The BUS-GoCircular consortium is committed to spreading awareness of the importance of a green workforce and creating a qualification framework for circular skills in the construction industry. The 30-month project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The consortium’s partners for the implementation of the project results in the Czech Republic are CTU Faculty of Construction and INCIEN.
The BUS-GoCircular project has been running since September 2021. Its key milestone took place on 18-19 January, when the Train the Trainers (TtT) training kicked off. During two intensive and productive days, participants learned about the circular economy and the principles of putting it into practice within the construction industry. The work and findings of the BUS-GoCircular project to date were also presented. Through lectures and interactive discussions, participants learned about skills mapping related to the circular economy and its implementation in the field of multifunctional green roofs, facades and interior elements; the qualification framework for circular skills; the Unit of Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for each profession; training materials and innovative teaching methods.
The Train the Trainers workshop was organized by Karel Kabele, Pavla Dvořáková and Zuzana Veverková from CTU Faculty of Civil Engineering, with the participation of lecturers from the Netherlands (ISSO, Circle Economy), Spain (IVE – Valencia Institute of Building), Ireland (TUS – Technological University of the Shannon), Czech Republic (INCIEN) and Croatia (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering). The workshop was attended by a total of 15 construction professionals from the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria. Karolína Barič and Kateřina Eklová from Rethink Architecture, Yvette Vašourková from CCEA MOBA and Jakub Kvasnica from SEVEn participated from the Czech Republic.
Cooperation took place within various working groups, which were initially formed by random selection and then according to the professional profile of the participants and their target training groups. The working groups consisted of teachers/teaching assistants, architects/architects, engineers and consultants. Their task was to develop a proposal and a brief course outline or programme within two hours. Part of the assignment was to answer the questions „When? For whom? And how?“
The output was a description of the course, which included its educational form, level, possibilities of integration within other training courses, scope of attendance and self-study, target group and expected learning modules. The individual course proposals were presented to the whole group and a question and answer round followed. The level of the presented proposals was very high and all participants received a certificate of completion. There is nothing left to do but to refine and implement these programmes in the near future.
The advantage of the workshop with personal participation was the opportunity to experience something together. Lunches, coffee breaks, excursions to the National Technical Library and an evening spent together in the city centre contributed significantly to the creation of bonds between the participants, regardless of their nationality or profession. It is now easier to believe that we can shape the future together. We are encouraged by the optimism and enthusiasm that the trainers and participants shared on both days.
Further Train the Trainers (TtT) courses will be organised in 2023 and will be announced via the „BUS-GoCircular Newsletter“ or our Linkedin.