BIM and Energy Efficiency training requirement for the construction industry

Construction industry has a wide impact to our built environment. It plays a vital role for governments and supports in both developed and developing economies. The industry supports economic growth of a nation through various trades and activities as well as provides new jobs. It is one of the largest industrial sectors that has a projected output of 13.5% by 2025. Climate change, resource depletion and rapid urbanization are the most severe amongst the challenges we face today. The construction industry alone is responsible for 20% of the global energy consumption and approximately one-third of energy-related CO2 emissions. The industry entails the high energy saving potentials and provides various opportunities to implement sustainable solutions to decrease the environmental impacts and thus lower greenhouse gas emissions. In the construction projects today, we can implement different energy efficiency strategies and products virtually during the planning phases of the construction projects using model based environment and tools commonly known today as virtual design and construction (VDC) as well as building information modeling (BIM). We can accurately simulate and calculate the impacts and thus support the increasing demand of complex high-performance buildings in order to effectively address energy and carbon reduction targets. However, one of the key challenges, the industry faces is the availability of skilled workforce and experts that have enough BIM and energy efficiency skills. The paper addresses such needs and presents the current status of a H2020 project with a focus on defining roles and responsibilities construction project stakeholders have for the energy efficiency measures along the different project phases. It also provides an outlook for the development of the learning outcomes based on knowledge, skills and competence (KSC) framework as well as systematically presents the base for harmonization of the learning outcomes at the EU level.