Since January 2024, the partners of the 'Construye 2030' project have been working on identifying and prioritising lines of action aimed at preparing construction professionals for the decarbonisation of the sector by 2050, in accordance with the objectives of the European Union.

These lines of action are helping partners to shape a Training Roadmap (available in summer 2024), that will include proposals to skill, re-skill and attract professionals to the sector.

Action Plan, feasibility and impact of the Roadmap measures

Currently, the 'Construye 2030' Training Roadmap is in a validation phase, following two virtual meetings held on 23rd January and 6th March, in which around 40 experts in training and in the sector participated, contributing their experience to define and prioritise the measures to be developed until 2030.

Among these measures, the participants confirmed that there are training itineraries related to energy refurbishment aimed at building site workers, but acknowledged that it is essential to update and adapt these courses to the situation faced by the sector.

Other measures are aimed at updating professional profiles, such as building designers, installation designers and town planners, among others. During the meetings, the need to update their knowledge of nature-based solutions, low-impact materials, circular economy, industrialised systems and new taxonomies has been highlighted.

Finally, there are measures to support the sector with the aim of attracting more professionals, aimed at companies, guidance counsellors and teachers, among others.

For the elaboration of the Roadmap, in addition to the experts' opinions, the actions carried out over the last 10 years through different European projects (BUILD UP Skills I, Construction Blueprint...) and the current training needs of the sector, gathered in the Status Quo, are being taken into account.

Study on the current outlook for the construction sector

This report establishes that training is still needed for many of the "traditional" professions, in order to correctly execute activities that are very relevant for the energy performance of the building. It also includes topics in which the sector is making progress and which should be included in the training system: digitalisation, industrialisation, robotics, artificial intelligence, waste management, new taxonomies, life cycle analysis, energy measurements and building sustainability...

The sector is facing a transformational challenge that foresees a high demand for employment caused, among other reasons, by the difficulty of replacing the 30% of professionals who will by retired by 2030. Thus, the labour market needs to meet with university education, vocational training and lifelong learning, and seek an agile response to the rapid changes that the sector is undergoing.

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.