regarding the Construction Blueprint and Construye 2020+ projects ( which are the predecessor of the Build Up Skills initiatives), which are led by Fundación Laboral. Also, two of the projects in which the entity participates will be presented: CDWaste, on competencies in construction and demolition waste management; and Si!BIM, on digital competencies of workers in the construction sector and their approach to the BIM methodology.

About these projects the International Project Officers at Fundación Laboral: Clara García, in charge of CDWaste, and Belén Blanco, in charge of Si!BIM will lead the presentations.

After this, a round table will be held, chaired by José Antonio Viejo, with the participation of experts in energy efficiency, waste management, digital transformation, BIM and digitalization: Paola Villoria, Professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), expert in building waste management; Fernando García Mozos, Head of the Department of Households and Buildings of the Energy Saving and Efficiency Directorate of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE); Manuel García Navas, Technical Architect and Building Engineer, expert in digital transformation, BIM of companies and public organizations, and AECO sector (Architecture Engineering Construction Operations); as well as, Jesús González González, General Director of Corporate Planning and Organization of Avintia Group.

In each webinar there will be a Q&A  time, to learn about the public's concerns about the sector and to discuss the innovations and challenges faced by professionals and companies in the construction industry.

Three editions of innovation applied to training

In 2018, Fundación Laboral de la Construcción started its Innovation in Construction Industry Training seminars, to highlight innovation as one of the essential pillars of the entity to show the results of the European projects and programmes in which it has participated for a decade.

The introduction of new technologies in the learning processes is one of the objectives of the initiatives developed by the joint entity, in several European programmes in which it participates. And these conferences are the vehicle to publicize and share the tools designed.

The first edition, held at Campus Madrid Google Space (September 25th, 2018), was followed by a second one, at Espacio Bertelsmann in Madrid+streaming (October 30th, 2019). However, due to the coronavirus crisis Fundación Laboral has launched 'Conecta Fundación', for virtual events. Therefore, the seminar has been transformed into the Innovation Week with three free webinars.