On 21-22 February 2023, the final event of the Erasmus+ project Construction Blueprint for skills, a trans-European project involving 24 partners from 12 countries, took place in Brussels. In this problematic program Greece is represented by PEDMEDE and AKMI.
PEDMEDE was represented in all events by the President Mr. Michael Daktylidis and the staff of the European Programmes Department of the Union.
On the first day at the final International meeting, the results of the Programme were presented, the partners were informed about the situation in all the work packages involved and a presentation of the developments of the pilot trainings for the three major thematic modules, namely Digitalization, Energy Efficiency and Circular Economy, which were carried out in all the countries involved. All partners were congratulated for their active and consistent participation and also the coordinator, Fundación Laboral de la Construcción, for the difficult task it had undertaken and successfully responded to.
On the second day, the final findings of this 4-year project were presented in a special event with many guests during three roundtable discussions with a high-level panel dedicated to skills for Digitalisation, the Circular Economy and Energy Efficiency in Construction.
The event was opened by Employment and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, who underlined that “the green transition requires all of us to change the way we work and live. This has a major impact on the construction sector, as new construction techniques are needed to achieve zero emissions and safe energy, while labour shortages continue and more skilled workers are needed. It is therefore important to make the Construction sector more attractive, particularly for young people, and to provide the right skills and approaches.”
As part of the draft strategy and through the creation of a Sector Skills Alliance (SSA), key European sectoral organisations and VET providers have worked together to develop innovative means to address skills gaps and shortages and to match skills demand and supply in the construction sector, while supporting the transition to a sustainable construction sector.
Subsequently, 3 round table discussions were organised and held on the three themes of the Programme.
During the round table discussion on Digitisation, the Secretary General of the European Federation EFBWW, Mr. Tom Deleu, explained: “Trade unions welcome the initiative for better quality jobs and to reduce exposure to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. However, digitisation and innovation are currently hampered by business models based on cheap labour. This must change. And social dialogue is the best way to agree on a framework for an inclusive, fair and equitable digital transformation.” This panel also included Ms. Elektra Papadaki – Team leader at the European Commission. Construction and built environment policy.
Afterwards, in the round table discussion on the Circular Economy, the Director General of the European Federation of the Construction Industry (FIEC), Mr. Domenico Campogrande, said: “If we really want to achieve the green and digital transition goals, significant additional efforts will also be needed for the ‘skills transition’. And this requires closer cooperation between all stakeholders: businesses, employee representatives, public authorities, training organisations.”
Finally, in the roundtable discussion on Energy Efficiency, the Secretary General of the European Builders’ Confederation (EBC), Mr Fernando Sigchos Jiménez, stressed: “The importance of renovating buildings to make them more energy efficient and, therefore, the need for proper training of the professionals responsible for achieving these ambitions, seems now obvious. Therefore, vocational training for the construction sector needs to be prioritised, strengthened, funded and better redefined to ensure that there are enough quality workers and entrepreneurs and that there are real opportunities to achieve the European environmental and energy targets by 2050.”
The last session of the event was dedicated to the Skills Pact for the Construction Sector. Head of the Construction Policy Unit of DG GROW (European Commission), Ms Katharina Knapton-Vierlich, concluded: “The European Commission is working towards a sustainable, digital and solid construction ecosystem in which skills play a key role. Construction and the built environment shape our private and professional lives and safe, energy-efficient buildings are essential. ”
At the conclusion of this cycle, all those who had signed the Pact of Skills (a special skills pact) were invited to take a commemorative photo.
The last session of the event concluded with three presentations by experts on the relevance of the Pact to three other topics such as young people, women and worker mobility. In this part of the event and for the women’s theme, the PEDMEDE was represented by Board member Dr. Antonios Panas , who answered key questions on this topic.