BUILD UP Skills EnerPro

BUILD UP Skills EnerPro project - 12 new training programmes and other best practice results 12 new training programmes, 433 trained building professionals and improved state educational standards as a result of the BUILD UP Skills EnerPro project

 In late 2014, the BUILD UP Skills EnerPro project set as its goals to change the attitudes towards vocational education and training on energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings, to create new curricula that meet and exceed the national nZEB requirements, and to turn nZEB-related trainings into a standard practice, especially among young professionals. Today, the project has the following: 12 new training programmes - for construction professionals, blue-collar workers and teachers6 new programs for vocational schools and vocational training centers29 courses conducted by project partners433 trained professionals6 active educational centers17 cooperation agreements with external partnersActive cooperation with other projects under the Horizon 2020 Programme - Step2Sport, Train-to-NZEB, BUILD UPON, EmBuild, and Fit-to-NZEB

In 2016, the project coordinator Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect, the vocational training centers (VTCs) at the professional high schools of architecture and civil engineering in the cities of Pazardzhik and Ruse, the Bulgarian-German vocational training center in Pleven and the professional high schools in Sofia specialized in RES – “John Atanasov” and “Henry Ford” – conducted a total of 29 training courses that were subject to rigorous monitoring by the Bulgarian Construction Chamber. The results are more than impressive - both trainees and construction companies are extremely pleased with the quality of the courses and the scope of the acquired knowledge, skills and competencies. Based on the newly developed programmes and the experience from the conducted training courses, the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training (NAVET) officially approved a plan to update the state educational standards for acquiring qualification for 13 professions in professional directions 522 "Electrical and Energy" and Professional 582 "Construction". Additionally, a programme for a new subject in the professional high schools of architecture and civil engineering called “Energy efficiency in construction” will be developed by the project partners. The project has developed two training programmes and an online training module for trainers (courtesy of Passive House Institute – Germany, a regular partner in the project) and 10 new curricula short forms of training (40-60 hours) together with all necessary supporting materials. All programs, including basic presentations, can be found here: http://www.busenerpro.com/programmes.html. Below is a list of training institutions with the respective training offers: Direction RES Training institutions: SPGE "John Atanasov" / PGTE "Henry Ford" Sofia Training courses: Photovoltaic InstallationsSolar thermalBiomass boilers and installationsMini-wind equipment and installationsHeat pump systemsAir conditioning, ventilation and heatingHybrid thermal systems Direction “Construction” Training institutions: PGSA - Pazardzhik / PGSAG "Penyo Penev" - Ruse / BGCPO - Pleven / Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect - Sofia Training courses: Building envelopeBuilding systemsConstruction market, products and technologiesCertified passive house tradesperson  What does the future bring? Training courses on all programs developed under Project BUILD UP Skills EnerPro are currently available in all vocational schools and vocational training centers listed above. By the end of March 2017, a new training and demonstration center for energy efficiency in buildings will be opened at the Sofia University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy under the project Train-to-NZEB (www.train-to-nzeb.com), where besides the above-described programs, certified courses, workshops and demonstrations on the following topics will be offered: Certified passive house tradespersonCertified passive house designer (both along the licenced programme by Passive House Institute)Design pronciples passive and nearly zero-energy buildingsMechanical ventilation systems with heat recoveryAirtightness in passive and nearly zero-energy buildingsInsulation, windows and thermal bridges in PNESRES in passive and nearly zero-energy buildingsEconomics of passive and nearly zero-energy buildingsEnergy efficient building retrofit Additional information about training will be presented during the final BUS EnerPro promotional event, which will be held in the framework of the Smart Cities conference and exhibition at Inter Expo Center, Sofia on 7-9 March. The enrolment for the training courses will begin at stand B15 in Exhibition Hall 1, as the first Certified Passive House Tradesperson course will be executed with the participation of experts from Passive House Institute. Complete information about the BUILD UP Skills EnerPro project can be found at www.busenerpro.com (in Bulgarian); information about the courses will be shared on the Twitter and Facebook profiles of the Train-to-NZEB project. Additional information: Center of Excellence for energy efficiency and RES in buildings The Center of Excellence for energy efficiency and RES in buildings established under the BUS EnerPro project sets as its mission to create an environment for sharing of information and best practices for continuous updating of the new curricula and teaching materials. Its main task is to provide quality training and qualification of teachers, trainers, specialists and blue-collar workers for the introduction of intelligent energy efficient solutions and renewable energy in buildings. The Center of Excellence was founded by the Bulgarian participants in Project BUILD UP Skills EnerPro and is open for participation - voluntary and free - to all interested parties. As of 27.02.2017, partners of the Center of Excellence include: Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria / Bulgarian Association for Construction Insulation / Bulgarian Association of Engineers and Architects - Consultants / Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry / Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria / Association Bulgarian Doors, Windows and Facades / PGSAG "Prof. Arch. Stefan Stefanov "- Montana / PGDS "Tsar Ivan Asen II" - Haskovo / PGSAG "Vasil Levski" - Varna / Varna Free University / Higher Construction School "Lyuben Karavelov" / Ecological Association "Za Zemyata"/ Habitat - Bulgaria / Bulgarian Green Building Council / Passive House - Bulgaria / Construction Qualification Ltd. / Vocational training center RUVEX.