Pilot “Train the Trainers” Session and 5th Project Team Meeting of Project “Building Up Skills for Home Renovation One-Stop-Shops”
The successful implementation of the European Renovation Wave initiative requires coordinated efforts by stakeholders at all levels of governance. Only in this way can the necessary pace of energy modernisation of residential buildings be achieved. One of the key tools for accelerating this process is one-stop-shop services (OSS), which bring together advisory, technical and financial services for homeowners in one place. At the same time, practical experience shows that organisations responsible for setting up and running such services need specialised knowledge, skills and resources. This is precisely the challenge addressed by the BUSHROSSs project, which translates European cooperation into practical steps: developing professionals’ skills and making housing renovation more accessible, effective and sustainable.
Under the Consortium Agreement, the pilot “Train the Trainers” (ToT) session and the fifth scheduled partners’ meeting were held in Pikermi, near Athens, within the project Building Up Skills for Home Renovation One-Stop-Shops (BUSHROSSs).
The event was organised by Effie Mavrou and Georgia Veziryianni (Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving, CRES, Greece). Participants included the project coordinator Padraig Lyons (IERC), University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland;Ivanka Pandelieva-Dimova and Evelina Stoykova, Sofia Energy Centre (SEC), Bulgaria; Nina Nikolova, Sdruzhenie Kamara na Instalatorite v Balgariya – CIBS (Chamber of Installers in Bulgaria); Izabela Kusnierz, Dorota Guzik (PNEC), Stowarzyszenie Gmin Polska Sieć „Energie Cités” (Polish Network “Energie Cités” – association of municipalities), Poland; Marjana Šijanec-Zavrl (ZRMK), Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK, Slovenia; Svitlana Makarevych, Olena Shelimanova, Dmytro Biletskyi, Education and Research Institute of Energetics, Automatics and Energy Saving, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.
The pilot session aimed to test the training programme developed by the partners to prepare trainers who will subsequently train one-stop-shop (OSS) specialists. The programme has a modular structure and is tailored to four categories of experts: economists, technical experts, legal advisers and social workers.
For each category, a two-hour discussion block (brainstorming) was planned, covering six 20-minute modules:
Module 1. Organisational aspects and financing of OSS.
Module 2. Legal aspects in line with EU legislation and regulations.
Module 3. Economic and financial aspects.
Module 4. Technical aspects.
Module 5. Social aspects: inclusiveness and energy poverty.
Module 6. Soft and digital skills.
The module on legal aspects has been prepared on the basis of EU legislation. The partners will adapt it to national conditions when delivering training courses in their own countries.
The first session opened with registration and welcoming remarks by the organiser Georgia Veziryianni (Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving, CRES). The partner Nina Nikolova (CISB) then presented the trainer’s guide and training methods.
The first thematic block focused on the “economists” category. Modules 1–5 were presented by the SEC partners, and Module 6 on soft and digital skills by CISB.
The second block was addressed to technical experts. Modules 1–3 and 5 were presented by consortium member Marjana Šijanec-Zavrl (ZRMK), and Module 6 by CISB. Module 4 “Technical Aspects” was presented by Svitlana Makarevych and Olena Shelimanova, NULES of Ukraine.
The second session continued with the block for legal advisers. Modules 1–5 of this block were presented by the partner IERC, and Module 6 by CISB.
The final block was intended for social workers. Modules 1–3 were presented by CRES, Modules 4 and 5 by PNEC, and Module 6 by CISB.
The event concluded with a discussion and a summary of the results.
The BUSHROSSs training programmes have been developed in response to the real needs of professionals, as identified through questionnaires, discussions and round-table meetings in the six partner countries. They combine the legal, organisational and financial aspects of the work of one-stop-shop centres with technical and economic solutions for energy renovation. Particular emphasis is placed on developing soft and digital skills tailored to the professional profile of each participant.
The next step: national training courses in Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Slovenia and Ukraine for at least 360 specialists
By scaling up the training model, the project aims to strengthen the capacity of institutions, energy agencies and other organisations involved in the energy renovation of homes. This will enable more specialists to provide competent, coordinated and citizen-centred support, whilst one-stop-shop centres will establish themselves as a key tool for overcoming the information, technical and financial barriers to renovation.
The fifth partners’ meeting of the BUSHROSSs project focused on reviewing the progress of work and planning the next stages of the project. Presentations on individual areas were delivered by the leaders of the respective work packages.
The participants discussed project management and coordination, quality control and impact monitoring, as well as current administrative issues. Particular attention was paid to the results of the pilot “Train the Trainers” seminar held the day before and to the next steps in this area. They also discussed the sustainability of the project results, their exploitation and dissemination, planned activities and upcoming deliverables. The meeting concluded with a general summary presented by the project coordinator Padraig Lyons (IERC).
The NULES of Ukraine team is sincerely grateful to Effie Mavrou and Georgia Veziryianni (CRES) for their warm welcome in Greece.