Brussels, 9-10/11/2023 – On November 9th, EuropeOn and GCP Europe, representing respectively electrical and mechanical installers, launched the first European Installers’ Day during their conference at the European Parliament.
European Installers’ Day
This annual occurrence wants to underline the importance of the installation sectors and all its workers and the contributions of the electrical and mechanical installation sectors to energy and digital transitions. It also aims to showcase the industry’s achievements and cutting-edge practices and to highlight installers’ needs, while creating new and productive ways to connect stakeholders working with installation professionals.
The Installers’ Conference at the European Parliament
In the spirit of the European Year of Skills, the first part of the Installers' Conference focused on skills, with debates and the contribution of insightful speakers: MEP Ilana Cicurel, David Goodhart, journalist and author of Head, Hand, Heart and Pär Lundström, Senior policy advisor at IN.SE Sweden.
During the conclusive segment of this section, Oliver Jung, GCP Europe’s secretary general, underlined the need to find solutions to fight the current gap between available and required skilled professionals in the installation sectors. Furthermore, he explained that it is necessary to attract talents who can use both AI and traditional tools to encourage the development of innovative installation practices.
The second part of the Installers’ Conference, dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI), included other five speakers: Martin Ulbricht Senior Expert in the Commission's Unit for Artificial Intelligence Policy Development and Coordination, Thierry Geerts, Country Director Google Belgium & author of Homo Digitalis, Josh Bone, Director of ELECTRI International (USA), Troels Blicher Danielsen, Administrative Director at Tekniq Arbejdsgiverne (Denmark) and Luc Vercruyssen from KNX Association.
As conclusive remarks, Julie Beaufils, EuropeOn’s secretary general, highlighted the transformative potential of AI for the installation sectors and how mechanical contractors should increasingly see AI as a new tool in their arsenal.
Nevertheless, to succeed in this digital transition, installers and stakeholders should have systematic access to data. Also, there needs to be more support for SMEs and constant attention to safety.
Julie Beaufils, EuropeOn’s Secretary General, said: “AI and skills challenges are connected in many ways. While AI will never be able to carry out installations, AI can indirectly alleviate the workforce gap in the sector by increasing productivity. But for this to become a reality, SMEs need support to upskill their workers and acquire the necessary digital skills”.
Oliver Jung, GCP Europe’s Secretary General, said: “European and national Institutions should promote the installation sectors and foster technical education and skills necessary for the energy and digital transition. A new Marshall Plan for skills should be rolled out to enact the needed changes that will enable the installation sectors to meet the challenges ahead”
More information on the event can be found at www.installerssummit.eu
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Did you know?
- The installation of energy-efficient and renewable energy systems is one of the few economic sectors contributing – at the same time – to the achievement of Europe’s goals related to climate and energy, geopolitics, digitalisation, net-zero economic recovery and growth, health and well-being.
- Despite its crucial role across all these major policy areas and different EU industrial ecosystems, this sector is unfortunately still perceived by many stakeholders as of merely “technical” nature, which sadly limits its attractiveness and its potential to serve all the above-mentioned policy goals.
--> The #EuropeanInstallersDay aims to finally recognise and value every year the essential role of all the men and women involved in the installation sector, shed light on their specific needs and celebrate their achievements and innovations, while offering for the years to come a new dynamic and synergy between all stakeholders cooperating with installation professionals.
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