EDUCATION
“Digitalisation empowerment of theworkforce goes hand-in-hand with energy skills andprovides a great opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects.”
lack of a widely recognised and accepted international scheme of certified qualifications for sustainable construction and sustainable energy skills. Other barriers include a lack of awareness and uptake by the industry of new methods and digitalisation and the lack of mandate or incentive by public authorities for the use of such skills. Educating the workforce in digital skills will stimulate demand by developing and implementing a digital transformation skills roadmap for the Construction Sector. Both public and private owners need to be involved in the definition of the roadmap as they are the pullers of the innovation. This education process will stimulate demand by enabling participants to share and amplify content online. This approach will allow participants to collaborate digitally and to become impulsive about their sustainable energy skills. The formerly called “brick and mortar” industry has entered the digital age. The digital push is accelerating and, even if construction industry players are still confused and hesitant about the change and new technologies, the time has come for them to develop their digital skills in order to achieve and make their sustainable energy skills more effective. Our society is in transition, leaving behind the old energy in-effective, material wasting and not always healthy built environment; moving towards an energy efficient, healthy and material sustainable built environment. At the
same time, digital technology is transforming our lives at an accelerating pace.
The challenges 1. Transition to a ‘digital workforce’ 2. Optimise the opportunities presenting themselves 3. Deploy a digital workforce at scale 4. Overcome ‘digital dissonance’ Digitalisation and the construction industry Read the full series from Belfast Met in forthcoming NI Builder Magazine editions: • BIM basics • Digital transformations • The need for upskilling within the industry • The benefits of a digitally informed and empowered workforce • Stimulating the demand for skills
CONCLUSION Digital transformation isn’t new, but the construction sector as a whole has been hesitant to accept the digitalisation process. In order to stimulate demand for sustainable energy skills in the sector we must work across the entire construction supply chain getting it to embrace digital transformation together with sustainable energy skills. Companies must empower their staff enabling them to design a digital transformation roadmap for their sector, stimulating demand for sustainable energy skills. The roadmap will result in a Digital Workforce and staff and will build a culture within the construction sector that is digital ready.
BELFAST METROPOLITAN COLLEGE
Belfast Metropolitan College is a major provider of skills and training support for the built environment. This is achieved in collaboration with a wide network of stakeholders and partners including the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the public sector and industry. For more information regarding courses, call: +44 (0)28 90 265 265, email: studentportal@belfastmet.ac.uk or visit: www.belfastmet.ac.uk
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