Second meeting of the Spanish high-level working group

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The second meeting of the public-private high-level working group was celebrated on May 30th, 2024, at the premises of the National Construction Confederation (CNC), located in Madrid (Spain).

For the second time, the Spanish high-level group met at the headquarters of the National Construction Confederation (CNC) to discuss how best to address the challenge of generational change by attracting young talent to the construction sector.

In this occasion, a total of 17 stakeholders from different organisations attended the meeting: public and private organisations from the fields of education/training, public administration, employers’ associations, professional associations, and social entities.

After the analysis of each of the measures highlighted in the first group, there was time for open discussion, where participants had the opportunity to express their views on the relevant measure to achieve the objective of attracting young people to the construction sector.

Some of the contents are briefly summarised below:

  • Image of the sector. The participants defended the need to reinforce the idea that the construction sector is safe, in order to create employment opportunities. In addition, the importance of promotion and collaboration between educational and business institutions to create figures that help young people to identify themselves was discussed.
  • Training and counselling. During the discussion, the importance of early educational and vocational guidance in order to reach out to young people was discussed. Thus, the idea of creating awareness-raising campaigns in schools was conveyed. In addition, a review and adaptation of training programmes and curricula to current circumstances and trends (such as sustainability and digitalisation) should be carried out as far as possible.
  • Legislation and administrative issues. Participants highlighted the promotion of sustainable technologies and practices in the construction sector through, for example, subsidising companies to upgrade their equipment. The need to invest in infrastructure, housing and building renovation was also advocated, as it offers a positive vision for the sector and in the vision of increased employability.