The required skills for the delivery of energy efficient buildings : a socio-technical network approach

As buildings consume approximately 40% of energy demand in the United Kingdom, there are significant policy pressures on the construction sector and its clients to improve the energy performance of buildings. The need for an ‘up-skilling’of the workforce, where ‘new’skills are required to deliver energy efficient buildings, has been identified as a key challenge for the construction sector and its clients to address these pressures. The required type of skills, along with their associated definitions, however, have largely been taken for granted and have not been subject to empirical investigation. The research presents a case study of a school retrofit building project, where a socio-technical network approach has been adopted to investigate the required skills for the delivery of energy efficient buildings by examining the interests of the key actors, interactions and negotiations present within the project. Data collection consisted of interviews and observations with actors involved in the retrofit project, and a review of relevant organisational documentation. The key findings highlight the complexity of the network surrounding the delivery the energy efficient building. The results identified primary actors groups within the network and the association of different meanings for the required skills and further evidenced the demand for both ‘new’and ‘existing’skills during the delivery of the project