What kind of expertise is needed for low energy construction?

Abstract

The construction industry is responsible for 40% of European Union (EU) end-use emissions but addressing this is problematic, as evident from the performance gap between design intention and on-site energy performance. There is a lack of the expertise needed for low energy construction (LEC) in the UK as the complex work processes involved require 'energy literacy' of all construction occupations, high qualification levels, broad occupational profiles, integrated teamworking, and good communication. This research identifies the obstacles to meeting these requirements, the nature of the expertise needed to break down occupational divisions and bridge those interfaces where the main heat losses occur, and the transition pathway implied. Obstacles include a decline in the level, breadth and quality of construction vocational education and training (VET), the lack of a learning infrastructure on sites, and a fragmented employment structure. To overcome these and develop enhanced understanding of LEC requires a transformation of the existing structure of VET provision and construction employment and a new curriculum based on a broader concept of agency and backed by rigorous enforcement of standards. This can be achieved through a radical transition pathway rather than market-based solutions to a low carbon future for the construction sector. this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution-nonCommercial-noderivatives License (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

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“…Evidence on the performance gap indicates problems with respect to work organisation, the employment structure, and lack of expertise (Johnson, 2016). Addressing these calls for enhanced inter-disciplinary understanding, which is critical for the collaboration required on site, bridging divisions between construction occupations and overcoming the fragmentation enforced through sub-contracting (Clarke et al, 2017). VET for construction workers needs in turn to provide a deeper theoretical knowledge base, encompassing principles of energy efficiency and building physics, higher technical and precision skills, cross-occupational understanding of the construction process, and a wide range of transversal abilities (EC, 2014).…”

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