BUILD UP Skills - National Platforms on energy efficiency skills for the clean energy transition

Important

This is the most important strand for Ukraine in this call. The call targets countries that have not yet updated their national skills platform and roadmap, and Ukraine is explicitly listed in the call document (together with Iceland, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro and 12 EU Member States).

About the call

The BUILD UP Skills initiative, launched in 2011, aims to increase the number of qualified professionals in the construction and renovation chains. The shortage of skilled workers is becoming a real bottleneck for both the energy transition and Europe's economic growth. Legal basis: Article 28 EED (competence networks, certification, training), Article 17(12) EPBD (education and training measures and financing), Article 18 of the Renewable Energy Directive (skills, qualifications, certification), and the European Affordable Housing Plan.

What the project must do

• (Re)establish a national skills platform - as a permanent structure bringing together national experts from all relevant organisations: authorities responsible for education and energy, professional chambers, education and training providers, trade unions and academia. The platform must raise the profile of the skills issue to the level of political and business decision-making and hold regular thematic working groups. There must be a clear aim to institutionalise the platform through formalised coordination mechanisms.
• Carry out skills intelligence - assessing the effectiveness of the previous national roadmap (if any), market research, data collection, analysis of labour market statistics, targeted interviews, participatory workshops and surveys. The result is a 'status quo analysis' with a detailed mapping of gaps in the workforce, skills and qualifications, covering initial, vocational and higher education.
• Develop a national roadmap with priority measures by profession, an action plan with deadlines, identification of actors, resources and financing, synergies with mechanisms that boost demand for skills (one-stop shops for homeowners, public procurement rules), and monitoring indicators.
• Promote the results and secure formal endorsement of the roadmap by relevant national stakeholders, including authorities.
• Run a large-scale national communication campaign. Three tasks: promote the contribution of qualified professionals to the clean energy transition; make the case for upskilling; and attract more people to careers in energy efficiency. The campaign must mobilise professionals, training providers and employment services, and reach out to profiles outside the energy sector and underrepresented groups - women and young people, in particular vocational and higher-education students. Both online and offline, including roadshows in cities. The campaign is expected to account for at least 30% of the project's resources.

Conditions - different from other CET calls

• An application may be submitted by a single applicant or by applicants from a single eligible country. This is an exception to the general '3 countries' rule.
• A single application may cover several countries, but only one platform per country will be supported.
• Indicative grant amount: €1-1.5 million (not €2 million, as in most CET calls).
• Letters of support from national stakeholders, including authorities, are mandatory.
• A small share of activities must be dedicated to exchanges with similar platforms across Europe (coordinated by the Commission) and cooperation with the BUILD UP Skills Community of Practice (the BUSUnited project).

Deadline

16 September 2026, 17:00 CEST