Launched in 2011, the BUILD UP Skills initiative is supporting the upskilling of building professionals across Europe, to deliver building renovations offering high energy performance as well as new Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs). This effort needs to be sustained through the development of strategies and the rollout of ambitious training and qualification interventions aligned with the EU Green Deal, the EU’s 2030 climate objectives as well as the EU’s long-term strategy of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The first objective (Scope A) is to support the revitalisation of the National Platforms created in the first phase of the BUILD UP Skills initiative (2011-2012, ‘Pillar I’), gathering all key national stakeholders. Since the first platforms were established ten years ago, projects should aim at expanding their scope by involving new stakeholders. The rebooted National Platforms should update the Status Quo Analyses and National Roadmaps to reflect the new realities of the building sector.

This should be done by addressing the necessary skills development activities related to e.g. digital technologies, smart buildings including e-mobility, resource efficiency, circularity, integration of renewable energy technologies, heating and cooling, industrialised deep renovation, Life Cycle Carbon Assessments, etc., while taking into account the wider EU recovery context.

The second objective (Scope B) is to increase the number of skilled building professionals at all levels of the building design, operation and maintenance value chain. There is a need to increase efforts in upskilling and reskilling professionals on the critical skills needed for, e.g. the successful uptake of (nearly) Zero Energy Buildings, the upscaling of ambitious renovation interventions, the roll-out of efficient renewable-based heating and cooling, in particular heat pumps, the phasing-out of fossil fuels-based boilers as signalled in the framework of the REPowerEU plan to phase out EU dependence on fossil fuels imports, while achieving a holistic vision of the decarbonisation of the building stock. This calls for the upgrading of existing training and qualification schemes or the development of new ones.

Proposals should address one of the two scopes indicated above. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal's introduction.

Selected projects will be supported with a 95% co-funding rate.

Deadline: 16th November 2022 at 17:00 (CET)

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