A total of 67 worker training sessions were held including lectures and practical work, which enabled certification of 330 workets for energy efficient construction. This includes: 

- 80 masons/bricklayers,

- 95 plasterers,

- 56 house painters,

- 22 drywall fitters,

- 34 roofers, 

- 43 carpenters. 

Trainings of trainers were held to educate 293 VET professors and practitioners for teaching according to CROSKILLS curriculum, concretely:

- 61 trainers for plasterers,

- 61 for masons/bricklayers,

- 49 for house painters,

- 34 for drywall fitters,

- 37 for roofers,

- 51 for carpenters. 

Zagreb, August 31, 2017 – The Civil Engineering Faculty in Zagreb was the venue for the closing conference of the three-year project CROSKILLS, which for the first time systematically addressed the lifelong education and training of building workers in Croatia. The conference gathered over 80 representatives of sectoral ministries, sectoral associations in construction and energy, educational institutions, construction industry and many other organisations and individuals which actively took part in the project, supporting it by expert advice in the frame of the National Qualification Platform and helped implement promotional and educational activities, this contributing successful realisation of project goals. 

330 construction workers have been trained and certified by CROSKILLS curriculum, getting them ready for the changing market and new challenges in the field of energy efficiency in building, and 11 vocational schools and polytechnics have been selected as first training centers which also implemented pilot trainings of workers in 6 key professions – plasterers, roofers, drywall fitters, house painters, carpenters and bricklayers. Around 290 trainers have been equipped for implementing lectures and practical teaching, and the training centers received the teaching material and modern demonstration models of energy efficient construction, which will facilitate the learning process and enhance practical work sessions. Special attention has been paid to new materials, products and technologies in the (re)construction of buildings, with focus on nZEB which currently are not part of formal education curricula in vocational schools. 

The event participants also had the opportunity to hear about a new research project of the Civil Engineering Faculty, FIT-to-nZEB which is a partnership  of 10 European counties. It presents a follow-up to CROSKILLS, focused on the development of innovative training programs for qualified workers and construction experts for energy renovation up to the nZEB level, in order to enhance the speed and quality of energy renovation in general.

On 20th July 2017 a brand new Ordinance on Training and Certification Scheme for Building Workers Who Incorporate Building Parts that Have an Impact on Energy Efficiency in the Construction Sector came into force (NN 67/17), which was drafted in the frame of this project and in close cooperation with the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning of the Republic of Croatia. The Ordinance regulates accreditation of training centers for certification of construction workers, contents and implementation methods of the training program, workers certification procedure, as well as setting up of public registers of certified workers and trainers and accredited training centers. The public registers will be for the benefit of the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning maintained within the system of registers of the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers. The Ordinance also enables recognition of EE construction certificates issued in other countries members of the European Economic Area. 

Public access to lists of certified workers with knowledge and skills of energy efficient construction that have been educated by the CROSKILLS project will be soon available online at the website of the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, which will enable investors to ensure quality application of new technologies and materials and greater value for money by selecting those educated workers from the system. 

The Crafts School in Požega today saw the completion of the practical work session for the first group of trainees - masons/bricklayers. This produced the first CROSKILLS-certified workers, ready to face market challenges in the field of energy efficiency in building. 

Practical training for masons/bricklayers was held as part of the agenda for commemoration of the School Day, and was also observed by students from Požega elementary schools interested to enroll in construction and other crafts-related education programs, while the morning part included a brief informative and promotional event focused on affirmation of construction skills in energy efficient building as well as construction professions in general. Next to CROSKILLS project, the visitors also heard about a project „Energy efficiency in construction professions“ jointly implemented by three vocational schools from Požega and Čakovec, while representatives of the Croatian Employment Service and Society of construction engineers and technicians and Crafts Chamber from Požega provided an overview of the labour market and current offer and demand for construction workforce. 

Practical tasks for CROSKILLS trainees included constructing a brick wall on ready-made hidroinsulated surface by using modern materials and masonry techniques, with special focus on details. The trainees also learned about choosing necessary building materials, correct installation of insulating materials and exterior joinery by achieving air-tightness, sealing of penetrations through the building elements, installing special thermal insulation elements, as well as avoiding common mistakes during construction work on individual building parts. 

The Crafts School in Požega, on Friday and Saturday 31.3-1.4.2017. will be the venue of first free--of-charge energy efficiency trainings for building workers, concretely for the professions of plasterers, masons/bricklayers and house painters. The training will this time include classroom lectures, while practical training sessions will be held at a later date which will be communicated to trainees on the spot. 

Applications are available online directly from this web, and further information can be obtained on the website of Crafts School Požega. 

The training program is adjusted to requirements of both workers and employers and the curriculum includes 20-30 hours of lectures combined with practical training. The trainees will learn about insulation materials, correct installation of insulation and exterior joinery while respecting airtightness requirements, installing ETICS facade systems with special focus on details, selecting the necessary building material, performing the sealing of penetrations through building elements, installation of special thermal insulation elements, and avoiding the common mistakes during construction work. Minimum requirements for applying to the training include elementary education or 3-year vocational education in the construction sector, and at least 6 months of relevant working experience - on tasks related to installation of energy efficient elements of outer building envelope. Upon successfully passing the final exam, the trainees will be issued certificates that are valid for 5 years, including obligatory attendance on further on-the-job training. 

The Crafts School in Požega is one of the 12 training centers oin Croatia that have been selected for implementing pilot EE trainings for workers under the CROSKILLS curriculum. Until August 2017, a certain number of trainings throughout Croatia is co-financed by EU funds and therefore free-of-charge for the trainees. Applying now will secure your place in the free trainings! Skills of energy efficient building will be indispensible for getting a job in construction companies dealing with energy renovation and construction of new energy efficient buildings.

Upcoming CROSKILLS pilot training dates will be announced on these pages - so keep yourself informed. 

Download the APPLICATION FORM

Representatives of the CROSKILLS project consortium regularly take part in European level meetings in the frame of Intelligent Energy Europe programme, organised by the European Agency for SMEs (EASME), aimed to enable experience exchange among the countries in the field of lifelong energy efficiency training of building workers. Topic of cross-craft understanding i.e. coordination among different construction professions and skills within the construction process and looking at the building as a whole. IN January and June this year 7th and 8th exchange meetings were held, leading to the creation of 4 permanent thematic working groups (TWG) collaborating between European meetings:

TWG 1 - Financing the trainings

TWG 2 - Mutual recognition of knowledge and skills at European level

TWG 3 - Innovative training methods and incentives

TWG 4 - Market acceptance, including marketing and communication

The CROSKILLS consortium actively participates in two TWGs - on mutual recognition of skills and on market acceptance of energy trainings.

Green Building Council Croatia participates in an ambitious 2.3 MEur project to support, in cooperation with 13 GBCs across Europe, national governments ion creating and implementing new national energy renovation strategies lined with the European framework, until April 2017. The project aims to boost the development and implementation of a long term framework for proportional increase of energy renovation efforts in 13 countries. The main institutional counterpart in Croatia is the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning.

In addition to enacting an improved energy renovation strategy, it is equally important to achieve a coordinated action of all stakeholders and an equal dialogue on all issues related to energy legislation, financing, awareness raising and improving knowledge and skills, needed to achieve results. BUILD UPON is a meeting and dialogue project which aims to enable recognition of best European practice and initiatives in the deep renovation market in Croatia, and to properly introduce the information on advantages of green buildings and on building certification according to 27 sustainability principles into regulations, education sector and the awareness of all building users, finally aiming to make the Croatian construction sector rely on green (re)construction practices.

CROSKILLS consortium members participate in interactive workshops of the project.

Zagreb, February 16, 2015 - Project consortia ENHEMS-Buildings and Geothermal Mapping have organised a research seminar under the Science and Innovation Investment Fund, themed “Energy efficiency of buildings”. The aim of the seminar was to show the achievements of similar research projects in the energy efficiency of the buildings and identification of common problems appearing in energy efficiency sector. Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Zagreb presented the CROSKILLS II project, highlighting common errors and potential problems caused by inadequate construction of building envelope.

Zagreb, December 17, 2015 - 5th National Qualification Platform meeting for continuous training of construction workers in the energy efficiency, held in the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers in Zagreb, presented the final drafts of training materials for trainers for six priority construction professions. Draft version of a future certification & accreditation scheme of workers, trainers and training centers was presented for discussion. Accreditation and certification scheme is planning to accredit at least 10 training centers and certify 1,200 construction workers by the end of 2017. The meeting once more gathered more than 60 representatives of sectoral ministries, professional associations in the construction and energy efficiency, higher education institutions, ten vocational schools and many other organizations and institutions.

During the 5th NQP meeting, the information and marketing campaign for affirmation of construction professions and the importance of life-long learning in energy efficient building was presented. In the 2016 and 2017, the campaign will visit at least 12 towns across Croatia, which will present different construction skills in the frame of energy efficiency through educational lectures and competitive entertainment program, all in cooperation with 12 local vocational building schools. The campaign began with a promotional test-event in Karlovac on 26th November 2015, held in the Mixed Industrial and Trade School Karlovac, and continues in April 2016 in Međimurje in cooperation with the School of Building and Crafts in Čakovec (CROSKILLS project partner).

Participants were once more informed about pilot trainings, to be completed by the end of 2017, and the procedure for selecting the training centers where these will take place. Training centers will be selected by public tender, according to clearly defined requirements and rules of quality that will have to satisfy in order to transfer all necessary knowledge and skills in energy efficiency to construction workers overall to achieve greater competitiveness in the Croatian or the European labor market. All interested educational institutions will have to provide professional staff, and technical equipment for practical part of the training, all in the close cooperation with producers of construction equipment and technology and craftsmen of each construction profession. The public tender for training centers was provisionally announced for spring 2016, in order to start with the worker trainings in autumn of 2016.

Mrs. Gordana Paškvan Budiselić, expert advisor for civil engineering at the Agency for VET and Adult Education said: "CROSKILLS is a unique opportunity for vocational building schools to get involved as the first training centers of that kind in Croatia. Also it is an opportunity to use possibility of free-of-charge training of teachers as future trainers in the field of energy efficiency, as well as the use of teaching materials that will be developed under the project and made available to authorized training centers. This is a huge step forward towards the integration of energy efficiency themes into formal education, and a possibility of making quality upgraded and new curricula in the building education, which process is only about to start. Educated and quality teachers are those who can ensure that vocational education keeps pace within technological development in construction, including new types of materials and new technologies. Therefore, I believe that the involvement and participation of building schools in this project is an opportunity that should not be missed. The knowledge, skills and competencies in the frame of energy efficiency in the construction professions are already necessary in the teaching process, as the students that are currently attendng vocational building schools will be on construction sites in 3-4 years time." 

Promotional CROSKILLS 2016 calendar is out of print, featuring motifs of the 6 priority building professions that are in focus of our project. Specificity of the calendar are photographs of real building workers and construction sites, which have been shot at authentic building locations for the purposes of this publication, in order to provide as convincing as possible portrays of these professions. The calendar is printed in 1,000 copies, primarily for purposes of affirmation of building professions in general, and distributed among the National Qualification Platform members, interested companies, professional associations and schools.

A small number of copies is still available - if you are interested, feel free to contact us at croskills@croskills.hr.

November 13, 2015 - On 13-15 November 2015, the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Zagreb organized the 8th Passive house days where new projects, new building materials and systems, installation systems and high energy efficiency equipment were promoted.
For the eighth yer in a row, the event discussed the most advanced, energy efficient, passive standard architecture and construction, i.e. energy class A+ for new buildings and "factor 10" renovation. The 8th Passive House Days in Croatia gave deep insights into the new passive house classification related to application of renewables (passive house classic, plus and premium), certification, and relation to the definition of nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB). The participants also heard about the original experience of planning, design and realization projects in Croatia.
As part of the 8th Passive house days, the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Zagreb presented the CROSKILLS project, being focused on the blue-collar workers which are the most important link in the energy efficiency building process. 

Karlovac, November 26, 2015 – CROSKILLS project team in cooperation with the Mixed Industrial and Crafts School of Karlovac organised a public promotional event, with a competition in knowledge and skills in energy efficient building. This event started the national campaign with a working title „Croatia under Construction“. The event was attended by around 80 people - representatives of local and regional authorities, several VET schools students and professors, local construction companies, unemployed building workers and interested public from the region, as well as regional and local media.

Apart from informative and educational lectures the interested visitors had an opportunity to see the competition aimed at demonstrating energy efficient building skills in PLASTERING. The task had a practical and theoretical part, and the contesting teams had to set up a model facade (ETICS system), under supervision of a team of evaluators. The teams were made up of three members - employed and unemployed building worker and a student. Evaluators came from the lines of school professors, external experts and CROSKILLS project team. Awards to the best teams were provided by local sponsors, and the 2-hour event was completed by refreshments organised by the Commercial and Hospitality School from Karlovac, which used the opportunity to present their catering and hospitality skills to the visitors.

In order to promote the CROSKILLS education scheme, and increase interest in education in building profession – which is currently very low – the promotional campaign will visit in 2016 and 2017 a number of towns around Croatia, and focus on the 6 priority building professions. Apart from financing the education and competitions in energy efficient building skills, the CROSKILLS team decided to involve the VET students in production of gifts for attendants and catering, thus financially supporting the work of student cooperatives. 

Opatija, June 11-13, 2015 – Tenth Days of Chartered Construction Engineers, organised by the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers (CROSKILLS project partner), again provided an opportunity to gather experts in the construction sector. Representatives of the Civil Engineering Faculty of the University of Zagreb and HUPFAS also took part, and distributed CROSKILLS promotional materials with the goal of spreading interest for active contribution in project's educational activites.
In this jubilee year, the event was titled CROATIAN CONSTRUCTION: NEW BEGINNING. The new beginning lies in the fact that starting of a successful economic cycle and economic revival is not possible without activating the construction sector as an irreplaceable project partner: from processing industry and tourism to building of new necessary infrastructure; from transport to energy. A new beginning is also related to open and realistically increased possibilities of using EU funds, but also to business oportunities and the need to initiate new investment forms.

All the challenges faced by the construction professionals in Croatia in the context of still existing economic crisis are solvable by jointly considering the possible actions by the Chambewr and its members, with the goal to ensure quality, professional and responsible construction work by permanent on-the-job training and increasing of knowledge and competitiveness.

As part of the lifelong training of construction experts, the program included seminars on energy certification and new energy standards, and seminars for health and safety experts and H&S coordinators. Best achievements in the field of construction were awarded by the COLOSSUS prizes of the Croatian Chamber of Construction Engineers. 

Zagreb, May 15, 2015 - As part of the event "Come in 8th graders", an open-door event which is annually organised by various secondary schools in cooperation with their local communities in order to present to the pupils finishing elementary school the possibilities of selecting and enrolling in the secondary schooling, the doors were opened at the Industrial, Crafts and Building School in Zagreb. Professors and students of this vocational school at their presentation booth within the event „Come in 8th graders, Zagreb is calling you" actively participated in the affirmation of building professions and thus contributed to the CROSKILLS project promotion. 

Pula, 24 April 2015 – Agency for VET and adult education and Technical School in Pula in cooperation with ITV Murexin from Most Raša organised the 20th annual national student competition in building skills, in which all building and geodesy VET schools of Croatia took part. The competition was held on 23-24 April 2015 in Pula and Most Raša in Istria. The students competed in 8 disciplines: bricklaying; carpentry; ceramic tiling; house-painting; prefab construction fitting; bearing structures - building mechanics; architectural structures; and geodetic technician. Each discipline had a defined construction task and maximum time of 4 hours, with evaluators supervision. Evaluators came from the liens of VET school professors, external experts and CROSKILLS project team, and the competition was covered by several internet portals, local media and national TV.

"Research shows that less and less students decide for building professions in Istrian County. The Technical school in Pula is the only educational institution in the region providing knowledge, skills and preparation of students in 4-year programs for building and geodetic professions, where we have big interest. The interest in 3-year education programs offered by Industry and crafts school in Pula is continuously decreasing - for example, last year less than 10 students enrolled in the house-painting program, while in the last few years there were no bricklayers or ceramic tilers", according to the Technical School Pula principal, Mr. Dalibor Paus.

Mr. Dorijan Rajković, Board Director of ITV Murexin considers that affirmation of construction professions has large importance because the needs for qualified young professionals are growing in the private construction companies in Istria, bit also all around Croatia. He points out that "there is a need for qualified and motivated workers in the market. We are extremely glad that the competition this year was held at our production plant, and that we managed to inform the students about our work and our production processes, and showed them where we see their place in it and how they could contribute. We are grateful for several-years-long successful cooperation with the Technical School in Pula, which we are certain will continue even longer."

CROSKILLS project was triggered by the lack of investment in construction sector in Croatia, in order to modernise the approach to energy efficiency and simultaneously increase the quality of construction work. One of the CROSKILLS project goals is therefore the affirmation and popularisation of construction professions. 

Meeting of the National Qualification Platform for Lifelong Education of Construction Workers in the field of Energy Efficiency was held on 24 March 2015 in Zagreb, at the premises of the Croatian Chamber of Construction Engineers (CCCE). This was the fourth Platform meeting since its establishment in February 2013.

CCCE is one of the consortium partners jointly implementing the 2nd phase of CROSKILLS, based on the 1st phase which resulted in the endorsement of National Roadmap for Lifelong Education of Construction Workers in the Field of Energy Efficiency, adopted by 23 Croatian institutions and organisations in the sectors of construction, education and energy. In addition to national meetings, members of the National Qualification Platform will work through the permanent thematic working groups with the aim of integrating the training and certification schemes for six priority professions in the National Qualifications Framework and developing a comprehensive and realistic plan for the sustainability of lifelong education for these building professions. As part of this NQP meeting, learning outcomes and draft curriculum for basic training, prequalification and on-the-job training of bricklayers will be presented, as first of the priority building professions in the project's focus. The main objectives of the meeting were to:

- Collect comments and suggestions of Platform members to the prepared materials, in order to finalize the training curriculum for bricklayers and get guidance for the development of adequate training materials for other priority professions;

- Collect suggestions for focusing the planned information and marketing activities of the project, aimed at popularization of building professions and energy renovation in general. 

On March 4, 2015, the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts in Zagreb was the venue of the 4th Builders Convention, dedicated to two important topics: status and perspectives in the construction sector, and implementation of energy efficiency in construction.

The event started with a panel discussion analyzing the current situation in the sector, the new Law on Performing Physical Planning and Construction Activities, state of legislation enforcement and implementation, as well as the prices of construction services and public procurement issues.

Increasing energy efficiency in buildings was the topic of the second panel, attended by the president of the Chamber's Guild of Builders Mr. Kabelka, prof. Stirmer of the Civil Engineering Faculty in Zagreb, Ms. Križ Šelendić from the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, Ms. Bukarica of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Mr. Maras on behalf of the City of Zagreb, Mr. Karakaš from Croatian Employers Association, Mr. Percel from the Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Jokic on behalf of the Association of Tenants and Apartment Owners. The second panel discussed the state of implementation of the national Energy Renovation Program for the Residential Stock (single-family houses and apartment buildings) for the period 2014-2020, the implementation of energy renovation, stakeholders education (tenants, owners, managers), knowledge of construction workers, and local-level renovation programs in the City of Zagreb.

Prof. Stirmer presented the project CROSKILLS II, which will try to resolve obstacles to labor shortages in energy-efficient construction and renovation of buildings to nearly zero energy.

Special guests at the meeting were Mr. Patrick Liebus, President of EBC (European Builders Confederation) and President of French Chamber of Craftsmen in Building, as well as Mr. Fernando Sigchos adviser in EBC. Mr. Liebus pointed out in his introductory remarks that one of the major successes of EBC was the adoption of their recommendation by several countries (France, Italy, Spain) to reduce VAT for energy efficiency works on buildings, but also for the general reconstruction works on buildings, which has increased the volume of construction works and the inflow of tax-related revenue in these countries. 

Brussels, November 12, 2014 - Representatives of BUILD UP Skills projects from 21 European countries gathered for the 6th time to exchange information on their national projects’ progress and to identify synergies and possible collaborations among the projects. CROSKILLS project consortium was represented by the Civil Engineering Faculty of the University of Zagreb and the Croatian Employment Service.

Three workshops were held with major BUILD UP Skills topics:

1) Training Recognition: Objective was to offer a fuller picture of the necessary steps and procedures needed for the recognition of the training schemes at national and EU level as well as exploring the issue of market acceptance and training recognition by the building industry.

2) Incentives: Objective was to offer a fuller picture of the existing incentives to stimulate the demand encouraging workers to participate in the training and landlords to choose skilled workers.

3) Cross-craft understanding: Nearly zero energy buildings are highly complex regarding the design but also the implementation of the various techniques. Even if there are only highly qualified professionals engaged at the construction site many problems still occur at the intersections of the different work areas. In many cases the craftsmen do not know about the needs of other professionals and so difficulties or even faults may occur. Examples of such problems are: thermal bridges, permeations of air-tight envelope and of thermal insulation, moisture proofing, installation of windows, installation of steam break etc. In the case of SMEs, the individual craftsmen often have a lack of knowledge on the different technologies and tend to propose only the services that they know. In this case as well transversal knowledge is needed to apply the best solutions and to avoid the problems mentioned above. Objective of this session was to find solution for craftsmen from one profession to know the needs of other professions (and the needs for the whole construction/refurbishment) for a specific construction site. Also dedicated trainings on cross-craft understanding cross-craft understanding as part of any training for professionals in the building sector were discussed.

During one of the earlier BUILD UP Skills EU Exchange meetings in 2012, Pillar I national projects exchanged on “Innovative training methods for the construction sector". The discussions concluded that new and innovative approaches to training and up-skilling of workers are necessary, including the following:

priority should be given to cross-professional training and to develop specific CVET programmes
«multimedia / (web-based) self-learning in combination with real life/hands-on training» option was ranked as high priority
the need to train the trainers (and foremen) was highlighted
cooperation between VET schools and companies, e.g. school building as training site, should be promoted.
During this meeting, participants exchanged concrete experiences and shared best practices and examples of approaches to the design and delivery of trainings.

Pillar I of the BUILD UP Skills initiative identified a clear need to improve the training of workers in the construction of nearly zero energy buildings. One of the key issues for Pillar II of BUILD UP Skills is how to finance this training. During this meeting important related issues were discussed: who pays, and what incentives do they have to pay.