EDUCATION
“Companiesmust empower their staff enabling themto design a digital transformation
roadmap for their sector, stimulatingdemand for sustainable energy skills.”
g
many are working remotely reflect the norm for the construction sector for many years. Workers in the construction sector have always had to possess an on-site capacity, remain operational and productive. This challenge is now reflected across many sectors and there is an opportunity to share experiences, opportunities and collaborate especially in skills, training and access. The pandemic has shone a light on the challenges that the construction sector has faced for many years, how to meet the demands of an increasingly digitalised world and how to embrace the challenges and opportunities of a remote workforce. DIGITAL LEVERAGE • Nearly 90% of global business leaders recognise the critical importance of adopting intelligent automation. • 70% of construction companies believe that those who do not adopt digital tools will go out of business. The challenge is to mobilise the skills exchange within the workforce in the built environment to address digital transition and empower the sector. It’s time to challenge conventional thinking on the future of education in terms of digital transformation and organisational change and to transform content, delivery and recognition to meet industry needs. Some institutions ‘get’
social media, there’s a holistic approach to digital engagement that spans the entire organisation. For institutions and industry without intentional and authentic digital leadership, the learning experience is scattered and lacks direction. Key hurdles for the construction sector to overcome include: 1. How can industry truly get digital and provide an organisational push for ongoing digital transformation ? 2. How you can use social media to enhance the student experience and encourage industry digital champions? Digitalisation can be disorientating. Standard contexts and work processes that we are all used to are changing – technologists call this ‘context collapse’.
This equates to 8.74billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e). In order to tackle these challenges we must equip the workforce with the skills to enhance low carbon construction. Governments, particularly in the EU, are increasing their CO2 reduction and energy efficiency regulations and raising the bar. EU strategies and policies for decarbonisation of the construction sector and approaching NZEBs are being established. Digitalisation empowerment of the workforce goes hand-in-hand with energy skills and provides a great opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects. This approach makes the energy skills of the construction workforce more effective, easier to improve and provides confirmable effects in rational and smart use of materials and energy. Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director, states, “Together with renewables, energy efficiency is one of the mainstays of global efforts to reach energy and climate goals. While our recent analysis shows encouraging momentum for renewables, I’m very concerned that improvements in global energy efficiency are now at their slowest rate in a decade.” SKILLS LEVERAGE Most of the issues related to a low demand for a skilled workforce are due to the
On the other hand, digitalisation is recognised, by those who are
implementing it, as a powerful enabler to enhance the effect of their work and as an enrichment of their professional skills. Social interactions and our workplaces are changing and will change further. This is also the fact for upskilling interventions, due to digitalisation, learning will become easier to access, digest and utilise. ENVIRONMENTAL LEVERAGE Buildings account for 17.7% of the global Green House Gas emissions globally
• Residential 10.9% • Commercial 6.6%
58 | NI BUILDER
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