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One skill at a time: how the BuildSkills Academy is constructing a sustainable future

Microlearning

UN SDG:Learn logo Blog

Authors

  • Ms. Isabela Carrozza Joia Ms. Isabela Carrozza Joia Program Associate, SDG Academy, UNSDSN
Build Skills

Sustainable skills are the future. To achieve the SDGs, people must be upskilled and reskilled for sustainable practices. This article highlights the BuildSkills Academy, a key initiative that is working towards preparing the European workforce towards a greener and more sustainable future.

Topics

SDG
SDG4: Quality education
SDG8: Decent work and economic growth
SDG9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
SDG12: Responsible consumption and production
Subject
Skills for the future of work
Keywords
skills
training
green transition
digital transition
circular economy

One skill at a time: How the BuildSkills Academy is constructing a sustainable future

A sustainable future can only be achieved if economic advancement is pursued in harmony with people and nature. This balance requires strong multilateral cooperation to drive the “twin transition” toward a greener and more digital economy and society.

In Europe, EU Member States are working together to build a sustainable, modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. The European Green Deal (EGD) is central to this effort, aiming to make the EU climate neutral, meaning no net emissions of greenhouse gas emissions, by 2050. This includes shifting to a circular economy model, where materials and products are reused, recycled, and repurposed to extend their lifecycle. Reaching these ambitious goals calls for full mobilization across all sectors, especially energy and resource intensive industries.

One key industry identified is the construction sector. As one of the EU’s largest employers, it accounts for 7.5% of total employment and over a quarter (28.1%) of industrial employment in the EU. In 2023, the sector employed 8 million workers. But construction is also one of Europe’s most resource-intensive sectors. With 85% of buildings constructed before 2000, many have poor energy performance. Buildings account for around 40% of the EU’s energy consumption, 25% of total waste generation, and between 5-12% of its national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

But adapting this sector to circular practices faces a major obstacle: a significant skills gap. Today, 70% of companies struggle to find qualified workers for green and digital jobs.

According to the European Construction Sector Observatory (ECSO 2020), there are many reasons for this gap: an ageing workforce, fewer young skilled workers, talent migration, and a disconnect between Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs and market needs. Together, these factors threaten to slow down Europe’s twin transition.

To bridge the skill gap and support a green and digital transformation of the construction sector, the BuildSkills Academy (BSA) initiative offers an innovative approach to build the skills Europe needs for a greener and more resilient future.

Building the skills for Europe’s green and digital future

Supported by the EU via Erasmus+ Program, the BuildSkills Academy (BSA) project brings together 17 partners across 10 countries. They have a shared goal: to support Vocational Education and Training (VET) centers across Europe to modernize their course offerings to the construction sector with the knowledge and skills needed for the green and digital transitions.

This involves two key actions. First, developing a methodology, the BuildEnrichedSkills, to guide VET centers in updating their curricula according to the real needs of the labor market. The tool is already functioning and can be tested through its website.

Second, designing a certification framework aimed at certifying transitional experts who can support companies in shifting from a non-sustainable to a sustainable business model. This would create an international standard for skills development in the built environment.

The project’s outcomes will be tested in 12 pilot projects across six countries, involving over 300 trainees and engaging around 100 VET providers. BSA will also hold three masterclasses to help trainees understand why the twin transition in construction is important and the trends driving this sector in the future.

How the BuildSkills Academy is helping Europe's sustainable future

The BuildSkills Academy is already showing potential to generate impact across all the SDGs, especially SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

To understand how this impact is unfolding in practice, we spoke with Maria Nakova, Project Leader of the BuildSkills Academy and Head of the European digital innovation hub in the construction sector, and Manager of Strategic Development, at Cleantech Bulgaria. With over 20 years of experience in innovation, sustainability and skills development, Maria has dedicated her career to empowering professionals and businesses to meet the evolving demands of the green and digital economy.

Q: The BuildSkills Academy started with a bold ambition to support Europe’s green and digital transition. Can you share how the idea for BSA was initiated, and what it took to unite such a diverse network of partners across 10 countries?

Maria: It was a long journey. The project idea began with Bulgaria’s vision to support Western Balkans in their EU integration. In Bulgaria, the circular economy was not mainstream. So, Cleantech Bulgaria created an inter-ministerial working group on circularity, which led it to become a key priority in Bulgaria's smart specialization strategy. That opened the doors for regional investments in circular solutions and unlocked the potential for innovations.

For the BuildSkills Academy to come to life, we aimed to bring in partners from different domains and levels of achievement. We have a full ecosystem in Italy, in Lithuania, in Greece, and Cyprus. In Bulgaria, Cleantech is leading a strong local ecosystem, including the biggest employer’s organization in the country, The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria and Construction Qualification, the VET center of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber.

We’re also excited about our partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who bring new perspectives and can lead regional sustainability transitions. We have also gathered the Serbian partners as the following countries, and our German partners, because we believe that we need to have the core of industrial Europe. And of course, SDSN plays a critical role as a global network for sustainable development and with a vision beyond Europe.

We, as a consortium, are working intensively together, bringing diverse, yet complementary expertise. We collaborate and bring new ideas. I feel truly honored to lead this initiative.

Q: The BuildSkills Academy contributes to several SDGs, particularly SDGs 4, 8, 9 and 12. In your view, how does the project turn these global goals into practical and measurable impact?

Maria: It’s important to highlight that the BuildSkills Academy was presented during Bulgaria’s Second Volunteer National Review (VNR) of SDG implementation. Skills are cross-cutting to all SDGs, meaning that whatever we want to achieve, we need skilled workers.

[In the Bulgarian VNR process] We’ve demonstrated what BuildSkills has achieved, what we are aiming for by creating such a certification for one of the most important sectors in the European economy. In Bulgaria alone, the construction sector contributes 12% of GDP and employs over 250,000 people. Across Europe, it contributes around 10% of GDP and employs over 10 million people. It’s a very influential sector.

At the same time, construction has major environmental impacts, especially on waste management. So, by identifying missing transitional skills, BSA is directly contributing to all the SDGs because we have neither decent work nor responsive industry if the people are not aware of how to make it greener or more sustainable.

Right now, several countries in Europe are currently investing in creating legislation for hiring people in the construction sector from outside Europe. The objective is to train and reskill them, so they can have a well-paid job and a better life, which directly supports SDG 1 (No Poverty).

We are also working on how to attract more women (SDG 5) and young workers to the construction industry. Traditionally, the sector has been male dominated, but with digitalization and introduction of new technologies, it’s becoming more attractive.

Q: Looking ahead, how do you see BuildSkills Academy helping to create a more sustainable and resilient construction sector in Europe? What are you most excited about when you think of the future impact of the project?

Maria: The European Commission’s agenda includes reskilling or upskilling at least 60% of adult workers every year. That’s a huge task, and it’s exactly why we need a real academy like BuildSkills.

My personal vision is to create the BuildSkills Academy as an international certifying authority, where we can certify transitional experts that could support companies to move from a non-sustainable to a sustainable way of working.

Today’s key term is micro-credentials. We should invest in fast-track programs that can deliver targeted knowledge, as we need talents who have specific skills together with cross-sectoral expertise.

It is also important to intensively work to support the sector through various stakeholders and international initiatives. In Bulgaria we work closely with the Bulgarian construction chamber, and the Bulgarian Chamber of Architects. I’m also involved with international initiatives with UNESCO and SDSN, to which I am grateful for the opportunity to present during international summits*. There is also a growing interest in replicating BSA’s outcomes beyond Europe, because I believe that what we're testing now in Europe could be easily adapted to other regions, especially in Africa.

Conclusion: the future is now

Progress towards the SDGs can only be achieved through collective effort.

The BuildSkills Academy is a great example of SDG17 (Partnerships for the Goals) in action. Through impactful and bold ambitions, BSA is proving that meaningful partnerships can lead to real transformation. The project directly impacts all the SDGs in cross-cutting ways, which shows that if one goal is neglected, all others are also left behind.

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*In the past year, the BSA has been featured in many international events as part of the multilateral dialogue regarding the future and achievement of the SDGs:

About the author

Ms. Isabela is a Program Associate at the SDG Academy. She mainly supports the Academy for Transitional Skills in the built environment (BuildSkills Academy) project, an EU training program aimed at upskilling workers in the construction sector in Europe.

Before joining SDSN, Isabela worked on sustainable development communication strategies at the OECD Development Communication Network, specializing in researching public perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable development. She holds a MSc in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of Geneva (IHEID) and dual undergraduate degrees in International Relations and Economics from FACAMP.

Originally from Brazil, she has a particular interest in topics related to behavioral change for achieving the SDGs.

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