BACKGROUND The increasing digitalization of the working environment and the emergence of new technologies, systems and procedures change operational processes and thus also the competence requirements for professionals. Digital processes increasingly penetrate construction planning and execution processes. With its new directive on public procurement, the EU for the first time recommends the use of computer-based methods such as BIM, thus setting a concrete framework to push digitalisation in the construction sector. The education systems in Europe are forced to quickly find solutions for anchoring these new digital technologies in vocational education and training, to teach digital competences being strongly linked to the professional practice. In the construction sector, VET does not yet cover digital building topics. In the course of BIM implementation, however, forecasts show a significant increase in demand for skilled workforce with such competences. OBJECTIVE The project "Fit for BIM" aims to integrate digital building into vocational education and thereby to provide highly skilled workforce to the European construction industry, with a deeper understanding of ICT and broad digital knowledge, skills and competences related to the profession that go far beyond the competences delivered through the VET of the past. This covers both general ICT competences and specific competences such as 3D-CAD and BIM. PARTNERS Project partners of BGZ are VET-schools and higher education institutions from Germany, Poland, Denmark and Belgium - all with many years of experience in VET and higher education an vast professional construction expertise. Economic associations, chambers and construction companies support the project as associates. ACTIVITIES The partners jointly develop a matrix of competences, a set of learning units regarding digital building for the use in VET and higher education, a process proposal for permeability and recognition of competences, a teacher training course, a guideline for VET-schools and finally recommendations for VET-actors, business and politics. The learning units and the teacher training undergo test runs. Networking with actors from construction industry, vocational and higher education, politics and administration, as well as initiatives to anchor the model and dissemination activities (geographic & sectoral transfer) complete the project work. METHODOLOGY For each core topic, a transnational work group is installed, with different partners leading the groups. The learning contents for VET and higher education are closely coordinated and fine-tuned to be used for collaborative learning. A participatory process with learners and teachers is applied for the development and pilot application of the new learning units. A continuous dialogue involves business stakeholders as well as policy decision makers - their feedback ensures that the new products are both relevant and fit for use. PARTICIPANTS/TARGET GROUPS The group of participants covers the trainees/students of the partners being the users of the new learning units, the teachers & trainers in the VET-schools, who shall later teach digital building topics and finally the construction companies, associations and public authorities as multipliers and users of the recommendations (app. 3650 persons). Further target groups are trainees, students and teachers from other educational institutions as well as stakeholders from business, policy and administration, being reached via multipliers and envisaged to use the products of "Fit for BIM". RESULTS & IMPACT Core result of "Fit for BIM" is the competence-based approach for integrating digital building in VET, with improved competences among VET-teachers to deal with digital building and with improved competences of trainees & students. A closer cooperation between VET schools and higher education institutions takes place and permeability is increased. The new learning offers covering digital technologies in construction like 3D-CAD & BIM and the competence increase among teachers in VET-schools lead to higher quality and more attractiveness of VET education in the construction sector. Trainees and students become experts with important competences in digital building, thus enhancing their employability. At the same time, they strengthen the competitiveness and future viability of companies in view of advancing globalization and technological change. Finally, "Fit for BIM" provides impulses for further developments in the systems of VET. LONG-TERM BENEFIT The long-term benefit is both an economic and a social one: attractive training offers, international cooperation in vocational education and training, safe employment and career opportunities for well-trained young professionals, strengthened competitiveness of the construction industry as well as more efficiency and quality in the construction sector.
The ever-increasing digitisation of the world of work and the introduction of new technologies, systems and procedures are changing work processes such as construction planning and execution and thus also the competence requirements for skilled workers. For the first time, the new EU directive on public procurement recommends the use of computer-aided methods such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and thus sets a concrete framework for action. The education systems in Europe must quickly find solutions to anchor these new digital technologies in vocational education and training (VET) and to impart job-related digital skills in a practice-oriented way. Until now, processes in digital construction, especially BIM, have not, or only partly been included in the curricula. However, companies are increasingly asking for experts with skills in 3D drawing and new generation programs (Allplan/Revit). Thus, Apprentices & students must continue their training as soon as they enter working life in order to qualify for their future jobs. The "Fit for BIM" project aimed to bring digital construction into vocational training and thus to provide the European construction industry with skilled workers with a deeper understanding of ICT and broadly based job-related digital knowledge, skills and competences that go far beyond the competences previously taught in training. "Fit for BIM" was aimed at the trainees & Bachelor students, as users of the new learning units, as well as teachers & trainers of the vocational training centres that teach digital building in class, and construction companies, associations, authorities as multipliers and users of the recommendations (6000 people). The project partners included vocational training centres and universities from Germany, Poland, Denmark and Belgium. Trade associations, chambers and construction companies support the project as associated partners. All results have been developed in close cooperation. For this purpose, the partners formed transnational working groups under changing leadership for the thematic priorities. The development and pilot application of the new learning units took place in a participatory process with learners and teachers. Actors from business and politics were involved in an ongoing dialogue – their feedback ensured the relevance and suitability of the new products. Accompanying activities were networking and dissemination measures as well as pilot actions to anchor the model. The central result of "Fit for BIM" is the competence-based approach to integrating digital construction into vocational training, with improved competences of teachers & trainers, as well as trainees & students. The results that can be transferred throughout the EU are a competence matrix and learning units on digital construction for VET & Bachelor, a procedural proposal for the permeability and crediting of competences, a further training course for teachers, a guide for VET centres and recommendations for actors in VET, industry and politics. The learning units developed in "Fit for BIM" prepare for work in middle-level construction management. The new learning units bring new content such as 3D CAD/digital twin and learning situations related to BIM processes along the vocational requirements described in the competence matrix into the VET. The "Fit for BIM" process proposal for permeability shows, exemplary for the construction sector, possible solutions and is intended to motivate vocational schools and universities to actively shape the transition from VET to HE and HE-VET. The proposals include possibilities for documenting acquired competences as learning outcomes and for crediting them in further learning. An innovative aspect is the inclusion of suggestions for the transition from university (dropouts) to vocational training. With the new further training course, BIM has also become a topic in teacher training for the first time. Today's vocational school teachers and trainers not only have a lot of catching up to do in terms of technology, but also in the teaching of such skills in the VET. The combination of technical and didactic aspects in the course is innovative here. "Fit for BIM" makes the current and future work processes in and around digitisation/BIM visible, as well as the resulting need for modernisation in VET. This ensures sustainable effects: strengthened European co-operation in VET, training opportunities, good employment, career prospects for skilled workers with up-to-date training, increased competitiveness in the construction sector and more effectiveness and quality in the construction industry. The President of the HWK (chamber of small businesses and skilled crafts) Berlin, Ms. Zarth, emphasized that it was right "to start with the next generation [...] to promote the use of the BIM model in companies by teaching the BIM model in our upper school centres, vocational schools and at universities, i.e. by providing qualifications".