Rizal Sebastian: ‘We are not fast enough to cope with the challenges in the construction industry in the Netherlands, in Europe and probably in the whole world’
Rizal Sebastian: ‘We are not fast enough to cope with the challenges in the construction industry in the Netherlands, in Europe and probably in the whole world’
Background
Dr. Rizal Sebastian is the Chair Professor of Future Urban Systems at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, and a Senior Advisor on Digitalisation for Sustainable Built Environment at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO. Previously he worked at an international engineering firm, ARCADIS, and at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO. He also supports the European Commission and the Dutch Research Council as a scientific expert. Over the years, he has initiated and led more than 30 national and international innovation projects.
Rizal has a PhD degree in management of collaborative urban design, an MSc degree in construction management, and a BSc degree in architecture. Rizal has more than 60 scientific publications, including a chapter on Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Cities in the International Handbook of Sustainable Engineering.
BUILD UP (BUP): From your perspective and experience, how have the essential skills and competencies in construction evolved over the past decade?
Rizal Sebastian (RS): I've been observing developments in the construction industry for the past 25 years, both from a professional and research perspective. It's clear that skills and competences in the sector are evolving. Construction workers and technicians are increasingly adopting digital technologies, especially mobile tools. Nowadays, it’s common for technicians to come to your house with a tablet, for example. While that's a small step, a bigger one is the rise of prefabrication and industrialisation offsite. In the Netherlands, offsite construction has taken up quite well, supported by the government too. Hence, the skills are developing not only on construction sites, but also in the factories. Not least is the growing awareness of sustainability. Workers are now expected to understand and implement practices such as conserving energy and water, using sustainable materials, and managing waste more efficiently. So, there is clearly an evolution, but in the end, we are not fast enough to cope with the challenges in the construction industry in the Netherlands, in Europe and probably in the whole world, also driven by ongoing societal and environmental changes.
BUP: Considering the EU Pact for Skills, which specific indications do you believe should be prioritised to further enhance the existing learning and training offerings?
RS: From my perspective, in relation to the EU Pact for Skills and especially the current challenges in the Netherlands, the construction sector is facing a critical shortage of skilled labour. Construction is the highest-ranked ‘shortage sector’ in the Netherlands regarding skilled workers. The government is aware of this and launched a dedicated policy for high-shortage sectors. This is a huge problem because of the societal challenges in the Netherlands related to the housing crisis among others. The policies and instruments are in place, but we simply lack the workforce to implement them. To solve this capacity and skill shortage by benefitting from the EU Pact for skills, it’s necessary to align the learning and training objectives with the present and future needs, whether those relate to housing, sustainability and resilience.
Take the energy transition, for example: in The Netherlands we are facing problems with congestion on the electricity grid. I have solar panels installed, but I am charged for the energy I generate because the energy provider uses that revenue to expand grid capacity. As more households adopt solar panels, the grid becomes increasingly overloaded, and now even those contributing renewable energy face charges.
This highlights that construction workers today must be equipped not just to build homes, but also to engage with the broader technical infrastructure —particularly energy systems. These are real and pressing challenges. They raise the question: how well do existing training and learning opportunities under the Pact for Skills address these urgent cross-sectoral needs, both nationally and across Europe?
Another key point is the intergenerational knowledge transfer. It is well known that a lot of skills and knowledge in construction are tacit knowledge. For example, while a building inspector might follow a standard checklist, a seasoned professional can immediately spot weak points or structural issues based on professional intuition. That’s the kind of know-how that’s difficult to codify. Traditionally, younger workers learn alongside senior colleagues on the job. While this still happens, this kind of knowledge transfer tends to occur on a local scale. If we aim to solve large-scale challenges, we need to accelerate and scale up this process. One possible solution is harnessing Artificial Intelligence, not just to document knowledge, but to interpret and convey it effectively. Generative AI could help us not only to capture expert knowledge, but also translate it into actionable learning for the next generation. This could be a powerful tool for future programmes within the EU Pact for Skills
‘How well do existing training and learning opportunities under the Pact for Skills address these urgent cross-sectoral needs, both nationally and across Europe?’
BUP: It is well known that the construction sector is one of the least digitalised in Europe. In your opinion, what are the main challenges to the digitalisation of the construction industry, and how can this be tackled?
RS: Market studies show that construction is lagging behind in digitalisation compared to other industrial sectors. If the sector wants to progress in this area, it needs a closer connection to the IT industry. As an example, two weeks ago, The Hague University of Applied Sciences hosted the BiLT Europe International Conference — a bottom-up initiative from both the software and the construction industries, promoting open-source and open-data sharing solutions. A more open approach is crucial to reducing the construction sector’s dependency on a handful of big tech companies. Encouraging more open-source initiatives and platforms could be one way forward.
The second issue is that the construction sector is not attractive enough to younger generations. I often tell my students that construction is perceived as the ‘three Ds’: dirty, dangerous and demanding. It lacks the instant solutions many young people —especially those with digital skills— are looking for. Long hours, physically tough conditions and sometimes dangerous sites don’t align with their expectations. So, how can we increase the attractiveness of construction? The European Commission's New European Bauhaus is a good example. It’s not only about efficiency or sustainability, but also about aesthetics. Its slogan envisions a built environment that is ‘sustainable, beautiful, together’. That's the point: make construction more appealing to mobilise the next generation.
Finally, one of the biggest barriers to digitalisation in construction is the sector’s fragmentation. It has one of the highest shares of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe: 98% of companies are micro or small, employing just 2 to 5 people. They often have a limited role in the supply chain and operate on short-term contracts. This fragmentation makes it difficult for them to invest in digital technologies or release staff for training programmes, due to their limited capacity. Even participating in free training opportunities may prove too costly: if someone attends a course, that’s one fewer person on site, and many simply cannot afford that. I think this aspect is often overlooked when designing training programs; even if they are very useful and of interest to SMEs, many simply cannot spare the capacity.
BUP: How can digital tools support and facilitate the learning process in the construction sector?
RS: In this context, I co-initiated a study commissioned by the European Commission’s DG GROW, focused specifically on the digital needs of SMEs in the construction sector across EU Member States. As part of this initiative, we developed a comprehensive handbook that identifies and explains the most relevant and practical digital tools and technologies for construction SMEs. The handbook not only maps existing tools, but also provides recommendations on how to adopt and integrate them into daily operations and training environments.
BUP: Which aspects within the Netherlands training and skilling ecosystem related to construction are currently underemphasised and deserve greater attention?
RS: In The Netherlands, we have three types of education: vocational, professional (or applied sciences at university level), and scientific education.
At The Hague University of Applied Sciences, we are focused on professional education and practice-oriented research. As a professor, I do not push on theoretical research or on lab experiments in traditionally isolated laboratory settings, instead, we prefer working with living labs — directly with companies, communities, and governments — to develop and implement practical innovations in real-life environments.
When we think about training, upskilling and reskilling ecosystems, the challenge is to create synergy between vocational, professional and scientific education. Too often, there is an excessive focus on scientific education, while we limit our capacity to create short- and medium-term impact. Many climate-related policies are about 2050, but we must ask: are we doing enough to create positive impact in the next two to five years towards 2030?
‘When we think about training, upskilling and reskilling ecosystems, the challenge is to create a synergy between vocational, professional and scientific education.’
The Netherlands provides a good example. The universities of applied sciences have launched a new Professional Doctorate (PD) programme. It is at an equal level to a PhD, but it requires the doctorate candidate to deliver their result every year. So, they must work directly in the ecosystem of industrial partners and every year he or she has to show what kind of practical knowledge has been developed and what the impact is. After four or five years, the outcome is not a single dissertation, but a portfolio of practical, innovative knowledge. This model exemplifies the short learning cycle approach. We are promoting it in the Netherlands, and it can only be possible through the combination of vocational, professional and scientific education. This initiative was launched by our former Minister of Education, Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf, at The Hague University of Applied Science.
To strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and resilience, we must adopt this dual focus on PhD and PD. Alongside long-term PhDs or theoretical research, we need to address the pressing challenges of today through a more agile and impact-oriented education and research ecosystem.
BUP: What initiatives are currently supporting the upskilling and reskilling of construction profiles at national and European level?
RS: Within the framework of European Digital Innovation Hubs — a promising initiative — we’ve tried to organise collective activities at regional scale. These are more effective than targeting individual SMEs, as they foster peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. These companies are usually partners in the supply-chain, so there is real added value in learning together.
In the region of South Holland, which is the most densely populated and economically strongest province in The Netherlands, The Hague University of Applied Sciences works closely with the provincial government, as well as with local and regional SMEs, through the strategic Growth Funds programme for digitalisation, upskilling and reskilling in construction and manufacturing, the main economic sectors in the region. It is crucial to recognise the regional dimension because construction is a highly local industry. While European-level strategies provide a valuable framework, implementation should address local and regional players and reflect the specific characteristics, challenges, and opportunities of each region.