Both Northern Ireland business and European government have embraced a new digital construction training platform introduced by Belfast Metropolitan College in partnership with six other European partners.
Speaking at the ‘BIMcert Digital Skills to Reduce the Energy Footprint in the Built Environment’ international conference at Titanic Belfast on Wednesday January 22 Ms Maja Marija Nahod, Assistant Minister for Construction in Croatia pointed out independent initiatives such as BIMcert are essential and that there is a need for common standards to raise awareness of the main terms.
Martin Lennon, Managing Director of O Hare and Mc Govern said that BIM was part of the DNA in OHMG, a collaborative tool and that everyone owns the data in the process. OHMG employees are receiving BIMcert training currently through Belfast Met.
There are seven European partners on the BIMcert project including Belfast Met, CITB, NI, Technological University, Dublin, and Future Analytics, Dublin , IST Portugal, IECE, Macedonia and EIHP, Croatia. BIMcert itself is a digital technology that can be used to provide information on every aspect of the construction project.
Speaking at Titanic Belfast, Marie Therese Mc Givern, Chief Executive, Belfast Metropolitan College, said: “Belfast Metropolitan College is justifiably proud to be the first FE college in the UK to lead a H2020 project. We are here to celebrate with all the partners an amazing project delivering certification in Building Information Modelling and empowering companies in the construction sector to engage in the digital transformation journey. It requires innovative approaches to training and upskilling people for this new paradigm.
“BIMcert has illustrated how we can achieve this for all, for the partners, students, business and industry.
“Construction sites across the globe are developing rapidly as firms seek to take advantage of the technologies of tomorrow. However the construction industry is the lowest ranked economic sector in terms of digital uptake in Europe and more needs to be done.
“The link between digital skills and the energy performance of buildings is important. On the one hand, the European building sector needs to complete the decarbonisation of building stock if the EU is to meet its climate targets. On the other hand, it needs to make the most of the new digital technologies that are rapidly changing the way buildings are designed and constructed.
“Belfast Met and the BIMcert partners are leading the way in digital transformation, modules, learning, beyond blended delivery and digital accreditation-empowering industry and the workforce.”
Gordon Sutherland, EASME, European Commission , reflected on attending the event saying: ““BIMcert has been instrumental in developing personally adaptable training experiences which allow the student to develop a digital CV highlighting newly-acquired skills attained through micro-accreditation in a European context. This can be expected to increase the demand for BIM skills, as students will not need to follow a lengthy, standardised journey, but can select the training modules depending on the gaps in their knowledge.”
Paul Mc Cormack, Belfast Met innovation Manager and BIMcert Programme Manager, said: “In order to reach the EU’s energy and climate targets, a qualified building workforce is needed. Improving the skills of middle and senior level professionals and blue collar workers in the area of sustainable energy efficient construction is therefore of key importance. This should be done throughout the entire value chain of the buildings sector.
“Our BIMcert training platform is now ready for use. This is your chance to avail of free BIMcert training which can enhance your career. Just log onto our BIMcert training platform https://platform.energybimcert.eu/ and start your BIMcert journey. The platform is on our https://energybimcert.eu/ website.”
BIMcert allows for the creation and implementation of sustainable qualification and training schemes for building professionals, blue collar, white collar and management.
