Training: green certification for three million construction workers by 2020

Creating a national training system harmonizing regional differences to build up green skills of three million workers in the field of building refurbishment by 2020. This is the objective of the European project BRICKS, coordinated by ENEA, that would provide Italy a leading position in Europe and allow it to gain the competences necessary to reach a nearly zero-energy  building stock by 2030.

With this aim the project BRICKS identifies skilled workforce as crucial to provide qualified interventions and return of investments as well as users’ satisfaction.  The project will provide support to workers in the training sector to create a new workforce skilled in energy matters.

Many actions have already been carried out, from implementing a procedure to obtain a “quality label” for companies employing qualified professionals, to developing new professional  figures in the energy sector, such as installer of building envelops, geothermal heat pump plants and domotic systems, energy auditor, classroom and on site trainer.

“Continuing the vocational education of the building workforce - Anna Moreno, project coordinator for ENEA says - will make companies increasingly competitive, enabling house owners to invest with growing confidence in energy renovation. In order to meet this goal, knowledge and competencies on state of the art technologies must be shared and harmonized, as well as objectives, with all the actors involved. To this end, the partners are working to get all actors involved to sign a policy paper identifying the actions to be accomplished by the Ministries, Regions and Autonomous Provinces by 2020”.

BRICKS (Building Refurbishment with Increased Competencies, Knowledge and Skills) is a European project of the strategic initiative BUILD UP Skills-Pillar II, co-financed under the European Program IEE (Intelligent Energy Europe).

Besides ENEA, acting as coordinator, the project sees the participation of 15 national organisms and over 50 associated partners, including the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of  Land and Sea, the Ministry of Education, University and Research and most of the Regions, remaining open to new participants.

For more information log on to: http://www.bricks.enea.it/

Or contact: Anna Moreno, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, anna.moreno@enea.it