Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PROF-TRAC (PROFessional multi-disciplinary TRAining and Continuing development in skills for NZEB principles)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2016-09-01 al 2018-02-28
A successful design and construction process towards nZE buildings and renovation requires to follow an integrated design approach and to work in multi-disciplinary teams. This requires a good basic understanding of the several disciplines that are needed. However, this approach is still not common as the building sector still works in a fragmented process. Especially, collaboration between architects, technical experts and managers is necessary, to gain a mutual understanding of each other’s disciplines and combine skills to achieve optimal nZEB construction and retrofitting, both in terms of energy efficiency and cost effectiveness. For this transformation there are still major barriers to overcome:
- There is a mismatch between the present available and needed skills as well as managerial capacity of professionals due to a lack in specific training and education.
- Collaboration between the different disciplines and building professionals is still not very common.
- The involved building professionals are lacking the right information on available qualifications and training materials.
- There are no mappings and qualifications available of the needed skills for the specific target groups. Most of the trainings available focus on one specific target group and on one technique or concept.
- Training materials for education and post-initial education are now created on an ad-hoc basis without consensus on an underlying qualification framework. As a result there is a lot of unqualified basic training materials available, but most of this material is fragmented, difficult to find.
- Training materials for education and post-initial education are available but should also be maintained and updated in order to make the training sustainable and suitable for a life- long- learning process.
The main aim of PROF/TRAC is to develop and maintain an Open Education Platform for Continuing Professional Development for professionals in the building sector, addressing technical experts, architects and managers. The developed European qualification scheme will be part of a life- long-life learning process for continuing development and up-skilling of professionals.
PROF/TRAC addresses following objectives:
1. Mapping of the required skills and current skill gaps of professionals in nZEB.
2 Development of an Open Training Platform including methods for a systematic and sustainable access to knowledge.
3. Development of a Train the Trainers programme for the developed qualification schemes
4. Development of a repository of the training material for use in education and post-initial education
- There is a mismatch between the present available and needed skills as well as managerial capacity of professionals due to a lack in specific training and education.
- Collaboration between the different disciplines and building professionals is still not very common.
- The involved building professionals are lacking the right information on available qualifications and training materials.
- There are no mappings and qualifications available of the needed skills for the specific target groups. Most of the trainings available focus on one specific target group and on one technique or concept.
- Training materials for education and post-initial education are now created on an ad-hoc basis without consensus on an underlying qualification framework. As a result there is a lot of unqualified basic training materials available, but most of this material is fragmented, difficult to find.
- Training materials for education and post-initial education are available but should also be maintained and updated in order to make the training sustainable and suitable for a life- long- learning process.
The main aim of PROF/TRAC is to develop and maintain an Open Education Platform for Continuing Professional Development for professionals in the building sector, addressing technical experts, architects and managers. The developed European qualification scheme will be part of a life- long-life learning process for continuing development and up-skilling of professionals.
PROF/TRAC addresses following objectives:
1. Mapping of the required skills and current skill gaps of professionals in nZEB.
2 Development of an Open Training Platform including methods for a systematic and sustainable access to knowledge.
3. Development of a Train the Trainers programme for the developed qualification schemes
4. Development of a repository of the training material for use in education and post-initial education
The work plan contains the following work packages:
WP1 Coordination, Management and Quality Control
WP2 Mapping of Skills and Qualifications
WP3 Development of a European Training and Qualification Platform
WP4 Train the Trainers Programme
WP5 Pilots
WP6 Exploitation and Replication
WP7 Dissemination and Communication
The project has started with WP2, the mapping of professions and professionals involved in nZEB construction and retrofitting with current skills and skills needed. This work was completed in the first year and had as main result a Method for the mapping of skills. Skills mapping excercises were conducted in the 7 pilot countries. WP 3 is the core of the project where a qualification scheme is developed amd the European open training platform for Continuing Professional Development is organised. This platform was established in the first year and functions as the vehicle for all activities in the project. It is also functional after the project duration, as part of the exploitation strategy developed in WP 6. The platform has three types of functionality:
- Networking & community for medium and senior level professionals in the building sector
- Unlocking qualifications
- Repository for adding, maintaining and exploitation of training materials
The platform is also used for the central Train-the-Trainers program (WP 4). In total 5 TtT sessions (3 face-to-face on locations, 2 webinars) ambassadors for the PROF/TRAC project were organized. In the first 3 months the composition of the training material for the trainers was conducted, based on the available material form recent IEE projects. All available material is uploaded on the PROF-TRAC open platform.
The trained trainers have organized national training programs for professionals in seven pilot countries in work package 5 Pilots. In six of the seven pilot countries the national training courses took place in two rounds (2nd and 3rd year of the project; in Spain a 3rd round was conducted.
A specific role of the pilots is to monitor and evaluate the approach of the project. This feedback was used to fine-tune the 2nd training rounds. As a general support for the national trainings a ‘training guide’ was devised.
In work package 6 Exploitation and Replication a further snowball effect was creating by involving a first layer by involving the national member organisations of REHVA and ACE in the 2nd and 3rd T-t-T sessions. During the T-t-T webinars also trainers, not members of the PROF/TRAC umbrella organisations, where involved.
During the total project duration many communication and dissimination activities took place which are reported in the final report on Communication activities (D7.6). Communication activities included newsletters, flyers and posters, use of social media (Twitter, LinkedIn group, Facebook). Two conferences were organised by partner Housing Europe and PROF/TRAC (8-3-2017 and 20-2-2018, both in Brussels). Also a special workshop was organised during Clima2016, Aalborg. Moreover many presentations were given on other conferences and events. Special attention was given to an active collbaoration during the BUS exchangemeetings (7th, 8th, 9th and 10th meetings), like moderating working groups. This resulted in strong collaboration with other CS projects like the MEnS project.
WP1 Coordination, Management and Quality Control
WP2 Mapping of Skills and Qualifications
WP3 Development of a European Training and Qualification Platform
WP4 Train the Trainers Programme
WP5 Pilots
WP6 Exploitation and Replication
WP7 Dissemination and Communication
The project has started with WP2, the mapping of professions and professionals involved in nZEB construction and retrofitting with current skills and skills needed. This work was completed in the first year and had as main result a Method for the mapping of skills. Skills mapping excercises were conducted in the 7 pilot countries. WP 3 is the core of the project where a qualification scheme is developed amd the European open training platform for Continuing Professional Development is organised. This platform was established in the first year and functions as the vehicle for all activities in the project. It is also functional after the project duration, as part of the exploitation strategy developed in WP 6. The platform has three types of functionality:
- Networking & community for medium and senior level professionals in the building sector
- Unlocking qualifications
- Repository for adding, maintaining and exploitation of training materials
The platform is also used for the central Train-the-Trainers program (WP 4). In total 5 TtT sessions (3 face-to-face on locations, 2 webinars) ambassadors for the PROF/TRAC project were organized. In the first 3 months the composition of the training material for the trainers was conducted, based on the available material form recent IEE projects. All available material is uploaded on the PROF-TRAC open platform.
The trained trainers have organized national training programs for professionals in seven pilot countries in work package 5 Pilots. In six of the seven pilot countries the national training courses took place in two rounds (2nd and 3rd year of the project; in Spain a 3rd round was conducted.
A specific role of the pilots is to monitor and evaluate the approach of the project. This feedback was used to fine-tune the 2nd training rounds. As a general support for the national trainings a ‘training guide’ was devised.
In work package 6 Exploitation and Replication a further snowball effect was creating by involving a first layer by involving the national member organisations of REHVA and ACE in the 2nd and 3rd T-t-T sessions. During the T-t-T webinars also trainers, not members of the PROF/TRAC umbrella organisations, where involved.
During the total project duration many communication and dissimination activities took place which are reported in the final report on Communication activities (D7.6). Communication activities included newsletters, flyers and posters, use of social media (Twitter, LinkedIn group, Facebook). Two conferences were organised by partner Housing Europe and PROF/TRAC (8-3-2017 and 20-2-2018, both in Brussels). Also a special workshop was organised during Clima2016, Aalborg. Moreover many presentations were given on other conferences and events. Special attention was given to an active collbaoration during the BUS exchangemeetings (7th, 8th, 9th and 10th meetings), like moderating working groups. This resulted in strong collaboration with other CS projects like the MEnS project.
At the end of the project PROF/TRAC has the following main results:
1. Method for the mapping of skills including the mapping of the professions concerned in nZEB construction and retrofitting and a mapping of the required specific skills versus the present available skills.
2. A European Qualification Scheme on nZEB skills which aims at overcoming market barriers for a successful design and construction process of nZEBs.
3. A database and repository building upon comprehensive training materials that are available from earlier European projects.
4. The Train the Trainers program with three TtT courses carried out as face-to-face courses in Prague, Zagreb and Valencia and two TtT course carried out as webinars (7 blocks of lectures and 1 block with assignments).
5. National courses on nZEB technologies, organized in 6 of the 7 pilot countries, in two rounds
6. The BUILD UP Skills – PROF/TRAC advisor App for professionals to map their own skills and needs for upskilling including recommendations in available trainings.
7. The PROF/TRAC exploitation strategy to continue and consolidate the results after the project duration with the PROF/TRAC platform as information carrier.
The total number of trainers, joining the face to face TtT sessions was 60; 175 trainers followed the two webinar TtT sessions.
At the end the final number of attendees to national course gaining increased skills is 1,124 while the targeted number was 785.
1. Method for the mapping of skills including the mapping of the professions concerned in nZEB construction and retrofitting and a mapping of the required specific skills versus the present available skills.
2. A European Qualification Scheme on nZEB skills which aims at overcoming market barriers for a successful design and construction process of nZEBs.
3. A database and repository building upon comprehensive training materials that are available from earlier European projects.
4. The Train the Trainers program with three TtT courses carried out as face-to-face courses in Prague, Zagreb and Valencia and two TtT course carried out as webinars (7 blocks of lectures and 1 block with assignments).
5. National courses on nZEB technologies, organized in 6 of the 7 pilot countries, in two rounds
6. The BUILD UP Skills – PROF/TRAC advisor App for professionals to map their own skills and needs for upskilling including recommendations in available trainings.
7. The PROF/TRAC exploitation strategy to continue and consolidate the results after the project duration with the PROF/TRAC platform as information carrier.
The total number of trainers, joining the face to face TtT sessions was 60; 175 trainers followed the two webinar TtT sessions.
At the end the final number of attendees to national course gaining increased skills is 1,124 while the targeted number was 785.