Transforming vocational education and training for nearly zero-energy building

Melahat Sahin-Dikmen,Linda Clarke,Christopher Winch

doi:10.5334/bc.56

Abstract

Nearly zero-energy building (NZEB) requires the training of millions of construction workers and significant upgrading of vocational education and training (VET) systems across the European Union. This paper shows how an approach to VET based only on learning outcomes and targeting specific skills is too narrow and lacking in depth to allow for the systematic application of theoretical low-energy construction (LEC) knowledge to practice and develop NZEB expertise in the workplace. Theoretically broader, deeper, more technical and interdisciplinary expertise is needed to build to LEC standards and meet European Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD) targets. Instead, VET for LEC has been largely confined to short and task-specific continuing vocational education and training (CVET) courses, illustrated in the cases of both Slovenia and Ireland and ranging from a narrow, learning outcomes approach to a broader, standards-based approach linking theoretical considerations to specific applications. Mainstreaming the knowledge, skills and competences required for NZEB into initial vocational education and training (IVET) curricula is rare. Though less successful in Finland, it is achieved in Belgian construction IVET, which takes a standards-based approach, successfully embeds LEC elements, and seeks to overcome occupational boundaries and develop a holistic understanding of the construction process. Policy and practice relevance The emphasis on a standards-based, as opposed to a learning outcomes-based, approach to VET for LEC is of relevance to VET practitioners and policy-makers alike, especially given the preoccupation across Europe just with developing specific ‘skills’ through CVET. Broader construction occupational profiles and qualifications are essential for the cross-occupational knowledge and coordination required for successful NZEB, implying a transformation and upgrading of VET systems in many countries. The examples given from Irish CVET and Belgian IVET are valuable in showing what can be done to incorporate LEC elements. In highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of different VET systems in meeting NZEB requirements, the paper is relevant for industry and unions in illustrating the significance of social partnership, the need to overcome the fragmentation of the construction process and the high-quality VET essential to addressing climate change.

Highlights

Launched with the aim of increasing the number of workers qualified in energy efficiency measures and the installation of renewable energy systems, the European Commission’s (EC) Build Up Skills (BUS) investigation showed that around 3 million workers need to be trained across the European Union (EU), and recommended significant upgrading of vocational education and training (VET)
The response to the educational challenge of Nearly zero-energy building (NZEB) falls quantitatively short and is of variable quality, in providing the theoretically broader and deeper, more technical and interdisciplinary expertise needed to build to the standards anticipated in energy-saving calculations and to meet the targets set in the European Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD) (Clarke et al 2017)
The distinct approaches to developing the qualified workforce needed that emerged from the authors’ investigation are exemplified in four countries: Belgium and Finland, both seeking to incorporate low-energy construction (LEC) requirements into their initial vocational education and training (IVET) construction programmes for those entering construction as trainees; and Ireland and Slovenia, developing specific continuing vocational education and training (CVET) courses for the existing workforce, assuming prior qualifications and/or some work experience in construction

Summary

Introduction

Creating a workforce capable of reaching the objectives of nearly zero-energy building (NZEB) is a massive undertaking whose dimensions have only been realised by a few countries. Launched with the aim of increasing the number of workers qualified in energy efficiency measures and the installation of renewable energy systems, the European Commission’s (EC) Build Up Skills (BUS) investigation showed that around 3 million workers need to be trained across the European Union (EU), and recommended significant upgrading of vocational education and training (VET)Clarke, Sahin-Dikmen and Winch structures in several countries. The paper draws on a recently completed EC project, investigating the VET and low-energy construction (LEC) elements required to create a workforce for NZEB This project, entitled VET4LEC, was conducted under the auspices of the European Construction Social Dialogue and with the social partners (trade union and employer representatives): the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) and the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) (Clarke et al 2019a). The distinct approaches to developing the qualified workforce needed that emerged from the authors’ investigation are exemplified in four countries: Belgium and Finland, both seeking to incorporate LEC requirements into their initial vocational education and training (IVET) construction programmes for those entering construction as trainees; and Ireland and Slovenia, developing specific CVET courses for the existing workforce, assuming prior qualifications and/or some work experience in construction. The characteristics of the VET system and the incorporation of LEC elements into curricula content are examined and compared for their strengths and weaknesses in meeting NZEB requirements

Methods

Findings

Conclusion