Development of Training Schemes with Application of Virtual Reality towards Implementation of Decarbonized New and Existing Buildings

ongoing

Reaching the national and EU 2030 energy and climate objectives requires a major transformation of the skills and knowledge along the whole value chain of the construction industry, which needs to be ready to deliver quality deep energy renovations and zero-emission buildings. As evidenced by the recent BUILD UP Skills Status Quo analyses, insufficient capacity of the construction industry is a significant bottleneck on the way to decarbonize the building stock in time. To tackle this challenge, the DiVirtue project aims at creating new construction sector capacities in 5 countries via digitalization of existing and new training schemes for students and construction professionals. This will be achieved through the development of innovative construction skills training materials with application of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies. The training schemes will be created in English and the 5 national languages for at least 8 selected topics based on the training needs related to the specific targeted professions, targeting gaps and deficiencies identified in the national BUILD UP Skills qualification roadmaps. To simulate future uptake and capacities in VR upskilling, the project will provide training and consultations for acting teachers and educational establishments, as well as pilot training of at least 600 building professionals in 40 individual courses. The newly developed VR training environment and materials will be freely accessible for any interested educational or training institution, targeting full integration in the national educational frameworks and broad endorsement at institutional level. The project is based on the extensive experience of project partners in the BUILD UP Skills initiative, as it will fully utilise the active networks in the national qualification platforms, already attracting the support of nearly 60 external organisations - among them ministries, universities, energy agencies and multiple product manufacturers.