A new boost for training, employment, and sustainability in the construction sector

Construye 2020+ is a research project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, aimed at promoting more efficient and sustainable construction. With a three-year duration and a budget of nearly €800,000, the project will introduce sustainability-related topics such as energy efficiency, renewable energies, and nearly zero-energy buildings into the training and accreditation of qualified professionals.

The project consortium combines agents from the construction sector, research, and training. Alongside CIRCE are the National Institute of Qualifications (INCUAL), the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Science (CSIC), the State Foundation for Employment Training (Fundae), the Institute of Robotics and Information and Communication Technologies (IRTIC) of the University of Valencia, and the Construction Labor Foundation, which coordinates the initiative.

Construye 2020+ aims to take a step further in the transition towards a sustainable, efficient, and competitive construction industry by defining updated training and green skills recognition frameworks. Specifically, an integrated and updated common training framework will be developed based on the Quintuple Helix innovation model, which integrates the business, academic, and political spheres with social and environmental aspects.

In addition to including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and nearly zero-energy buildings to create new sectoral skills, the project also aims to enhance cross-trade understanding. Additionally, a new qualification for an 'energy auditor' will be developed, incorporating all these aspects.

Reducing the gender gap in the construction sector

The project will place special emphasis on raising awareness about the gender perspective in the sector, recognizing that the modernization of the industry involves the incorporation of women into roles traditionally performed by men and their normalization, driven by the sector's technological evolution and the expansion of the job market towards energy efficiency.

In the project's first meeting, held in mid-June, the partners were introduced to the Women can Build project, coordinated by the Construction Labor Foundation, and the results achieved to date. This project promotes gender equality in construction through training activities and the publication of materials. In parallel, Construye 2020+ aims to involve construction SMEs to lead a sustainable construction market and promote the training of both male and female workers.