Future skills needs of the European Construction Sector

The construction sector is strategically important for Europe in providing building and infrastructure on which all sectors of the economy depend. The construction sector is one of the European Union’s key industries in terms of output and employment. However, the sector suffers from low productivity, hazardous working environments, and a negative image among potential employees. Therefore Danish Technological Institute was commissioned to undertake a study about the future qualification demands in the sector in light of the sector’s future sustainable competitiveness and with a view to attracting and retaining employees in the future. The study includes several elements.

Scenarios depicting different plausible development trends in the construction sector;
A review of the structure and responsiveness of four different existing education, training and lifelong learning systems in Europe building on country cases studies in Bulgaria, Italy, the UK and Germany;
Mapping and analysis of innovative approaches and measures which have addressed the skills demands in the sector – in particular measures to upgrade low skilled and skilled employees, and secondly measures which address medium term skills demands linked to increased use of ICT in the sector, sustainable building practices and innovations in materials.

On this basis and with contributions from a range of sector experts we have created a forward looking strategy for how the sector can safeguard its future competitiveness and image through forward looking and comprehensive human resources practices and taking into account sector diversity and differences in framework conditions in Europe.

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