Part II (conclusion) of the 21 January 2025 article “A shortage of qualified workers is creating problems in delivering the energy transition. Europe is falling behind in adapting homes and cities to climate change”.

Part I: https://www.zemeunvalsts.lv/kvalificetu-darbinieku-trukums-rada-problemas-energetikas-parejas

The debate about adapting to climate change in the construction industry is only just beginning

“The industry needs to discuss this issue more,” stress representatives of the building materials manufacturer Holcim, who took part in a panel discussion organised by the International Labour Organization at the UN climate change conference COP29 in Azerbaijan, adding: “We work closely with many partners right across the value chain, from architects through to end users, and we talk a great deal about decarbonisation and about circularity principles; we have taken environmental issues seriously.”

The main reasons for these problems are a lack of information and a lack of funding, says the German Construction Industry Association: “The construction industry depends on clients to say what is needed – and that means cities, local authorities and local businesses too. The problem is that there is too little data on future construction requirements, whether for water management systems or for the need to renovate buildings so that they are more resilient to climate change.” The second obstacle to more flexible construction using more suitable materials is cost: “Are we building infrastructure so that it can withstand flooding? Our clients have to decide whether they have enough money to build in a climate-resilient way. The construction companies can certainly do it.”

“A tough task for the industry”

Attracting the qualified construction workers needed for adaptation measures will be a tough task. The industry is already facing a very serious shortage of labour. Providing workers with the right skills could be far more straightforward.

In some respects the construction industry is rather better prepared for adapting to climate change than it is for efforts to cut emissions. Unlike climate change mitigation, where reskilling or upskilling is potentially more complicated given all the new technologies involved, adaptation involves less technological innovation. In most cases, adapting to climate change is a matter of nature-based measures to change public space or road surfaces – for example, planting more trees or using more permeable surfaces such as more permeable cement or asphalt – which does not call for substantial changes in skills and knowledge.

In some cases adaptation – preparing a roof so that it can be turned into a green roof, for instance – is no “mission impossible”. Everything is already available today, both the materials and the construction methods.

Europe’s roofers – a step ahead of the rest

One trade is a few steps ahead of the others when it comes to adapting to climate change in Europe – the roofers.

“Adapting to climate change is already one of the main topics, without a doubt, because our work matters a great deal when it comes to building green roofs and water-retention roofs, particularly in cities,” says the German central roofers’ trade union (ZVDH). Demand is high, as more and more urban development plans provide for green roofs.

Additional training is needed, because greening a roof requires in-depth knowledge of roof structures, statics and building physics. The same applies where the aim is to retain rainwater on the roof, when previously the important thing was to drain it away as quickly as possible.

“Germany’s dual vocational education and training (VET) system, which combines practical and theoretical training, puts the country in a good position to tackle the problems that adapting to climate change creates for the construction industry,” believes the German Trade Union Confederation.

Under the vocational education and training system, an apprentice is employed by a company and learns on the job while also attending classes at a vocational school. This system ensures that any necessary adjustments to the work or to the curriculum can be identified and put into practice quickly and practically.

The German roofers’ association ZVDH explains that during an apprenticeship at a company, trainees are taught on the job, learn the theory at vocational school and take part in practical sessions in dedicated training facilities. Even if a small company does not work on green roofs or water-retention roofs, its apprentices still acquire the relevant skills.

National policy that promotes adaptation to climate change

Through building regulations, standards, public procurement and adaptation policy, the member states and the EU institutions have considerable influence over how well Europe is prepared for the problems brought by climate change.

One example is the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which includes provisions on climate change adaptation and resilience in building renovation and in new builds, as well as the Eurocodes – a set of European standards providing a common approach to the design of buildings, civil engineering works and construction products.

Many policy areas, rules and regulations are adopted at national level. European countries have a great many safety and quality standards governing how homes must be built, from fire safety through to protection against noise. Many of these rules are outdated and unsuited to addressing climate-related risks, concludes the engineering company Hauser (IBH) in its report.

At the end of 2024 the German government adopted a climate change adaptation strategy, covering measures across every sector. Various measures are proposed for the construction industry, such as improving the availability of data on climate risks to buildings and building standards that take adaptation into account, along with support for innovation and research. The German government is calling on the federal states and local authorities to reform building regulations to help with adapting to climate change.

One of the recommendations is a call for construction companies and associations to provide additional training on adapting to climate change. It also turns its attention to the education system. “In order to tackle the shortage of qualified workers, colleges and universities, as well as the continuing education centres run by associations and chambers, must devote more attention to teaching, training and continuing education on preventive construction measures and the adaptation of buildings,” the call states.

Is the help that is needed to be found abroad?

Germany’s construction industry is already heavily dependent on workers who have come from abroad. The government has begun to turn its attention to labour migration, as the ageing of the domestic population is deepening the shortage of qualified workers. One example is the recently drawn-up skilled labour strategy for India, which can be judged in various ways.

The strategy states that, alongside the healthcare sector, there is also a shortage of qualified workers and trainees in construction and the skilled trades. The document highlights decarbonisation as the main task, but makes no mention of the need to adapt to the effects of climate change. Yet however different life and the economy may be in India and in Germany, India is one of the regions of the world most at risk from climate change, and the experience and knowledge of its people could be useful to Europe. Clearly, attracting “specialist experts” in particular remains largely hypothetical.

“We definitely need more qualified workers in order to deliver adaptation to climate change,” says the German roofers’ association. Although skilled trades businesses are currently facing a lack of skills among potential employees, roofing firms have seen a steady increase in apprentice numbers in recent years, thanks in part to efforts to promote work in the sector.

Specialists acknowledge that recruiting people from other countries is certainly to be expected in future: “At the moment we are talking about supporting projects to bring people from abroad here and give them the chance to work in the roofing trade.”

The problems have been identified, and ways are being sought to resolve these difficult questions as quickly as possible. How that will work in practice we shall see soon enough. A shift in political priorities has now begun in the European Union, both in delivering the Green Deal and in addressing social, environmental and economic questions. Sweeping geopolitical instability and the uncontrolled shifting of possible future scenarios are having a particular impact. Europe’s people have been caught up in a whirlwind of dramatically shrinking socio-political comfort that affects both individuals personally and every branch of the economy – and by no means only climate change or carbon emissions…