The Irish Green Building Council in conjunction with Limerick Institute of Technology have launched a new app to facilitate energy renovation upskilling.

The BUILD UP Skills Advisor app allows building professionals and construction workers to identify energy renovation training courses that suit their needs in one click.

Pat Barry, CEO of the Irish Green Building Council said: “At least half a million Irish homes must be retrofitted in the next 10 years. The recently published European Green Deal also foresees a ‘Renovation Wave’ initiative for the building sector. As energy renovation is a labour-intensive industry, this will create additional employment opportunities across Ireland. The aim of the app is to make it simpler for everyone in the industry to upskill to take advantage of this. It allows building professionals and construction workers to identify those training courses that really suit their needs.”

Head of Development & Public Engagement at LIT, Seamus Hoyne, added: “The construction sector is making big strides in the area of efficient energy upgrading and sustainable buildings. To continue to do this, construction workers across Ireland need to be trained and upskilled in a number of ways, which is a key area of our sustainable energy work in LIT’s Development Unit. Particularly in the current climate, being able to access learning and training resources anywhere at any time is vital, which is why we’re delighted to be in a position to work with the IGBC to launch this app.”

The BUILD UP Skills Advisor app has been produced with support from SEAI. It will be further developed in the next few months to include highly practical short demo videos that construction workers can use onsite.

The BUILD UP Skills Advisor app can be downloaded for free on Google Play and App Store.