Context/Background In the wider construction industry, e-Commerce is today used mostly by the big players and its true potential is maybe ignored to some large extent by smaller companies of the sector. Our aim is to understand the reasons and improve the situation by giving to SMEs from the wider construction area the tools to reap the benefits of e-Commerce. PEACOC will develop a training program addressing the ECVET profile of the e-Business Manager in the construction sector. Objectives - Design, develop, test, implement and disseminate an innovative training framework to support the up-skill of construction SMEs and the training of individuals wanting to find employment in the construction sector in an EU country. - Develop the EU construction sector through development of the e-Business Manager Profile, a professional capable of devising e-Commerce/e-Business strategies for adopting ICT to uncover the potential from a range of services available to a virtual, "border-less" construction community with projects and even offices in different locations. Number and profiles of participants The partnership comprises 6 organisations from 6 countries: A knowledge dissemination and educational technology company, 2 VET providers offering business support and coaching services to SMEs with focus in the wider construction sector, a digital agency developing bespoke web applications, 2 social bodies representing SMEs from the wider construction sector. Several associate partners from the wider construction sector. Approach Methodology and Project Activities - Comparative analysis from a critical viewpoint of current state of play in e-Business practices from the construction sector in partner countries (analysed at proposal level initially) and identification of winning e-Business practices. - Validation of construction SME needs in relation to knowledge and skills for implementing the winning practices and identification and description of learning outcomes for the e-Business Manager profile. - Elaboration of training methodology and a set of e-Business strategies for construction SMEs. - List of actions to be implemented by the SMEs for materialising each strategy. - Design and development of the e-Business Manager Training course (eBMT) to support the implementation of the actions. - Implementation of ECVET tools. - Design and development of the e-Business Genie to personalise the e-Business strategies at individual SME level and deliver the actions for materialising each strategy. - Deployment, set-up and configuration of the Learning Motivation Environment. - Re-purposing, transcribing to interactive multimedia resources and integrating the content to the environment for skills retention purposes. - Training of a number of appointed instructors/trainers to the methodology, course and delivery tools. - Organisation of pilot exercises for validation - Processing of results. Results PEACOC will design, develop, test, implement and disseminate an innovative training framework (modular training course along with online and conventional training materials facilitated by two innovative tools, the e-Business Genie and the Learning Motivation Environment) that will support the in-service training and up-skill of the target groups. Results comprise: - A set of competences and learning outcomes for the ECVET profiles of the e-Business Manager for construction sector. - A modular training model - An e-Business Strategy Genie facilitating personalised hands-on training on the adoption of proven e-Business strategies - A novel learning environment providing access to quality VET training on the uptake of e-Business by the wider construction sector and skills retention function. - PEACOC Academy as a first step for sustaining the eBMT Training Program Impact The expected impact for target groups includes: - Construction SMEs (contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, developers, designers, consultants) will increase online sales revenues, improve performance and reduce operating costs becoming thus more competitive. - VET trainers, e-Business coaches, salesman and business development staff in construction sector will improve their knowledge and skills, acquire new skills and continue their personal or professional development. - Construction chambers, technical chambers, construction clusters and associations of construction entrepreneurs will be in position to better support their members and provide meaningful training services directly addressing issues important for the development of the hard hit from the economic downturn sector. Long term benefits Development of the EU construction sector by facilitating, enabling and promoting a modern, seamless ICT environment for the construction sector making a major contribution to the full implementation of the Digital Single Market.
In the general sense, as mentioned above, the main objectives of this project were to provide support to construction SMEs in digitising their businesses in certain keyways. In the longer run, the project hoped to support a concurrent increase in the success of construction SMEs across Europe through their exploitation of digital tools and strategies in their businesses. The PEACOC project chose to try and do this by producing a module-based course that could be personalised depending on the user’s needs, knowledge, and resources. The modules were action-based wherever possible, allowing the users to implement their new knowledge as quickly and effectively as possible to work toward the aforementioned success. In terms of broader content, these modules were selected to represent areas of business that a construction SME might be best improved by a digital solution. Given this, in the shorter term, it could also be said that the project objectives were also to design and create a personalised learning tool with content that could support construction SMEs to successfully digitise their businesses in key ways.
The main aim of this project was to support the digitisation of the construction sector, and this is also the central need addressed by the project and its consortium. The fact is that digitisation is both an inevitability and an opportunity, and one that the construction sector has by many accounts insufficiently seized. The fact is that the digital economy offers considerable advantages in all sectors, allowing businesses to operate more efficiently, more securely, and more broadly. Digitisation can dramatically simplify and secure supply chains; it can render project management, administration, and file sharing much more effective and efficient; and it can provide enormous potential to advertise and gain new consumers. This is particularly true given the situation around COVID – remote working (facilitated through digital tools) where possible is becoming increasingly preferable, and it is increasingly commonplace to conduct meetings or events online instead of in person. Both data and anecdotal evidence suggests that the construction sector could use some support in taking advantage of these facts, and that is the support that the PEACOC project aimed to offer.