WaTTer Skills (2017-2020) Erasmus+ Program

Designation: WATTer Skills. Water Efficiency and Water-Energy Nexus in Building Construction and Retrofit.

Project: Belonging to the European Union Erasmus+ Program, 2017 Call, of the Key Action 2 to the Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices.

Identification of the project: 2017-1-PT01-KA202-036002.

Duration: 36 months, from September 2017 to August 2020. Extended until 31st December 2020!

Budget:  246.405,00 €.

Coordinator of the Project: Adene-Agência para a Energia (Portugal).

Partners: Fundación Laboral de la Construcción (Spain), Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving -Cres- (Greece) y Ente per la Formazione e l'addestramento professionale nell'edilizia -Formedil- (Italy).

Website: http://watterskills.eu/

Water scarcity is a serious problem for many regions of Europe, which will reach around 45% of European territory by the year 2030. On the other hand, the damage caused by floods can be multiplied by five in 2050.

A serious situation to which more and more attention is being devoted and on which regulation is being increased, in particular that relating to efficiency and water management throughout Europe, both in response to the problems of water scarcity those we face, such as the mitigation and adaptation to climate change objectives to which the European Union (EU) has to respond.

The regulation especially affects cities and buildings (residential, public and commercial, such as hotels, offices, hospitals and schools), taking into account the economic and environmental benefits of saving water in these buildings (estimated at 30% in the EU) , as well as the consequence of reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions (which estimates energy savings equivalent to 3.5% of total residential energy use in the EU), according to the European Commission Communication ( CE) "The plan to safeguard Europe's water resources" (COM (2012) 673.

Training, qualification and accreditation

To solve these concerns successfully, it is necessary to train, qualify and adequately accredit construction professionals (including, plumbers, technical agents and designers), as well as "green" professionals (including, water and energy consultants), through reliable and independent accreditation schemes that certify the technical knowledge and skills of these professionals, towards recognition and confidence in the market.

Therefore, the WATTer Skills project aims to develop, implement and propose a common curriculum, a qualification framework and a European accreditation scheme, for training and updating skills of construction and rehabilitation professionals in water management and efficiency.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.