Outcomes

The overall aim of BUSLeague was to address and overcome the challenges of the stimulation of demand for energy skilled workforce, along with hands-on capacity building to increase the number of skilled workforce across the building design, operation and maintenance value chain. BUSLeague focused on a blend of four elements: mutual recognition of energy skills, awareness raising, capacity building and legislative changes.

Implementation was done at country level in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain. BUSLeague was strengthened by experienced ethnography researchers and educational technology researchers to prove impact and optimize the blends for stimulating demand and optimizing learning transfer of applied learning means and materials.

The main results of the BUSLeague project are available on the website (busleague.eu/outcomes/) and in the Zenodo community (zenodo.org/communities/busleague). The deliverables can be grouped into the following:

• MUTUAL RECOGNITION: Recognition of skills proving a minimum level of competences has a double effect, gaining the market’s trust and motivating the workforce involved. Related Deliverables: D2.1, D2.4, D2.5, D2.6.
• AWARENESS RAISING: Awareness addressed to the general public to increase the demand for EE-skilled professionals by working together with DIY/Hardware stores. Related Deliverables: D3.6, D5.5.
• CAPACITY BUILDING & UPSKILLING: Increase in the number of skilled workforce by properly addressing the challenges of lack of awareness, lack of time/motivation, need for practical trainings, integration of new technologies and addressing new societal and technological trends. Related Deliverables: D4.1, D4.2, D4.3, D4.5, D4.6.
• LEGISLATIVE & FINANCING CHANGES: Support to public authorities for the development of new legislative frameworks, e.g. requirements for skilled workers in public procurement; and providing financial incentives for renovations completed using skilled professionals. Related Deliverables: D3.1, D3.2, D3.3, D3.4, D3.5.
• ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH: To generate fresh insights into the social, cultural and material ways that the industry, knowledge and conditions of work in it are experienced and played out. Related Deliverables: D2.3, D5.3.
• EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH: Based on the research of the educational technologist the effectiveness of the upskilling measures will be optimized. Related Deliverables: D5.4.

The results achieved during the project’s lifetime can be described as follows:

• Ethnographic research on energy efficiency skills in construction was carried out in 6 countries, with valuable insights to guide the project’s implementation.
• A qualification framework for the recognition of energy skills in the building value chain was developed, tested and validated; this qualification framework (comprising 98 tasks and 92 Units of Learning Outcomes) is publicly available and already in use within other projects and for the development of trainings. It focusses on the cross-crafts dimension of renovation or NZEB works, rather than on specific technologies.
• The use of the qualification framework is supported by a broad compilation of relevant training contents and resources (curricula, presentations, handbooks, demos, e-tools, methods etc.) from previous projects, that were identified, assessed and linked with means for recognition. This compilation was used to develop practical training to upskill staff from SMEs for the skills described in the qualification framework. More than 5 600 individuals were upskilled during the project lifetime, either online or onsite. This includes 1200 BAUHAUS employees, and 300 BAUHAUS installers. 13 MoUs with training centers were signed to make the project’s outputs available after the end of the action.
• The project developed several best practice guides, including a guide on how to use public procurement to incentivise energy efficiency upskilling in the construction industry. Specifically, the use of training clauses in procurement was piloted with 6 organisations in Bulgaria, France, Ireland and Spain. At the end of the action 11 commitments from entities (public & private) to introduce a training clause as part of their procurement process were collected. Altogether 77 organisations were made aware of the importance of linking skills and procurement.
• Awareness campaigns and upskilling activities were carried out at do-it-yourself (DIY) stores, in order increase demand for qualitative renovation works and for qualified professionals. 66 agreements with DIY stores, wholesale companies and product suppliers/retailers (including 12 signed MoUs) to use the BUSleague training for their staff and clients were collected and strong collaboration was established with many more.
• 6 National Implementation Plans were developed and implemented, to adapt the project results to the national context. In all countries, the consortium reported that activities outlined in the National Implementation Plans are going on after the project duration, including trainings, promotion of changes in procurement practices, awareness raising, and collaborations with different groups of stakeholders.
• 12 awareness campaigns and 43 events were carried out.

What was also special about this project was the ability to create a genuine learning communities among the project partners, supported by co-designed tools and methods, which notably enabled effective impact monitoring and evaluation of the project’s interventions.